Kaduna assembly recommends probe of El-Rufai for ?funds diversion, money laundering?

The Kaduna State House of Assembly and an ad hoc committee setup to review all funds, loans, and contracts given under the tenure of former governor Nasir El-Rufai, has recommended the probe of the probe of the former governor.  

The chairman of the ad hoc committee, Henry Zacharia, presented a report of the committee’s findings during plenary on Wednesday, June 5. The report found that most loans obtained under El-Rufai’s administration were not used for their intended purpose, and that due process was not followed in some cases.

Receiving the report, Yusuf Liman, Speaker of the Kaduna House of Assembly, said that the El-Rufai government took a total of N423 billion, leaving the state with huge liabilities.

As a result, the committee recommended that El-Rufai and other indicted members of his cabinet be investigated and prosecuted by security and anti-corruption agencies for abuse of office through the award of contracts without due process, diversion of public funds, money laundering, and plunging Kaduna State into deep debt.

The committee recommended suspending the Kaduna State Commissioner of Finance Shizer Badda, who also served under El-Rufai’s government, and the head of the state universal basic education board. It also called for a comprehensive inquiry of several key appointments of the previous government by competent law enforcement and anti-corruption authorities.