…Denies N423 Billion Diversion Allegation
Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has sharply criticized his successor, Governor Uba Sani, accusing him of fabricating financial figures to tarnish his administration. El-Rufai refuted claims that his government diverted N423,115,028,072.88, calling the allegations baseless and politically motivated.
In a press conference held in Abuja, El-Rufai’s former commissioners dismissed the financial report purportedly indicting them. They argued that the report, made public by the Kaduna State House of Assembly on June 5, 2024, was filled with inconsistent and unsubstantiated figures aimed at discrediting their tenure.
The commissioners, who served from 2015 to 2023, claimed the report was a deliberate attempt by Governor Sani and his team to paint El-Rufai’s administration as corrupt. They pointed out that the report failed to provide concrete evidence or a detailed account of how the alleged funds were misappropriated.
“The report does not show how they arrived at this figure, and how they decided that money had been siphoned, how it was done, from which accounts, and to where,” the commissioners stated. They described the committee’s findings as “voodoo accounting.”
The commissioners also highlighted discrepancies within the report itself, noting that the stated revenue figures were inconsistent and unreliable. They criticized the House of Assembly for adopting these contradictory figures without scrutiny.
Furthermore, the former officials condemned the involvement of Governor Sani’s brother in drafting the report, labeling it unethical. They also questioned the omission of significant testimonies and the lack of attention to the CBN Anchor Borrowers Programme, which had substantial loans under the current administration.
El-Rufai’s team accused key figures in the House of Assembly, including the Speaker, of conflicts of interest. They claimed that the Speaker had personal financial issues that should have disqualified him from presiding over sessions that adopted the committee’s recommendations.
In conclusion, El-Rufai’s former commissioners denounced the report as a politically motivated document lacking credibility and fairness. They vowed not to accept the allegations passively and to defend their reputations against what they described as a premeditated assault.
