Would you like to receive notifications on latest updates of the following headlines?

El-Rufai’s Aides Dismiss N423bn Allegation Fraud

POSTED ON July 10, 2024 •   Politics      BY Benedicta Bassey
Ex-Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai/ Photo credit: Guardian

Former aides of ex-Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, have faulted the N423bn fraud allegation against the immediate-past government in the state.

They claimed that Governor Uba Sani’s administration had been drawing from the various foreign loans facilitated by El-Rufai.

The ex-officials dismissed accusations that the El-Rufai government drew down the loans before it exited office in May 2023.

This was contained in a statement on Tuesday, jointly signed by former Commissioner of Environment, Jafaru Sani, Hafsat Baba (ex-commissioner, Ministry of Human Services), Thomas Gyang (Public Works and Infrastructure), Bashir Saidu (Ministry of Finance), Ibrahim Husaini (Ministry of Agriculture), Aisha Dikko (Ministry of Justice),  Fausat Ibikunle (Ministry of Housing and Urban Development), and Idris Nyam, ex-commissioner, Ministry of Business, Innovation and Technology.

Recall that an ad hoc committee set up by the Kaduna State House of Assembly to investigate all finances, loans and contracts awarded under the immediate-past governor indicted El-Rufai and some of his appointees of siphoning N423bn state funds.

The Assembly, while adopting the report of the 13-man panel, asked the state governor to refer El-Rufai, his finance commissioner and other aides to relevant security agencies for investigation.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission subsequently set up a panel to investigate the alleged fraud.

But responding to the allegation, the former environment commissioner, Sani, described it as exaggerated, saying that the number of loans listed in the probe report had been contracted and funds disbursed before May 2023.

In the statement Sani read on behalf of other ex-cabinet members, he said, “Some loans were negotiated and agreed, as part of the aspirations for the progress and development of the state.

“However, disbursement of several of these loans listed in the (probe report pages 112-116) had not commenced by the time of the exit of the El-Rufai administration in May 2023.

“These include a $280m loan for the Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project. A $150m loan is alleged to have been received from the African Development Bank for the Kaduna Special Agro-Processing Zone.

“The El-Rufai government is justly proud of the planning and hard work its team did to ensure that Kaduna State made the first list of states selected for the SAPZs. However, AfDB had not commenced the disbursement of the loan by May 2023.’’

The ex-aide further said that contrary to the assertions in the probe report, it is the French Development Agency, and not the African Development Bank, that provided the $130.7m loan for the Kaduna Bus Rapid Transport System, adding that no cent was disbursed before the last administration’s exit.

The statement also listed other loans facilitated by the El-Rufai administration but which were being drawn by the Sani government, including the $20m loan for the Livestock Productivity and Resilience Support Project and the $62.8m Reaching-Out-of-School Children project.

It noted, “The (probe) report also listed some loans as fully disbursed when they were only partly disbursed during the El-Rufai administration. These include ACReSAL: Only $2m was received by the Kaduna State Government for the Agro-Climatic Resilience Semi-Arid Landscapes before May 2023, all of which was left intact for the successor government.

“Ascribing $494m XDR as the amount disbursed to the state, as the report does, merely continues the pattern of patent falsehood. Only $23.88m was received for AGILE as of May 2023, not the $280m stated in the report."

READ ALSO
Tinubu Orders Urgent Repairs on Flood-Damaged Bridge in Mokwa
BY Abiodun Saheed Omodara June 4, 2025 0

NIGER, Nigeria (NAN)- President Bola Tinubu has instructed the Federal Ministry of Works to repair t...

READ ALSO
Road Maintenance Crisis: FERMA Requires N880 Billion Yearly Amid Budget Shortfalls
BY Abiodun Saheed Omodara June 3, 2025 0

ABUJA, Nigeria - The Federal Government needs approximately N880 billion each year for the upkeep of...

