The chairman of the Kaduna State House Committee on Information, Henry Marah Zachariah, has alleged that former Governor Nasir El-Rufai’s administration mercilessly looted Kaduna State.
The Kaduna State House of Assembly indicted El-Rufai and several of his aides on Wednesday for allegedly siphoning over N423 billion of the state’s resources from 2015 to 2023.
In response, El-Rufai denied the allegation, saying he served the state with integrity.
Notwithstanding, the House of Assembly asked Governor Uba Sani to refer those indicted, including former commissioners for finance, heads of agencies, and accountants-general who served during the period under review, to relevant security agencies for further investigation.
In an interview on Channels TV’s Politics Today, Marah claimed that the administration of El-Rufai was enmeshed in corruption and had no integrity.
He noted that anyone who signed contracts during El-Rufai would be invited, adding that El-Rufai would be given a chance to defend himself.
He said, “El-Rufai government mercilessly looted Kaduna State. When he came in, the total debt was $235 million. But in his eight years in government, he single-handedly took $758 million dollars. By the time he came into office in 2015 the domestic debt was completely wiped out, but left about N33 billion.
“Go and check his handover note. How much did he leave for us? The money he collected to execute these projects, over 60 percent of the projects were abandoned. It will take Kaduna State 20 years to complete what he left behind. Where is the integrity?”