Protesters recently stormed Kaduna Government House requesting Governor Uba Sani to invite the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and other relevant security agencies to apprehend and prosecute former Governor Nasir El-rufai, over an indictment of N423 billion.
The protesters were many under the aegis of Kaduna Citizens Watch for Good Governance. They walked from the popular UTC bust stop along Sokoto Road to the main entrance of Sir Kashim Ibrahim Government House, Kaduna.
They carried placards with inscriptions like “We will occupy all MDAs to chase out all indicted persons in the report,” “Stop servicing all loans that did not follow due process before they were obtained,” “Jimi Lawal almost killed Kaduna State the way he killed a bank some years ago,” among others.
An ad hoc committee constituted by the Kaduna State House of Assembly to investigate every finance, loan, and contract awarded under El-Rufai has submitted its report to the House.
The committee revealed that most of the loans obtained under El-Rufai’s administration between 2015 and 2023 were not used for the purpose for which they were obtained.
The committee led by Henry Zacharia, the Deputy Speaker of the House, recommended the prosecution of El-Rufai, and some other indicted members of his cabinet by security and anti-corruption agencies for abuse of office and money laundering while in office as well as putting Kaduna State into heavy debt.
The State Assembly’s probe became necessary after the lamentation of the incumbent governor that El-Rufai left him a huge debt profile.
While speaking during a town hall meeting in Kaduna, Sani said he inherited a lean treasury, adding that he could not pay workers’ salaries.
He said: “Despite the huge debt burden of N587m, N85bn, and N115bn contractual liabilities sadly inherited from the previous administration, we remain resolute in steering Kaduna State towards progress and sustainable development.
“We have conducted a thorough assessment of our situation and are sharpening our focus accordingly.”
The revelation by Sani generated reactions from many quarters, including El-Rufai’s son, Bashir, who took to X and accused his father’s successor of shying away from his responsibility.
While addressing newsmen, the leader of the protesters, Comrade Victor Duniya, urged the state governor to implement relevant sections of the House of Assembly ad-hoc committee report on El-Rufai and others who were indicted.
He also urged the governor to forward the findings of the House Committee report to the EFCC and other relevant agencies to begin the process of recovering the N423 billion allegedly misappropriated by the former governor and others indicted.
He commended Sani for not interfering in the probe and lauded the ad-hoc committee of the state assembly for a thorough job.
Duniya said: “We commend the Kaduna State House of Assembly for the thorough work done in unravelling the financial atrocities committed against our state, despite blackmail and threats 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 to 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-centred 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.”