He said he did not in his four years in office as governor award any contract to any of his children or members of his family.
Wada, who disclosed this while fielding questions from journalists in Lokoja at the beginning of his Meet-the-PDP-Delegates-Tour of the 21 local government areas of the state, said he was interested in leaving an enduring legacy of probity and accountability in governance.
He lamented that those with sinister motives accused him of giving exclusive privileges to his children in terms of contracts awarded, saying that the rumour was evil and mischievous.
The former governor, who is also an aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the coming election, said that despite the fact that his children possessed requisite qualifications to vie for contracts, he told them point-blank that his administration would prefer they stayed out of the affairs of the state.
According to him, “I came from a private sector background, where consideration is given to hard work and competence. Although my children and some of my family members possessed the qualifications to bid for contracts, I told them as a matter of principle that under my watch, I will not award them any contract.”
“Yes, some people may contact them to use their influence to secure certain contracts, within my government, which I think, may not have violated any laid down constitutional provision. But to the best of my knowledge, they did not even do so.
“In my four years as governor of Kogi State, I did not apply for a single portion of land. In fact, the place that I built my house at the foot of Mount Patti was given to me by a friend 10 years ago, even before I became the governor of the state.”
“I was propelled by the zeal to make a difference, so I had no time for giving my family members preferential treatment. I am poised, more than ever, to deliver good governance to the people of Kogi State”.
The former governor, who admitted that it was possible for him to have made mistakes, however, said, “there could be areas that I might have made mistakes, which was not deliberate, but such will definitely be corrected”
He noted that the monthly statutory allocations accruing to the present administration was far bigger than what obtained during his time yet there are no projects to show for it.
He said that despite the lean resources, his government leveraged on the multinational financial donors, who partnered with the administration on several projects that could move the state out of poverty.
He noted with regrets the ugly incident of the 2015 governorship election that rigged him out the office, saying that it robbed the state of what it would have enjoyed during his second term.