Protesters Storm Kaduna Government House, Demand Ex-Gov El-Rufai’s Arrest For Alleged N423billion Fraud
Some protesters have stormed the Government House, Kaduna State, to demand the probe and arrest of Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, the immediate past Governor of the State.
The Kaduna State House of Assembly had recommended the probe of former governor of the state, Nasir El-Rufai for abuse of office and money laundering.
The recommendation was given by the ad hoc committee set up by the House of Assembly mandating the investigation of all finances, loans and contracts awarded under Nasir El-Rufai’s government.
The chairman of the ad hoc committee, Henry Zacharia, had presented the report during plenary on Wednesday, stating that the majority of the loans obtained during El-Rufai's administration were not used for the purpose for which they were obtained, and that in some cases, due process was not followed in obtaining the loans.
Receiving the report, Yusuf Liman, Speaker of the Kaduna House of Assembly, stated that the El-Rufai administration syphoned a total of N423billion, leaving the state with massive liabilities.
However, some protesters under the auspices of Kaduna Citizens Watch for Good Governance (KCWGG), on Thursday, asked Senator Uba Sani, the incumbent Governor to probe El-Rufai.
The group urged him to invite officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and other relevant agencies to arrest and prosecute El-Rufai over his administration’s indictment to the tune of N423 billion.
The protesters sang solidarity songs just as they displayed placards with different inscriptions.
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’.
The Chairman of the group, Comrade Victor Duniya while addressing journalists at the Kaduna government house, called on governor Sani to implement relevant sections of the report that fall under his purview and officially forward the findings of the committee report to relevant anti-corruption agencies to enable them to swing into action and recover the state’s resources at their disposal.
He said; “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 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.
“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 commend Governor Uba Sani for holding on to the ideals of the democracy he worked for by not interfering in the activities of the Kaduna State House, as many people expected you to stop the legislative arm of government from doing their work, as it was done in the past.
“We commend Governor Uba Sani for running an open government, where regular consultations are carried out with various stakeholders, especially during town hall meetings.
“We commend the Kaduna State House of Assembly for the thorough work done in unravelling the financial atrocities committed against our state, despite blackmails and threat from the beneficiaries of the financial heist.
“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-centered leadership of our dear state.
“We call on Security Agencies to immediately arrest and prosecute former governor Nasir El-Rufai and those he has incited to bring down the government of Senator Uba Sani.
“We appreciate your peaceful presence in our endeavor to bring positive change to our beloved state, despite the challenging weather conditions," the statement added.
The chairman of the group, Comrade Duniya was later received behind closed doors by the Deputy governor, Dr. Hadiza Balarabe, Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Abdulkadir Meyere, Deputy Chief of Staff, Umar Hassan Waziri, Private Personal Secretary (PPS), Professor Bello Ayuba, among others.
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