A former aide to former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai has denied allegations that his administration siphoned N423.2 billion.
Former Commissioner for Education and Environment, Jafaru Sani, who addressed reporters yesterday, said the allegations are verifiable.
The House of Assembly ad hoc committee had urged authorities to investigate El-Rufai for allegedly diverting N423 billion. The committee said all finances, loans and contracts awarded by El-Rufai’s administration must be investigated for alleged diversion of funds and money laundering.
But Sani said there was a preliminary response to a document on social media purporting to be the ‘Report of the ad hoc Committee on Loans, Financial Transactions, Contractual Liabilities and Other Related Matters of the Government of Kaduna State from 29th May 2015 to 29th May 2023’.
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According to him, nothing has changed since then with regards to receiving a certified true copy of the report, its appendix and video and audio recordings pertaining to the investigations by the House of Assembly committee.
The former commissioner said till date, the House of Assembly has not responded to formal requests for the certified true copy of the report it adopted at its sitting on June 5.
He said: “Why would the House of Assembly be unable to officially release the report to persons who were summoned by its committee which took their testimonies and then proceeded to write baseless recommendations?
“Malam El-Rufai was not invited by the committee which made certain claims against him. And as you know, he has approached the Federal High Court for the enforcement of his fundamental rights as a citizen who is entitled to a fair hearing before his rights can be determined by a quasi-judicial or investigative body or courts, in line with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), and the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights.
“As senior officials in the El-Rufai administration, which served from May 2015 to May 2023, we restate our pride in the dedication and integrity of our service. We have previously described the report circulating on social media as an unprofessional document, tainted by bias, exhibiting no serious interest in establishing facts. It is apparent that the report is riddled with inaccuracies and instances of falsification and misrepresentation of the testimonies provided by invited officials.
“There is a dissonance between its recommendations and the testimonies the committee heard. It bears restating that its conclusions seem to have been decided beforehand and were insulated from the facts. The report is an attempt to inflict maximum reputational damage on certain selected members of the Kaduna State Executive Council, Class of 2015-2023.
“The report indulges in the futility of plucking outlandish figures out of thin air in the hope of solidifying impressions of scandalous and corrupt conduct. The avalanche of figures seems only to have had the effect of mesmerizing the legislators who cite one amount here, and then something different on exactly the same figure…”