READ ALSO
PDP Leaders Slam Minister for Backing Tinubu's 2027 Campaign
BY Abiodun Saheed Omodara June 3, 2025 0

The People’s Democratic Party (PDP), New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Coalition of United Pol...

READ ALSO
Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan Set to Appear in Court as F G Files Defamation Charges
BY Abiodun Saheed Omodara June 2, 2025 0

The suspended senator for Kogi Central Senatorial District, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, is scheduled to...

READ ALSO
Sanusi, El-Rufai, and Yusuf Discuss Nigeria's Poverty and Governance
BY Abiodun Saheed Omodara June 1, 2025 0

ABUJA, Nigeria - Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, the Emir of Kano and ex-Governor of the Central Bank of Niger...

READ ALSO
Cabinet Reshuffle Looms: President Tinubu Set to Announce Changes Post-Eid
BY Abiodun Saheed Omodara June 1, 2025 0

If everything goes smoothly, President Bola Tinubu is expected to announce his cabinet members who w...

READ ALSO
Tinubu Commits to Collaborative Efforts with AfDB's New Leadership, Congratulate Sidi Tah
BY Abiodun Saheed Omodara May 30, 2025 0

President Bola Tinubu has praised the election of Sidi Tah as the ninth president of the African Dev...

READ ALSO
Oshiomhole, Sowore Clashes Over Nigeria's democracy
BY Abiodun Saheed Omodara May 29, 2025 0

The 2023 Presidential Candidate for the African Action Congress, Omoyele Sowore, and the Senator for...

OUR CHANNELS:

70-Year-Old Faces Manslaughter Charges After Fatal Accident
BY Abiodun Saheed Omodara June 4, 2025 0

LAGOS, Nigeria - A 70-year-old man, Isiaka Afolayan, has been detained for careless driving and the...


Police Arrest 49 years old Suspect for Abduction of Two-Month-Old Baby
BY Abiodun Saheed Omodara June 4, 2025 0

DELTA, Nigeria - The police in Delta reported the arrest of a suspect named Joy Temitope for the abd...


43 Lives Lost in Benue Armed Attacks
BY Abiodun Saheed Omodara June 4, 2025 0

BENUE, Nigeria - At least 43 individuals lost their lives when armed assailants targeted communities...


Health Equity: Nigeria's Push for Universal Health Coverage
BY Abiodun Saheed Omodara June 4, 2025 0

In alignment with the global effort towards Universal Health Coverage (UHC), Nigeria is striving to...


Road Maintenance Crisis: FERMA Requires N880 Billion Yearly Amid Budget Shortfalls
BY Abiodun Saheed Omodara June 4, 2025 0

ABUJA, Nigeria - The Federal Government needs approximately N880 billion each year for the upkeep of...


Okocha Urges Victor Osimhen to Consider Staying at Galatasaray
BY Abiodun Saheed Omodara June 4, 2025 0

Nigerian football icon Jay-Jay Okocha has shared advice with Victor Osimhen amid growing speculation...


60,000 Nigerians Abroad Register on Diaspora Data Mapping Portal
BY Abiodun Saheed Omodara June 4, 2025 0

Approximately 60,000 Nigerians residing overseas have registered on the Diaspora Data Mapping Portal...


PDP Leaders Slam Minister for Backing Tinubu's 2027 Campaign
BY Abiodun Saheed Omodara June 3, 2025 0

The People’s Democratic Party (PDP), New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Coalition of United Pol...


Gunmen Shot Dead Real Estate Investor, Abduct Wife
BY Abiodun Saheed Omodara June 4, 2025 0

OWERRI, Nigeria - A real estate investor lost his life after being attacked and fatally shot by a gr...


JUST IN: Former Super Eagles Star Emmanuel Udoh Passes Away
BY Abiodun Saheed Omodara June 4, 2025 0

The team manager of Akwa United and a former defender for the Super Eagles, Emmanuel Udoh, has been...


More Articles

Load more...

Menu