…as Committee accuses ex-gov of fraud, money laundering, submits report
Samuel Adesola, Kaduna
Kaduna State House of Assembly has recommended the immediate past governor of the state, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai for probe for allegedly siphoning the sum of N423billion and perpetrating fraud and money laundering during his eight-year tenure.
The recommendation is contained in the report of the Assembly Committee which probed alleged corruption and financial irregularities during El-Rufai’s tenure.
The Committee has already submitted the report.
Chairman of the ad hoc committee, Henry Zacharia, presented the report to the Assembly during plenary on Wednesday.
The committee, which was charged with investigating loans, grants, and projects implemented from 2015 to 2023, said most loans obtained during El-Rufai’s administration were not used for their intended purposes.
The immediate past governor is however yet to react to the allegations by the Assembly.
The Committee further said that due process was not followed in securing some of the loans by the El-Rufai administration.
The committee’s report further accused the immediate past governor and his cabinet members of abuse of office, awarding contracts without due process, diverting public funds, and money laundering.
It also condemned excessive borrowing during El-Rufai’s tenure, saying this had plunged the state into heavy indebtedness.
Speaker of the Kaduna House of Assembly, Yusuf Liman, while receiving the report, said a total N423 billion was siphoned by the El-Rufai’s administration while leaving the state with huge liabilities.
The committee further recommended the probe and prosecution of ex-governor El-Rufai and other officials indicted by security and anti-corruption agencies.
The report also recommended the immediate suspension of the Kaduna State Commissioner for Finance, Shizer Badda, and the chairman of the State Universal Basic Education Board.
The committee also called for thorough investigations of key appointees under the El-Rufai administration.
Recall that recently Governor Ubah Sani raised the alarm that his administration was having serious difficulty in paying workers’ salaries because of the repayment of the state’ huge debts.
Sani had disclosed that his administration inherited $587 million, N85 billion, and 115 contractual liabilities from his predecessor, El-Rufai.
The Kaduna Governor lamented that due to the rise in the exchange rate, the state was now paying back almost triple what was borrowed by the El-Rufai government.
