A day after the Nigerian Pilot exclusively broke the news on the move by the Economic and Financial Crimes, EFCC, to probe key officials in the Governor Rabi’u Kwankwaso administration over the alleged misuse of N240billion belonging to the 44 local government areas, fear has gripped the listed officials.
Nigerian Pilot had yesterday reported the move by the EFCC to probe the misuse of local governments’ funds, which President Goodluck Jonathan exposed when he visited Kano two weeks ago to receive former governor of the state, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau, into the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP fold.
President Jonathan had charged the people of the state to make Governor Kwankwaso account for the money. The EFCC was consequently inundated with petitions on the issue.
A top official of the EFCC told Nigerian Pilot on Wednesday that the commission was already acting on the petitions, hinting that the Secretary to the State Government, SSG, Commissioner for Local Government Affairs, seven members of the Kano State House of Assembly were among persons to be investigated by the commission over the alleged scam.
When Nigerian Pilot visited secretariats of some local government areas, the state secretariat and the House of Assembly complex, the matter was discussed by workers and officials of the state government.
Some prominent politicians were not left out of the debate on the looming investigation.
While some officials endorsed the action, others asked the EFCC to overlook it claiming that the money was judiciously used.
At the Audu Bako State Secretariat which accommodates the ministries and the state Assembly, civil servants in groups spent the day discussing the issue.
Some of them claimed that the misuse of the funds could be the reason why the state government refused to conduct elections into the councils.
A politician, Ibrahim Global Gwammaja said: “We the people in my local government of Municipal are thanking God that Jonathan has exposed Kwankwaso with regard to federal allocation to local councils. We welcome the move by the EFCC and are prepared to work with them.”
But Alhaji Mujahid Babba said “when the EFCC comes they will see the amount of projects that are being executed in the whole of Kano State, including all the 44 local government areas,”
However, a lawyer, Sunusi Musa expressed the belief that nothing would be done to the lawmakers in so far as whatever action they took in respect of local government administration must be seen to have fallen under the provision of section 7 of the 1999 Constitution as amended.
At the Assembly complex, there were no lawmakers on ground as most of them were abroad on the invitation of the United States.
The commissioner for local government affairs who is also the state deputy governor was also not in town. But chief press secretary to Speaker Kabiru Koki told Nigerian Pilot that the lawmakers might return in one or two weeks.
Source: Nigerian Pilot
