Ribadu Committee report leakage meant to embarrass govt – Abati

The Presidency said this while reacting to the publication of excerpts from the report by an international news agency, Reuters, and local media outfits on Wednesday.
 
The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, said the excerpts from the report could not be taken as an official document because the committee had not formally submitted its report to the appropriate authority.
 
Abati said as far as the Federal Government was concerned, the report in the public domain was suspicious.
 
He said if indeed the published report was the committee’s genuine work, whoever leaked it to the press did not mean well and was out to embarrass the government.
 
He said, “It is strange that government will set up a committee, that report has not been submitted to the authorities that set up the committee and the report will be found on the pages of newspapers.
 
“The report cannot be taken as an official document because the proper procedure is for committees set up by the government to submit their reports to the government. In principle, this report in the public domain is suspicious because it was not submitted to the appropriate authority.
 
“If every committee set up by government goes above the system to leak reports, there can be chaos. Whoever leaked the report, if indeed the report is genuine, does not mean well. Whoever is behind it is out to embarrass the government.”
 
When asked whether by his submission, the Federal Government might probe the alleged leakage, Abati said the first step was for members of the committee to come out and confirm whether it was indeed their report