On Thursday, protesters stormed the Kaduna Government House, urging Governor Uba Sani to involve the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and other relevant security agencies to arrest and prosecute his predecessor, Nasir El-Rufai, over an alleged misappropriation of N423 billion.
The protesters, part of the Kaduna Citizens Watch for Good Governance, marched from the UTC bus stop along Sokoto Road to the main entrance of Sir Kashim Ibrahim Government House in Kaduna.
They carried placards with messages such as, “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,” and “Jimi Lawal almost killed Kaduna State the way he killed a bank some years ago.”
According to The PUNCH, an ad hoc committee set up by the Kaduna State House of Assembly investigated the finances, loans, and contracts awarded under El-Rufai’s administration.
The committee’s report, submitted on Wednesday, indicated that many loans obtained between 2015 and 2023 were not used for their intended purposes. Led by Henry Zacharia, the Deputy Speaker of the House, the committee recommended the prosecution of El-Rufai and other indicted cabinet members for abuse of office and money laundering.
The probe was initiated after Governor Sani revealed that he inherited a significant debt from El-Rufai’s administration, making it difficult to pay workers’ salaries.
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Sani, speaking at a town hall meeting in Kaduna, stated, “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.”
El-Rufai’s son, Bashir, reacted to Sani’s revelation on social media, accusing the current governor of avoiding responsibility.
Addressing the press, the protesters’ leader, Comrade Victor Duniya, urged Governor Sani to implement the relevant sections of the House of Assembly’s ad hoc committee report and forward its findings to the EFCC and other agencies to recover the misappropriated N423 billion.
He praised the governor for his non-interference in the probe and commended the committee for their thorough investigation.
Duniya stated, “We commend the Kaduna State House of Assembly for the thorough work done in unravelling the financial atrocities committed against our state.
We call on Governor Uba Sani to implement relevant sections of the report that fall under his purview.
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.”
The Deputy Governor, Hajiya Hadiza Balarabe, along with other government officials, received Duniya on behalf of the protesters, assuring them that their message would be forwarded to the governor.
