Kaduna State House of Assembly has recommended that the immediate-past governor of the state, Nasir el-Rufai, be prosecuted for alleged abuse of office and money laundering in his administration.
This was following the investigation of the ad-hoc committee set up by the House, led by Henry Zacharia.
According to the report submitted by Zacharia on Wednesday, most of the loans obtained under el-Rufai’s administration were not used for their intended purpose, and in some cases, due process was not followed in securing the loans.
The committee, therefore, recommended the investigation and prosecution of the ex-governor and some other indicted members of his cabinet by security and anti-corruption agencies for abuse of office through the award of contracts without due process, diversion of public funds, and money laundering.
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TheLeadng recalls that the investigation by the lawmakers focused on the loans, financial transactions, contractual liabilities and other matters that were obtained or awarded under the el-Rufai administration, according to a statement by state lawmakers in April.
“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.
Among the requested documents by the committee for the probe include:
(i) 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 as recorded by the project finance management unit and debt management office.
(ii) Executive minutes and resolutions; relevant state executive council minutes of meetings, council’s extracts and resolutions regarding the loans.
(iii) Contractual payments: records of payments and outstanding liabilities to contractors for the period from May 2015 to May 2023.
(iv) 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, purpose and conditions of those loans.
