The reports making rounds on the internet that N700 billion was lost in the fire outbreak at the office of the Accountant General of Nigeria has been debunked by the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning.
Responding to the fake news, the Ministry of Finance wrote on it’s official Twitter account, “The general public should take note. Finance Minister, Zainab Ahmed did not grant a press conference or any interviews.
The fake report which had the headline, “We Lost N700 billion naira COVID-19 relief funds due to fire outbreak – Finance Minister” was concocted to drive propaganda against the government.
“No funds were lost in the fire at the Accountant Generals Office which was contained to two rooms. Donations are under N30 billion to date.
“This is pure mischief and should be disregarded,” the Ministry tweeted along with a headline that had fake news across it.
Also speaking against the false report was the Minister of state for Budget and Planning, Clem Agba, who said that the fire that gutted the office of the Accountant General of the Federation did not destroy any record.
“We have gone round the rooms and offices where the fire affected, and I am glad to report that our data Centre where all our records are kept are fully intact, there were no destructions, so we haven’t lost any record” he said.
As a government I want to assure you that our records are intact, a few documents are burnt, we haven’t started recovery to check what actually burnt, but all our financial transactions are intact.
