Alleged N423bn Fraud: Kaduna Assembly Tells el-Rufai’s Ex-Appointees To Prepare For Anti-graft Agencies

The Kaduna State House of Assembly has charged senior political appointees that served under former Governor Nasir el-Rufai to prepare their defences before the anti-corruption agencies and court of law, rather than engaging in media war.

The Chairman of the fact-finding committee of the House who is also the Deputy Speaker of the Assembly, Barr. Henry Magaji, in a statement on Wednesday, noted that the former appointees resorted to name calling and wild allegations on the motivations for the House Probe during a press conference they addressed in Abuja.

Magaji described the press conference as a rehash of the vituperations and innuendoes heaped on the Assembly by the former appointees in their first press briefing, maintaining that there was nothing new that should warrant their new response.

The Deputy Speaker stressed that they also failed to address the main issue, which he alleged as systematic and coordinated cornering of the resources of Kaduna State through phoney contracts and outright looting.

“The State House of Assembly, in line with its constitutional mandate and in response to public demand, carried out a thorough probe into the humongous debts incurred by the immediate-past administration without commensurate projects.

“We dug deep and unearthed the monumental heist carried out in Kaduna State in the guise of projects execution. Our findings revealed a litany of poorly executed projects, abandoned projects, and projects that exists only in the imagination of executive scammers.

“We have called on anti-corruption agencies to step in and invite indicted persons for questioning. It is the anti-corruption agencies that can either validate or disprove our findings, not individuals who spent their days in public office cornering the common patrimony of the people of Kaduna State and mortgaging the future of its children and grandchildren,” Magaji said.

He urged the former appointees to deploy their energies towards preparing their defences before the anti-corruption agencies, and eventually the courts, adding that, “the House of Assembly is not in a battle of wits with them. We have done our duty to the people of Kaduna State. Let them answer to the charges of malfeasance, abuse of office, disrespect for the law and due process leveled against them.”

The Deputy Speaker reminded that the lawmakers are currently in court against el-Rufai over the issue of fair hearing, and will not comment on the matter as it would amount to sub judice, but insisted that the Assembly will stand for the rule of law and due process.

“We are elected representatives of the people. We are accountable to the people. We have a constitutional responsibility to make laws and carry out functions for the welfare, safety and security of the people. The probe carried out by the House is in furtherance of the oath we took to advance the interests of the people of Kaduna State.

“The few political appointees who have been making desperate but futile moves to denigrate the House and cover up the alleged fraud perpetrated by the previous government represent no one but themselves.

“If they genuinely have the interest of Kaduna State and are truly men and women of integrity, they would have applied themselves to developing the state instead of participating in the alleged pilfering of its scarce resources,” the statement added.