A recent 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.
Naija News previously reported that the Kaduna State House of Assembly’s ad hoc committee submitted a critical report exposing financial irregularities and corruption during El-Rufai’s tenure.
According to a report from THE WHISTLER on Friday, a committee member investigating the former administration shared findings in response to complaints from Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani about the state’s overwhelming debt, which is hindering governance.
The chairman of the ad hoc committee, Henry Zacharia, who is also the Deputy Speaker of the House, described El-Rufai’s actions as reckless and unprecedented financial malpractice in the state. The 175-page report stated that from 1965 to December 31, 2014, the total foreign loans recorded in the state’s handover notes amounted to $234 million before El-Rufai took office in 2015.
Upon taking office, the former FCT minister inherited a situation where all domestic loans had been settled, as indicated in the signed handover notes by both the outgoing and incoming Governors.
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The report highlighted that El-Rufai inherited ₦34 billion; however, between May 2015 and May 2023, the administration borrowed ₦98.912 billion and $758,141,699 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 third 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 ₦30,000,000,000 from the state’s internally generated revenue account.
It reported that from May 29, 2015, to May 29, 2023, ₦510,407,166,975.39 worth of contracts were awarded, of which only ₦198,921,880,169.04 was paid to contractors.
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The committee stated that “the total contractual liabilities as of May 29, 2023, amount to ₦311,485,286,806.35 and $26,284,595.53 (USD) respectively.”
While explaining that “the public liability (gratuity and pension) as of May 29, 2023, stood at ₦23,993,700,494.91,” it noted that “the liability of the Kaduna State Government to the consultants engaged between May 29, 2015, and May 29, 2023, is ₦602,026,388.55.”
The committee accused El-Rufai of using the Commissioner of Finance and the Accountant General to withdraw ₦4,936,916,333.00 and $1.4 million respectively.
It added that “the total amount of money siphoned by the Government of Kaduna State from May 29, 2015, to May 29, 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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