By Emma Ujah, Abuja Bureau Chief

The Debt Management Office (DMO), yesterday, refuted allegations of corruption in the organisation.

It said in a statement that as a responsible organization, its processes and procedures always met laid down rules and regulations of the public service in ensuring transparency and accountability, adding that the reported allegation of N1.08 billion corruption in the organization was false.

According to the agency which manages public debt, the report was a distortion and masterminded by those who wanted to misinform the public with the intention of discrediting it.

The statement reads in full, “The Debt Management Office (DMO) has been drawn to a report  titled: `Alleged N1.08bn corruption scandal hits DMO’.

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“The DMO hereby states unequivocally that the story is false, full of lies and the documents referred to in the report have been twisted and distorted with the intention to misinform the general public and discredit the institution. The story is not a true representation of the dealings in the DMO.

“It should be noted that the DMO is an accountable, transparent and responsible organization that works in accordance with laid down civil service procedures and it is highly regarded by Multilateral Agencies and financial institutions as a reputable Government Agency.

“The sponsors of the story are disgruntled elements who have not only breached the Civil Service Rules but have also contravened laid down procedures for dealing with official matters. These officials have resorted to illegally leaking official documents due to their recent redeployment, have colluded with other disgruntled persons who have failed in their attempts to control the running of the affairs of the DMO, which has blocked their ability to pilfer public funds.

“The story referred to documents that, on their own, are incomplete and do not reflect the whole story or the purpose of any transaction. The claims that events and travels by officials of the DMO either did not take place or did not hold are false and an attempt to discredit the impeccable records of the organization. These speak to their desperation to give the institution a bad name.

“It is unfortunate that the report will be published without cross-checking with the management of the organization.

“The DMO, in line with laid down Civil Service Regulations, will brief relevant security agencies in the country to thoroughly investigate the sources of the documents, on which the sponsors based their story, with a view to bringing the perpetrators to book in line with Public Service Rules No. 030401 and 030402 which prescribes dismissal for unauthorized disclosure of official information as a serious act of misconduct.”

Vanguard