…Urge Gov. Uba Sani to involve EFCC
Hundreds of demonstrators under the auspices of the Kaduna Citizens Watch for Good Governance, (KCWGG), yesterday descended upon the Government House in Kaduna demanding for the arrest and investigation? of former Governor, Nasir el-Rufa’i.
The protestors called on the current Governor, Uba Sani, to enlist the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and other relevant agencies to address allegations of financial misconduct amounting to N423 billion during el-Rufa’is tenure.
Chanting solidarity songs, the demonstrators carried placards with messages such as: We will occupy all MDAs to chase out all indicted persons in the report, and Stop servicing all loans that did not follow due process before they were obtained.
Recall that during a town hall meeting on March 30, 2024, the State governor, Uba Sani, disclosed that the State was burdened with significant debts inherited from the previous administration, including $587 million, N85 billion, and 115 contractual liabilities. He explained that over 70% of the States revenue was being used to service this debt.
In response to these revelations, the Kaduna State House of Assembly established an ad-hoc committee to scrutinise the States financial activities from May 29, 2015, to May 29, 2023. The committee, led by Barrister Henry Danjuma Magaji, presented its findings on June 5, 2024, uncovering substantial financial mismanagement and irregularities.
The report highlighted mismanagement of funds, diversion of loans, overpayment of contractors, and lack of transparency in the usage of state funds.
?Addressing newsmen shortly after arriving Kaduna Government House, Chairman of the protesting group, Comrade Victor Duniya, said, We, the Kaduna Citizens Watch for Good Governance, appreciate your presence as we express our grievances today. Our state has endured financial mismanagement, abuse of power, and a growing debt burden for the past eight years.
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 N36.3 billion.
?Duniya further noted that the report also revealed large sums of money withdrawn from the state treasury without proper documentation of its usage.
Furthermore, it alleged that 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-Rufa’i and his cabinet members deployed to cover the faces of Kaduna people from seeing all these atrocities, el-Rufa’i 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, is as a result of the ‘sin’ of allowing the legislative arm of Government to work for the first time in over 8 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.
?The group commended 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.
The protesters also commended the Kaduna State House of Assembly for the thorough work done in unravelling the alleged financial atrocities committed against the State, despite blackmails and threat from the beneficiaries of the financial heist, and called on Governor 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”, they stated.
?The group also called on the security agencies to immediately arrest and prosecute former Governor el-Rufa’i and those he has supposedly incited to bring down the Government of Senator Sani.
Comrade Duniya was later received on behalf of the protesters by the Deputy Governor, Hajiya Hadiza Balarabe, Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Abdulkadir Meyere; Deputy Chief of Staff, Umar Hassan Waziri; Principal Private Secretary (PPS), Professor Bello Ayuba, among others.
?The government officials appreciated the groups peaceful protest, and assured them that their message would be forwarded to the Governor, who they said was unavoidable absent at the time the protesters arrived the Government House.
