Kaduna Assembly begins probe on El-Rufai

The Kaduna State House of Assembly Ad-Hoc Committee has set up a committee to investigate the administration of former Governor Nasir El-Rufai.

The committee, established during the Assembly’s sitting on April 16th, has requested a comprehensive set of documents from the state commissioner of finance.

The probe will include details of all loans acquired during the eight-year period, including financial transactions, contractual liabilities and other matters that were obtained or awarded under the El-Rufai administration.

The deadline for the submission of relevant documents is Thursday, April 25, 2024.

This was stated in a formal communication from the Clerk of the Assembly, Sakinatu Hassan, to the Kaduna State Commissioner of Finance, outlining the scope of the investigation.

“The Kaduna State House of Assembly, at its 150th sitting on Tuesday, April 16, 2024, resolved and constituted an adhoc committee to investigate loans, financial transactions, contractual liabilities and other related matters of the Government of Kaduna state from 29th May, 2015 to 29th May, 2023,” the letter partly read.

The committee has requested the following documents: Total loans: Details from May 2015 to May 2023, including approvals by the Kaduna State House of Assembly, accounts into which the loans were lodged and drawn, and records kept by the project finance management unit and debt management office.

Executive minutes and resolutions; relevant state executive council minutes of meetings, council’s extracts and resolutions regarding the loans.

Contractual payments: records of payments and outstanding liabilities to contractors for the period from May 2015 to May 2023.

Salary reports: reports of salaries paid to staff from 2016 t0 2022, v. Kadris reports: Dloyd reports on Kadris from 2015 to 2023 and loan terms and conditions: details on the terms, purposes and conditions of those loans.

This probe comes after current Governor Uba Sani expressed concerns about the state’s debt burden inherited from the el-Rufai administration.

Sani, while speaking at a town hall meeting in Kaduna, said he inherited a lean treasury and was unable to pay workers’ salaries.

“Despite the huge debt burden of N587 million, N85 billion, and N115 billion in contractual liabilities sadly inherited from the previous administration, we remain resolute in steering Kaduna State towards progress and sustainable development,” Sani said.