Protesters yesterday stormed the Sir Kashim Ibrahim House in Kaduna, calling on Governor Uba Sani to invite the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, and other relevant security agencies to prosecute former Governor, Nasiru Ahmad El-Rufai over his indictment of over N423 billion.
The protesters in their large number, acting under the aegis of Kaduna Citizens Watch for Good Governance, KCWGG, sang songs in praise of Governor Uba Sani as they walked to the Government House, displaying placards with different inscriptions.
Inscriptions on the placards read: “Stop servicing all loans that did not follow due process before they were obtained”; ”We will occupy all MDAs to chase out all indicted persons in the report,” among others.
Chairman of the protesting group, Comrade Victor Duniya, said the state has endured financial mismanagement, abuse of power, and a growing debt burden for the past eight years.
He said: “The most troubling finding was the diversion of N10.5 billion meant for pastoral nomadism and the construction of the milk industry at Damau, Kubau LGA, for the construction of Galaxy Mall, Kaduna.
”Additionally, the report uncovered overpayments to contractors, payments to unregistered companies, and funds disbursed for work not completed, amounting to over 36.3 billion.
“The report also revealed large sums of money withdrawn from the state treasury without proper documentation of its usage. Furthermore, an expenditure of over N11 billion on a non-existent MRT transportation scheme was documented with no evidence to support it.
“As concerned citizens, we condemn in the strongest terms possible the outright and merciless looting of our state, which has widened the poverty gap in the state by the immediate past administration.
“We commend Governor Uba Sani for holding on to the ideals of democracy he works for by not interfering in the activities of the Kaduna State House of Assembly, as many people expected you to stop the legislative arm of government from doing their work, as it was done in the past.
“We commend Governor Uba Sani for running an open government, where regular consultations are carried out with various stakeholders, especially during town hall meetings.”
“We commend the Kaduna State House of Assembly for the thorough work done in unravelling the financial atrocities committed against our state, despite blackmails and threats from the beneficiaries of the financial heist.
“We call on Governor Uba Sani to implement relevant sections of the report that fall under his purview. We call on the governor to officially forward the findings of the committee report to relevant anti-corruption agencies to enable them swing into action and recover our resources at their disposal.
“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-centered leadership of our dear state.
“We call on security agencies to immediately arrest and prosecute former Governor, Nasir El-Rufai and those he has incited to bring down the government of Senator Uba Sani.
“We appreciate your peaceful presence in our endeavor to bring positive change to our beloved state, despite the challenging weather conditions.”
The chairman of the group, Comrade Duniya, was later received on behalf of the protesters by the Deputy Governor, Hajiya Hadiza Balarabe, Secretary to the State Government, SSG, Abdulkadir Meyere, Deputy Chief of Staff, Umar Hassan Waziri, and Private Personal Secretary, PPS, Professor Bello Ayuba, among others.
Duniya said the government officials appreciated the group’s peaceful protest, and assured them that their message would be forwarded to the governor who was unavoidably absent at the time the protesters arrived Government House.