The Report That Nailed El-Rufai

BY GBOGBOWA GBOWA

Yesterday, the Kaduna State House of Assembly ad hoc committee set up to investigate the state’s finances, loans and contracts awarded under the administration of former Gov. Nasir El-Rufai reportedly found him guilty, and immediately recommended for his probe.

This is the second time Nasil El-Rufai will be coming under the knife of administrative surgical inspectors, the first been 2006 when he was roundly indicted in the Pentascope deal.

In the present situation Chairman of the House ad hoc committee, Mr Magaji Danjuma, while reading the report on Wednesday stated that the committee had discovered evidence of several cases of alleged corruption in the running of the state from May 2015 to May 2023.

He said that the committee had also discovered some alleged improper awards of contracts without due process with some loans collected without the approval of the state assembly.

Sequel to the report, the state assembly also identified principal officers that ran the state with El-Rufai and called them out for systematically defrauding the state, like their principal.

In a drastic move to halt the continuous indebtedness of the state to the state borrowing said to have been used to fester personal nest, the state house of assembly endorsed the recommendation of the committee to denounce the said loans.

While reading the report summary, the Speaker, Dahiru Liman, said that the El-Rufai administration had a total income of N1.49 trillion in the years under review, adding that some of these monies were allegedly misappropriated.

The report said, “The committee stated that all loans obtained by the Kaduna State Government between 29th May 2015 to 29th May 2023 obtained without due process were not binding on the state.

Two, he added that the state government should henceforth stop honouring all obligations arising from them, and three, that some of the contractors who have not performed and in some cases overpaid, should make refund to the state government a reported total sum of N36.35 billion.

He added that the Ministry of Finance,  in collaboration with the Kaduna State Inland Revenue Service (KADIRS) reportedly withdrew the sum of N 721.67 million through the use of an ‘unauthorized debit card by a third party’.

Explaining the alleged financial heist, Lima said that another N30 billion was siphoned from the state’s internally generated revenue by the ministry of finance with some officials of KADIRS, following other questionable transactions found by the committee.

The report also slammed farther allegation of questionable contracts award to the tune of N510.47 billion by the El-Nasir administration, which contracts he reportedly left behind their liabilities in lieu of public and consultancy fees.

Similarly, the committee recommended that the Kaduna Internal Revenue Service withdraw the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) Account domiciled at Zenith Bank as Security for N20 billion guaranteed in 2023.

” And to request the bank to refund all monies deducted on account of the purported illegal guarantee together with the accrued interest thereof.

”That, all the Commissioners of Finance of the State from May 29, 2015, to May 29, 2023, be referred to the appropriate law enforcement agencies for thorough investigation”, he said.

The committee also recommended that all the Accountant Generals of the State that served during the years be referred to the appropriate law enforcement agencies for investigation including KADIRS chairmen.

Others recommended for investigation by the anti-graft agencies include Ms Dolapo Popoola, the immediate past Managing Director of AlL KAPSCO and Mr Muyiwa Adekeye, for Special Adviser to the governor on Media and Communication.

In the same vein, the present Chairman of the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) and the current Executive Secretary, State Pension Bureau were recommended to step aside to give room for unimpeded investigation.

Above all, the committee further recommended that all loans obtained by the Kaduna State Government between 29th May 2015 to 29th May 2023 without due process be treated as not binding on the state.

To give effect to above, the report revealed that the committee advised the state government to stop forthwith honouring all obligations arising from the said loans.

Finally, the report said contractors who have not carried out their projects as well as those that were overpaid should make refund to the state government; putting the mismanaged loans at a total sum of N36.35 billion.

Reacting however, el-Rufa faulted the report and stressed that he served with integrity. Speaking through his media aide, Muyiwa Adekeye, El-Rufa’i said he is proud of his record in service and would not lose sleep over the said report.

The statement read in part: “We are aware of news that the Kaduna State House of Assembly has adopted the report of the ad-hoc committee it asked to probe the el-Rufa’i administration. We have not been availed a copy of the report, to which we would respond robustly whenever we obtain it.

“We affirm the integrity of the el-Rufa’i government and dismiss the scandalous claims being aired as the report of the committee.

“El-Rufa’i wishes to assure discerning Nigerians that he has served Kaduna State with integrity and to the best of his capacity, assisted by a hardworking and patriotic team. He complied with all extant laws in all his activities while he was the governor. This jaundiced probe should be disregarded as the politically motivated hatchet job it is”.

Recall that El-Rufai who was appointed Director General of Bureau for Public Enterprise, brought in Pentascope to manage NITEL, a deal said to have led to the collapse of the national telecommunications service.

In the ensuing probe, El-Rufai was indicted and was later reportedly banned from holding public office in the future.

Fearless, outspoken and a man of astute intellectual acumen, El-Rufai fiercely defended himself and the rest, like we say in Nigeria, is history.

It however remains to be seen how the maverick politician and former governor will emerge from the latest controversy.