A gathering of demonstrators from Kaduna Citizens Watch for Good Governance (KCWGG) marched to the Government House in Kaduna to urge the apprehension and investigation of the former governor of the state, Nasiru El-Rufai, on accusations of corruption.
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The protesters caused a brief stir in the North-West state on Thursday, June 20, 2024, as they arrived at the government house singing songs of solidarity and holding up placards with various messages.
They urged the current Governor, Uba Sani, to request the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and other pertinent agencies to apprehend and prosecute El-Rufai and his administration over a ₦423 million indictment.
This came after a recent report by the state House Assembly, accusing the El-Rufai administration of diverting loans, mismanaging funds, overpaying contractors, and lacking transparency in the utilization of state funds.
Remember that Sani had warned in March 2024 that the state was grappling with a significant debt load of $587 million, ₦85 billion, and 115 contractual obligations inherited from his predecessor.
As a consequence, Sani stated that more than 70% of the state’s allocation was being utilized to service the inherited debt.
As a result, the state assembly formed an ad-hoc committee headed by Barrister Henry Danjuma Magaji to scrutinize the state’s financial transactions from May 29, 2015, to May 29, 2023.
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Submitting its report on June 5, the committee stated that it had discovered substantial unaccounted funds and irregularities in financial transactions.
Meanwhile, the protesters have applauded the state assembly for uncovering the alleged corruption during the previous administration.
Speaking at the Kaduna government house, the Chairman of the protesting group, Comrade Victor Duniya, stated that the state had suffered from financial mismanagement, misuse of authority, and an increasing debt burden over the past eight years.
“The most troubling finding was the diversion of 10.5 billion naira meant for pastoral nomadism and the construction of the Milk Industry at Damau, Kubau LGA, for the construction of Galaxy Mall, Kaduna. Additionally, the report uncovered overpayments to contractors, payments to unregistered companies, and funds disbursed for work not completed, amounting to over 36.3 billion.
“The report also revealed large sums of money withdrawn from the state treasury without proper documentation of its usage. Furthermore, an expenditure of over 11 billion on a non-existent MRT transportation scheme was documented with no evidence to support it,” Duniya said.
Duniya urged Governor Sani to enforce applicable sections of the report falling under his jurisdiction and formally transmit the committee’s findings to relevant anti-corruption agencies to prompt them into action.
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