Protesters under the auspices of Kaduna Citizens Watch for Good Governance (KCWGG), on Thursday, stormed Kaduna State Government House to demand the probe and arrest of Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, former governor of the state.
They asked incumbent Governor Uba Sani 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’.
On March 30th, 2024, Governor Uba Sani revealed during a town hall meeting that the state faced a substantial debt burden of $587 million, N85 billion, and 115 contractual liabilities inherited from the previous administration.
This, he said, led to over 70% of the state’s allocation being used to service the inherited debt.
In response, the Kaduna State House of Assembly formed an ad hoc committee to investigate the state’s financial transactions from May 29th, 2015, to May 29th, 2023.
The committee, led by Barrister Henry Danjuma Magaji, submitted its findings on June 5, 2024, revealing significant unaccounted funds and irregularities in financial transactions.
The report highlighted mismanagement of funds, diversion of loans, overpayment of contractors, and lack of transparency in the usage of state funds.
While addressing journalists shortly after arriving at the government house, the chairman of the protesting group, Comrade Victor Duniya, 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.
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), and Professor Bello Ayuba, among others.
The governor had earlier described the probe as a political hatchet job. His media aide, Muyiwa Adekeye, stated that the El-Rufai administration was proud of its governance record and dismissed the committee’s claims as scandalous.
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