A fresh report from the Kaduna State House of Assembly, sent to the State Government, has revealed how former governor Nasir El-Rufai‘s borrowing and spending spree left the state with a significant debt burden.
It was earlier reported that the Kaduna State House of Assembly’s ad hoc committee had submitted a damning report, exposing financial irregularities and corruption during the tenure of former Governor Nasir El-Rufai.
According to THE WHISTLER’s report on Friday, a committee member tasked with probing the former government’s actions shared findings following Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani’s complaints about the state’s overwhelming debt, hampering governance.
The chairman of the ad hoc committee, Henry Zacharia, who also serves as the Deputy Speaker of the House, characterized El-Rufai’s actions as reckless and a display of financial malpractice unprecedented in the state.
The 175-page report stated that from 1965 to December 31, 2014, the total foreign loans documented in the state’s handover note amounted to $234 million, prior to El-Rufai assuming office in 2015.
Upon assuming office, the former FCT minister inherited a situation where all domestic loans had been settled, as indicated in the signed handover notes by both outgoing and incoming Governors.
The reports highlighted that El-Rufai inherited ₦34 billion; however, between May 2015 and May 2023, the administration borrowed ₦98.912 billion and $758,141,699 million in local and foreign loans, respectively.
The committee flagged instances of improper loan procurement and misuse, revealing that the administration’s revenue, comprising loans, federal allocation (FAAC), internally generated revenue (IGR), grants, refunds, and interventions, totaled ₦1,497,682,993.375 and $758,141,699.
The report accused El-Rufai of using “unauthorized Debit cards” to withdraw “through 3rd parties the sum of ₦721,672,854.88 from the Internally Generated Revenue Account of the State.”
According to the committee, El-Rufai through “the Ministry of Finance in collaboration with KADIRS siphoned the sum of ₦30,000,000,000.00 from the internally Generated Revenue account of the State.”
It reported that from May 29, 2015, to May 29, 2023, ₦510,407,166,975.39 worth of contracts were awarded, out of which only ₦198,921,880,169.04 was paid to contractors.
The committee said “the total contractual liabilities found by the Committee as at 29th May, 2023 stand at the sum of N311,485,286,806.35 and $26,284,595.53 (USD) respectively.”
While explaining that “the public liability (Gratuity and Pension) as at 29th May, 2023 stood at ₦23,993,700,494.91,” it said “the Liability of the Kaduna State Government to the Consultants engaged between 29th May, 2015 and 29th May, 2023 is ₦602,026,388.55.”
The committee accused El-Rufai of using the Commissioner of Finance and Accountant General to withdraw ₦4,936,916,333.00 and $1.4 million respectively.
It added that “the total amount of money syphoned by the Government of Kaduna State from 29th May, 2015 to 29th May, 2023 is ₦423,115,028,072.88.”
Meanwhile, the former Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, has vehemently denounced the recent probe by the Kaduna State House of Assembly into his administration as a politically motivated attack.
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