Taraba health commissioner, Innocent Vakkai on Tuesday, denied local media reports that he embezzled the sum of N1.2 billion COVID-19 subvention provided by federal authorities to combat the virus.

Mr. Vakkai, also the chairman of the state Technical Committee On COVID -19, refuted the allegations at a media briefing in Jalingo, saying that the publication was the imagination of the publisher and thus false, with no iota of truth.

He explained that all the monies sent to the state for support and management of COVID-19 were paid directly into the state government’s account and not to the committee or individuals.

“The newspaper accused me of building a gigantic hospital in Abuja and Yola with COVID-19 funds, I want to tell the whole world that it is not true.

“I have no single health care center to my name anywhere in Nigeria, let alone a big hospital, I will be happy if he can go and point at these structures to anybody or even to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC),” Mr. Vakkai said.

Mr. Vakkai, however, said: “I also want to disclose that we collected a sum of N1 billion from the FG and the money was used to provide Personal Protection Equipment for our frontline workers.

”We also used part of it to provide equipment for our two treatment centers at the Specialist Hospital, Jalingo, and General Hospital, Takum.

“We are a 30-man COVID-19 Technical Committee and how can I possibly manipulate these men and bypass the state government account section and divert even more than we have been supported with in the first place,” he said.

In his own reaction, Danjuma Adamu, the state Commissioner for information and Orientation, who is also a member of the technical committee, described the news as fake, urging the public to disregard it. 

(NAN)