The Senator representing Ondo Central and Chairman, Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions has debunked the publication making the rounds that he owns 18 Bureau De Change and other companies which they alleged he use to cut deal.
Denying the allegations captured in a write up titled “Meet the “Bullionaire” Senator Patrick Ayo Akinyelure Who Owns Eighteen Bureau De Change, Other Companies with Which He Cuts Deals”, Akinyelure stated that he never owned 18 Bureau De Change Companies as erroneously alleged and most of the companies mentioned are no longer functioning and even when they were still functioning, no single contract was awarded to these moribund companies namely.
He said the PAL Construction Ltd, Kunly & Associates Ltd, Folly Tizzy Services Ltd and APL Insurance Brokers Ltd, while the Bureau De Change companies, the faceless online publishers) referred to were duly licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
He informed that operations of the Bureau De Change Companies linked with families of Akinyelure has since late last year 2021 stopped with CBN pronouncement to stop forex bidding by all licensed Bureau De Change Operators in Nigeria, saying that the business of Bureau De Change in Nigeria is therefore, highly regulated by the Central Bank of Nigeria.
According to a statement released in Abuja Thursday, signed by Special Assistant (Media & Strategy) to the Distinguished Senator Akinyelure, Mr. Charles Akinwon, “We therefore use this medium to challenge the so-called faceless Leading Reporters to come out with facts and figures of this baseless publication within forty-eight (48) hours or be ready to face the full wrath of the Law, as we had already briefed our lawyers on this.
“It is on record that Distinguished Senator Ayo Akinyelure, FCA have been spending his personal money to assist most of these Petitioners who either collect transport fares back to their various destinations or money for one assistance or the other after their Petitions might have been heard at public hearing, so, it is baseless to say that Distinguished Senator Ayo Akinyelure is using his office as Chairman, Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions to enrich himself.
“It is also laughable, when, at the last paragraph of the faceless publication, the online Publisher(s) wrote that, “A// efforts to get to Senator Patrick Ayo Akinyelure to address the allegations against him as texts and calls texts to his known lines were not responded to as at the time of filling this report”.
“It is on record that Distinguished Senator Ayo Akinyelure, who is a media-friendly Senator, is one of the few public officers that pick calls and responds to text messages at all times while his media aide response to all his media-related issues. So, for the online Publisher(s) to say the Distinguished Senator never responded to issues of this magnitude holds no water and it is baseless” the statement stated.
“Such a petitioner the online publisher(s) referred to above, should also be bold to come forward to substantiate his claim of “how Senator ‘Akinyerule’ leverages his position to negotiate mouth-watering deal with a multinational company that shortchanged Nigeria Government of billions of Naira”.
“The office of the Distinguished Senator will not allow any group or individual to smear the good name and reputation the Senator had built over the years to be dragged into muddy water of politics by the sponsor(s) of the said online publication” the statement concluded.
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