“I would faint if I were to encounter N1 billion right now,” expressed former Governor Bala Ngilari.
Former Governor of Adamawa State, Barr Bala Ngilari has disclosed what his reaction would be if he sees and owns N1 billion.
Ngilari, who briefly governed the North-Eastern state from October 2014 to May 2015, faced a corruption conviction related to N166 million after leaving office, resulting in his imprisonment.
In a response to the corruption case during an interview with Daily Trust, Ngilari asserted that there was no legal action against him for misappropriating funds.
When queried about whether he possessed “about N1 billion of your own,” he replied, “If I were to come across N1 billion right now, I would be overwhelmed.” He continued:
“Indeed, the challenge for someone attempting to maintain honesty and integrity is that you amass many adversaries. I boldly declare, without fear or bias, that in the proceedings of the courts that brought me to trial on a five-count charge, not a single count out of the five accused me of taking or diverting a single naira, not one.”
Ngilari also disclosed that after losing the governorship, he aspired to run for the position of a senator in the subsequent election year. However, he couldn’t proceed because party delegates were requesting N1 million from each candidate.
He stated:
“Indeed, I made an attempt to run for the Senate within the APC. I embarked on a campaign, toured the area, and just two or three days before the primary election, I made contact and reached out to the delegates through my campaign director general and coordinators.
“The delegates conveyed to me, ‘Sir, when it comes to selecting the right candidate for this position, you are indeed the right choice. However, to be entirely honest with you, we cannot accept the N100,000 that you intended to offer us.’
“My intention was to provide N100,000 to approximately 200 individuals, totaling about N20 million, to assist them in initiating projects in their communities.
“At that time, N100,000 held significant value. Nevertheless, they responded, ‘No, sir, we will not accept your N100,000 because there are individuals who are willing to offer us one million naira each.'”