Dozens of protesters, on Thursday, stormed the Kaduna State Government House to demand the immediate arrest of Nasir El-Rufai.
The protesters, on the platform of the Kaduna Citizens Watch for Good Governance, also demanded thorough investigations into the borrowings and spendings under the El-Rufai administration.
They asked Governor Uba Sani to invite officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and other relevant anti-graft agencies to arrest and prosecute El-Rufai over his administration’s indictment to the tune of N423 billion.
The protesters sang solidarity songs just as they displayed placards with various inscriptions.
Some of the inscriptions read, ‘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’.
Addressing journalists, leader of the protesting group, Comrade Victor Duniya said: “We, the Kaduna Citizens Watch for Good Governance appreciate your presence as we express our grievances today.
“Our 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 10.5 billion naira meant for pastoral nomadism and the construction of the Milk Industry at Damau, Kubau LGA, for the construction of Galaxy Mall, Kaduna.
“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“The report also revealed large sums of money withdrawn from the state treasury without proper documentation of its usage.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 11 billion on a non-existent MRT transportation scheme was documented with no evidence to support it.”
Recall that on March 30, Governor Sani lamented the huge debt burden of $587 million, N85 billion, and 115 contractual liabilities inherited from the previous administration.
The Kaduna State House of Assembly formed an ad-hoc committee to investigate the state’s financial transactions during El-Rufai’s tenure.
The committee recommended a probe of the financial transactions during the previous administration.
The protesters then called on Governor Sani to implement relevant sections of the report that fall under his purview and officially forward the findings of the committee report to relevant anti-corruption agencies to enable them to swing into action and recover the state’s resources at their disposal.
Leader of the group was later received behind closed doors by the Deputy governor, Dr. Hadiza Balarabe, Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Abdulkadir Meyere, Deputy Chief of Staff, Umar Hassan Waziri, Private Personal Secretary (PPS), Professor Bello Ayuba and other officials.
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