I wish to express the concerns of the Kogi State government over a disturbing observations regarding the activities of some con men that are attempting to distract Nigerians from facts with the use of deceitful and incredible mechanism in the guise of ‘CIAPS Governors Performance Index (CGPI)’, a purported monitor for the performance of Nigerian Governors.
In as much as it is not the practice of the Kogi State Government to honour persons or groups of questionable characters with a response, however, for the interest of Nigeria’s democracy and the preservation of the integrity of the good people of Kogi state, I want to state that the so called CIAPS Governors Performance Index (CGPI) is a con -mechanism and an academic fraud to blackmail, intimidate and expunge money from unsuspecting governors. A case in point is the group’s recent publication ‘Captain Wada who currently vies for a Second Term in Kogi bags award as worst performing Governor in Nigeria” which is best described as a product of falsehood, fraud, political persuasion and criminality with the sole intent of misleading Kogi voters in the forthcoming elections.
While the Kogi State Government affirms that the findings of the publication does not in any way reflect the reality of on going rapid development in Kogi state, it questions the group’s primary data sources and request them to validate such as no official of the government was contacted in their survey. As such, the public is urged to consider the publication as clear academic dishonesty which violates all acceptable standards of research especially given that the authors claimed to have arrived at their conclusion with ‘mathematical calculation’ of no reference to statistical analysis or credible data. Also, it is also vital to point out that the group’s claim to have used “payment of salary, new projects, education, security and leadership by example.” as necessary variables for arriving at their decision on performance exposes their intellectual hollowness and inappropriateness in ethical conduct of peer review process.
Furthermore, their constant use of the remarks ‘commenting on the study, the CIAPS Director and the CGPI Chair, Prof. Anthony Kila, said that the CGPI is a useful tool for democracy and good governance as it allows government to be objectively measured against their peers and compels all in power to be mindful of accountability”, as its conclusion in all the editions of their findings in over six months shows the static nature of their findings, a clear indicator of fabricated research.
Therefore, we urge the general public to disregard the findings of such a publication.
Besides the gross flaw of the publication in both data and findings, at this juncture, it is important to state that recent evidence indicate that the author of the publication, Mr. Olumuyiwa Ayoola is known to have a commercial and political interest in the said publication which is an outright inappropriate behaviour of a supposedly ‘unbiased umpire’. The sad reality is that the author of this self opinionated publication a.k.a the co-ordinator of the group CGPI is also a known commissioned agent of Mr. Abubakar Audu, a contestant in the Kogi election. Indeed, information at our disposal has revealed that Mr. Ayoola is on the pay roll of Mr. Audu and has served him for over a decade in dual capacity as author of an infamous biography and feeble propagandist. It is now beyond dispute that most of these misleading half truths in the media against the Kogi State government are from the campaign organisation of Mr. Audu Abubakar of the APC.
As much as most focused Kogi citizens recogonise the fears and desperation of the opposition, Mr. Audu in the Kogi election especially given the fact that his participation in the forthcoming election is like a high stake game for him, where if he fails, he will go back to the court and face trial in his EFCC case which may send him to jail. However, turning Kogi state into a place where bogus claims are made with conscious aim to mislead the public is highly regrettable.
The Kogi state government wishes to advise the general public to disassociate themselves from the activities of deceitful persons that use falsehood as campaign strategy to confuse the electorate urges Kogi citizens to remain focused in their preparation for the election. Consequently, appropriate measures have been taken to ensure that the authors are advised on a retraction of their false story, the activities of the so called CGPI is investigated by the security agencies and that the National University Commission, puts the actions of the so called CIAPS which claims to be the first paperless institution under the microscope.
-Phrank Shaibu, Chief Communications Manager to Kogi State Governor
