Protesters Storm Kaduna Govt House, Demand El-Rufai’s Arrest

Protesters under the auspices of Kaduna Citizens Watch for Good Governance (KCWGG), have stormed the State Government House, Kaduna, to demand the probe of former Governor of the state, Nasir El-Rufai.

Recall that on March 30th, 2024, the incumbent Governor, Uba Sani, revealed during a town hall meeting that the state faced a substantial debt burden of $587 million, N85 billion, and 115 contractual liabilities inherited from El-Rufai’s administration.

He said this led to over 70% of the state’s allocation being used to service the inherited debt.

KCWGG protesters who stormed the Kaduna government house on Thursday sang solidarity songs while carrying placards with different inscriptions that read, ‘We will occupy all MDAs to chase out all indicted persons in the report’. ‘Stop servicing all loans that did not follow due process before they were obtained’.

The protesters called on Sani to invite officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and other relevant agencies to arrest and prosecute El-Rufai over his administration’s indictment to the tune of N423 billion.

While speaking with journalists, the chairman of the protesting group, Comrade Victor Duniya, said the group was at the government house to express their grievances over the previous administration’s mismanagement of state funds.

He also called on Governor Sani to implement relevant sections of the report that fall under his purview and officially forward the findings of the committee report to relevant anti-corruption agencies to enable them to swing into action and recover the state’s resources at their disposal.

He said, “We, the Kaduna Citizens Watch for Good Governance appreciate your presence as we express our grievances today. Our state has endured financial mismanagement, abuse of power, and a growing debt burden for the past eight years.

“The most troubling finding was the diversion of 10.5 billion naira 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“The report also revealed large sums of money withdrawn from the state treasury without proper documentation of its usage.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 11 billion on a non-existent MRT transportation scheme was documented with no evidence to support it.”