The Kaduna State House of Assembly has initiated an investigation into the financial dealings of former Governor Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai.
The probe committee, recently established, has begun its work.
The committee’s mandate is to scrutinize transactions from May 29, 2015, to May 29, 2023. The House of Assembly has set a deadline for the submission of relevant documents, requiring that “30 copies of the memo/documents should be submitted to the office of the Clerk to the Legislature by 10:00 am on Thursday, April 25th, 2024.”
Barrister Sakinatu Hassan Idris, Clerk to the Legislature, communicated this directive in an official letter to the state Commissioner of Finance, outlining the scope of the investigation.
The probe will focus on various areas, including El-Rufai’s loans, financial transactions, contractual obligations, and other pertinent issues.
The letter stated, “The Kaduna State House of Assembly, at its 150th Sitting on Tuesday, April 16, 2024, resolved and constituted an Ad-Hoc Committee to investigate Loans, Financial Transactions, Contractual Liabilities & Other Related Matters of The Government of Kaduna State from 29th May, 2015 to 29 May, 2023.”
The committee’s role, defined in line with the Assembly’s Standing Orders and Rules of 2019, as well as Sections 103, 128, and 129 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as Amended), involves a comprehensive review of the state’s financial practices.
The Assembly’s correspondence, identified as LEG/S.382/VOL.II/615, asked the Commissioner to provide a significant amount of documentation.
The documents requested include:
- Total Loans: Details from May 2015 to May 2023, including approvals by the Kaduna State House of Assembly, accounts where the loans were deposited, and withdrawals as recorded by the Project Finance Management Unit (PFMU) & Debt Management Office (DMO).
- Executive Minutes and Resolutions: Relevant State Executive Council minutes of meetings, council extracts, and resolutions regarding the loans.
- Contractual Payments: Records of payments and outstanding liabilities to contractors for the period from May 2015 to May 2023.
- Salary Reports: Reports of salaries paid to staff from 2016 to 2022.
- KADRIS Reports: Dloyd Reports on KADRIS from 2015 to 2023.
- Loan Terms and Conditions: Details on the terms, purpose, and conditions of those loans.
- Appropriation Records: Appropriation items related to the loans.
- Payments to Contractors: All records of payments made to all contractors engaged by the state government and relevant documents from May 2015 to May 2023, including bank statements.
- Payment Modalities: Modalities for payments of contracts.
- Government Property Sales: Documents of all payments made to the contractors, sales of government houses/properties, accounts the proceeds were deposited, and how the money was used.
The Clerk stressed the urgency and importance of complying with this request, stating, “Accordingly, I am directed to request you to forward to the Ad-Hoc Committee Memorandum accompanied with the under-listed documents and all other documents you consider relevant to the assignment of the Committee.”
The Kaduna State House of Assembly has set a deadline for the submission of these documents: “30 copies of the memo/documents must be delivered to the office of the Clerk to the Legislature by Thursday, April 25th, 2024.”
