Kebbi State House of Assembly has suspended the Chairman of Fakai Local Council, Muhammad Fawa, for alleged corruption, gross misconduct, breach of trust and stealing of the council’s properties.
The House approved the suspension on Wednesday, following adoption of the report of a Special Committee, chaired by Salihu Dangoje, that investigated alleged misconduct and theft by the chairman.
Reading the report, Dangoje revealed that the committee discovered evidence of the chairman’s involvement in the misappropriation of five electrical transformers, meant to be sold at N2.5 million each, and irregular allocation of farmlands.
“The committee found out that the chairman had earlier claimed that the transformers were taken for servicing with the permission of a KEDCO official, but the official failed to appear before the committee for clarification,” he added.
The Guardian gathered that the chairman later confessed to misappropriation and evidence of fund transfers into specific accounts.
The committee also discovered irregularities in the allocation of farmlands, which led to the immediate revocation of the allocations.
Concerning the Mahuta Dam rehabilitation project, the panel noted inconsistencies in the chairman’s claim that the contract was awarded to the ZBCC company.
“The ZBCC project engineer refuted the claim that the company was awarded any contract, adding that their equipment was only hired for supervision,” Dangoje added.
He explained that the committee found no evidence of a contract award despite payment of the contract sum.
“The committee has recommended the chairman’s suspension for six months to the Kebbi State Governor, with the vice chairman to take over,” the committee stated.
Other recommendations include immediate commencement of the Mahuta Dam rehabilitation, revocation of the illegally allocated farmlands, and a commendation letter to the NSCDC Divisional Officer in Fakai for professionalism in handling the transformer incident.
The motion for the chairman’s suspension was moved by Muhammad Buhari Aliero and seconded by Nura Kangiwa, and the Speaker, Muhammad Usman, announced the resolution, saying the suspension takes immediate effect.
