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Protesters in Kaduna demand EFCC’s probe of El-Rufai over alleged N423bn indictment

Hallmarknews 2024/9/28
Protesters in Kaduna demand EFCC’s probe of El-Rufai over alleged N423bn indictment 

Protesters on Wednesday, marched to the Sir Kashim Ibrahim House in Kaduna, urging Governor Uba Sani to invite the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to prosecute his predecessor, Nasir El-Rufai over alleged N423 billion misappropriation.

Political crisis has been brewing between El-Rufai and his successor, Senator Uba Sani.

The protesters who gathered under the umbrella of Kaduna Citizens Watch for Good Governance (KCWGG), sang songs in praise of Governor Sani as they walked to the Government House, displaying placards with different inscriptions.

They asked Governor Sani tstop servicing all loans that were not obtained through due process, while urging him to sack all persons indicted by the state assembly panel report.

Speaking, chairman of the protesting group, Comrade Victor Duniya, said the 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,” he said.

”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“The report also revealed large sums of money withdrawn from the state treasury without proper documentation of its usage.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 N11 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 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.”

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, and Private Personal Secretary, PPS, Professor Bello Ayuba, among others.

Duniya said the government officials appreciated the group’s peaceful protest, and assured them that their message would be forwarded to the governor who was unavoidably absent at the time the protesters arrived Government House.

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