5 months ago
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Hundreds of protesters, yesterday, stormed the Kaduna State Government House, asking Governor Uba Sani to invite Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) operatives and other relevant security agencies to arrest and prosecute his predecessor, Nasir el-Rufai, for allegedly siphoning N423 billion belonging to the state.
They were received by a government delegation, led by the Deputy Governor, Hajiya Hadiza Balarabe, pledging to forward their concerns to the appropriate authorities.
The angry citizens, under the auspices of Kaduna Citizens Watch for Good Governance (KCWGG), marched through major streets within the metropolis at 11am, starting from the UTC Bus stop that leads to the seat of power.
They sang solidarity songs for the governor, just as they brandished placards with different inscriptions, condemning the “acts of financial mismanagement, abuse of power, and a growing debt burden for the past eight years by the el-Rufai administration.
Some of the inscriptions read, “We will occupy all MDAs to chase out all indicted persons in the report; “Stop servicing all loans that did not follow due process before they were obtained; “Jimi Lawal almost killed Kaduna State the way he killed a bank some years ago.”
Recall that on March 30, Governor Sani revealed during a town hall meeting that the state faces a substantial debt burden of $587 million, N85 billion, and 115 contractual liabilities inherited from the previous administration, noting that the development had led to over 70 per cent of the state’s allocation being used to service the inherited debts.
In response, the Kaduna State House of Assembly empanelled an ad-hoc committee to investigate the state’s financial transactions from May 29, 2015 to May 29, 2023.
The panel, led by Henry Danjuma Magaji, submitted its findings on June 5, revealing significant unaccounted funds and irregularities in financial dealings.
The report highlighted mismanagement of funds, diversion of loans, overpayment of contractors, and lack of transparency in the usage of state funds.
Meanwhile, while addressing journalists shortly after arriving at the Government House, the chairman of the protesting group, Victor Duniya said: “We, the Kaduna citizens watch for good governance, appreciate your presence as we express our grievances today (yesterday). Our state has endured financial mismanagement, abuse of power, and a growing debt burden for the past eight years.
“The most troubling finding was the diversion of N10.5 billion 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 N36.3 billion.”
He added: “The report also revealed large sums of money withdrawn from the state treasury without proper documentation of its usage. Furthermore, an expenditure of over N11 billion on a non-existent MRT transportation scheme was documented with no evidence to support it.
“While we were struggling to come to terms with the voodoo former Governor el-Rufai and his cabinet members deployed to cover the faces of Kaduna people from seeing all these atrocities, el-Rufai in his characteristically lousy manner, gathered members of his well-fed family to Sallah feast where he tacitly called on them in Hausa Language to bring down the government of Senator Uba Sani, which we believe it is as a result of the sin of allowing the legislative arm of government to work for the first time in over eight years.
“As concerned citizens, we condemn in the strongest terms possible the outright and merciless looting of our state, which has widened the poverty gap in the state by the immediate past administration.
“We call on Governor Uba Sani to implement relevant sections of the report that fall under his purview.
“We call on the Governor to officially forward the findings of the committee report to relevant anti-corruption agencies to enable them to swing into action and recover our resources at their disposal.
“We assure you of our maximum support, as we are aware that those who ought to be behind bars for looting our state now have the effrontery to dish out threats to the people-centred leadership of our dear state.”
English (US) ·