Kaduna Assembly wants El-Rufai investigated for ‘funds diversion, money laundering’

The Kaduna State House of Assembly has recommended an investigation into former Governor Nasir el-Rufai’s administration on suspicion of corruption.

El-Rufai, who served as governor from 2015 to 2023, faces accusations of misusing public funds and money laundering.

In April, the Kaduna assembly inaugurated a 13-member ad-hoc committee to examine the loans, grants, and project implementations during el-Rufai’s tenure as governor.

The committee, led by Henry Zacharia, presented a report alleging that loans obtained by the el-Rufai administration were not used for their intended purposes and that many projects were not awarded through a fair process.

The report also recommends prosecuting some of el-Rufai’s former commissioners and officials.

Following the submission of the report, Yusuf Liman, speaker of the Kaduna assembly, asserted that the alleged diversion of public funds and money laundering under el-Rufai should be referred to law enforcement agencies.

“The Governor of Kaduna State between 29th May 2015 and 29th May 2023, as the chief executive officer of the state, breached his oath of office contained in the 7th schedule to the Constitution of Nigeria as amended and failed to exercise due diligence in the administration of the state,” Liman said.

“Plunging the state into unwanted, unjustified, and fraudulent domestic and foreign debt over and above the total loans obtained by Kaduna State from 1965 to 1999, from 1965 to December 31st, 2014, and the majority were obtained without due process.

“Reckless award of contracts without due process led to several abandoned projects, despite payments with no record of utilisation, denying the state the needed resources for development.

“Diversion of funds and money laundering contrary to extant laws and regulations should be referred to the law enforcement agencies for immediate investigation and prosecution.”

On March 30, Uba Sani, the current governor of Kaduna, stated that his administration inherited a debt of $587 million, N85 billion, and 115 contractual liabilities from el-Rufai’s administration.

The governor noted that the substantial debt burden is significantly affecting the state’s share of the monthly federation allocation.