N11.9bn stolen from Kwara treasury between 2011-2019 –Report – Newstrends
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N11.9bn stolen from Kwara treasury between 2011-2019 –Report

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Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq

• Says N2bn cash withdrawn one month to poll

The report also showed that N2 billion cash withdrawals not tied to any project or official expenditure were made within eight days in February 2019, barely one month to the general election.

Speaking during the submission of the report to Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, yesterday, Partner at the SSAC and Professionals Anthony Iniomoh said the report is in two volumes covering Internally Generated Revenue; Capital Receipts; Internal and External Loans; Recurrent/Overhead Expenditure; Personnel Cost (Salaries and Wages); Capital Expenditure; Assets Disposed; Kwara State Internal Revenue Service; Infrastructural Fund Kwara (IFK); Harmony Holdings Limited; amongst others.

“A few highlights of our findings may be necessary for the record. Our forensic audit revealed a colossal pilfering of N11, 981,268,709 which we recommended should be recovered to the public coffers. Similarly, we recommended to the state government to prosecute certain officers and companies in addition to claiming exemplary damages on transactions totalling N6,023,358,444, amongst other key findings.

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“This is especially so in the cases of firms that we observed were paid huge public funds without any evidence of work done on record. In one instance, records show that a firm that was incorporated at the Corporate Affairs Commission on 14th June, 2016 was paid by the state government for a contract it purportedly executed for the state in April of the same year. It became apparent that this was a preconceived attempt to defraud the state.

“There was an instance of public officer getting paid at two different places for years, which is a clear breach of the law. Other infractions arising as a result of obvious conflict of interest and violation of due process were also spotlighted for the government to draw up new policy instruments to prevent such in the future.

“There was also a cash withdrawal within 8 days of N2.06 billion in February 2019 which was of interest to the audit. However, no documentation was made available to validate the purpose for which the money was withdrawn. There were also several other cash withdrawals within the state over the period running into billions of Naira which we could not validate.

“These and others have been recommended to be referred to an Administrative Panel of Enquiry. Furthermore, the audit revealed that loans were obtained by the Kwara State Government within the period under review.

“The elements of these loans could not be validated. Above all, the bank accounts to which these loans were disbursed to and what the loans were used for could not be established or validated,” Inumoh said at the presentation of the report.

The report suggested to the government to prosecute some individuals and firms indicted in the two volume report, while other issues are to be referred to administrative panel of inquiry for some individuals to explain their roles in the many  infractions.

Governor AbdulRazaq said the revelations were truly disturbing but hardly surprising, given the patterns of events in those years.

“We thank you for the robust work. It confirms what we have been saying all along. We also saw that it has taken a bit of time and I know that there were certain deliberate efforts to obstruct your work. That was why it has taken some time because you have made certain complaints about that and we tried to push those that were supposed to open the doors to make the doors easy for you.

“Your report, like others, will help us to steadily put the state in the right direction to deepen transparency and accountability. We will go through the report fully and look into your recommendations. With few things you said know, it is mind-boggling especially withdrawing cash of over N2 billion a month to the election and all sorts of infractions that took place. Certainly, we shall progress from here and do the needful.”

The event was attended by the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Mamma Saba Jubril; Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice Senior Ibrahim Suleiman; Commissioner for Finance Florence Olasumbo Oyeyemi; Accountant General of the State AbdulGaniyu Sani; Permanent Secretary Ministry of Finance Abdulrazaq Folorunsho.

Other members of the audit firm are Tijani Dako and Bamidele Sobiye.

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Defamation: Court orders arrest of prophet, two others

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Defamation: Court orders arrest of prophet, two others

Justice Olaolu Olanipekun of Oyo State Magistrates’ Court 7 sitting in Iyaganku, Ibadan, has issued a warrant for the arrest of a prophet of a Cherubim and Seraphim (C&S) church, Ojo Amos (aka Elewuogbo).

Justice Olanipekun ordered that Elewuogbo and his two sureties be arrested and detained for jumping bail.

Elewuogbo is on trial for alleged defamation of character of the Founder of One Love Family, Sat Guru Maharaj Ji.

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Elewuogbo and a Lagos-based blogger, Gbenga Asabe, had, through publications, accused Maharaj Ji of selling human body parts for money rituals.

The court also granted request for consolidation of the cases against Elewuogbo and Asabe brought by Maharaj Ji’s counsel, Dapo Akinosi.

Akinosi prayed the court that since the facts were related, they should be merged. The court granted the application and adjourned the case till April 30.

Defamation: Court orders arrest of prophet, two others

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Students drag university to court over payment of registration fees

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Students drag university to court over payment of registration fees

Three students of one of the universities in northern part of the country, Al-qalam University, Katsina, have dragged the institution to a High Court in Katsina over payment of registration fees.

The applicants, Hauwa’u Sani-Barda, Rabi’atu Sani-Barda and Hafsat Sani-Barda, all students of the respondent, got admission in 2018 and 2019, and graduated in 2022 and 2023.

They, however, claimed that the respondents had refused to mobilise them for the mandatory National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), because they had not settled all fees due to the institution.

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During the proceedings on Thursday, the applicants’ counsel, Muhammad Mukhtar-Lawal, told the court that his clients had filed an exparte motion in pursuance to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).

Mukhtar-Lawal said that the application sought the leave of the court to apply for judicial review.

After the counsel’s submission, the judge, Justice Abbas Bawale, said that the applicants should have filed a motion on notice.

Bawale, however, granted a leave order to the applicants to apply for judicial review by way of mandamus.
He said after that, processes would be served on the university and enable the court to hear the case.

Students drag university to court over payment of registration fees

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NAFDAC busts fake Eva water factory, arrests suspect

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NAFDAC busts fake Eva water factory, arrests suspect

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has exposed a counterfeit bottled water operation in Port Harcourt, specifically targeting the renowned brand Eva water.

Following a tipoff, NAFDAC officials conducted a raid on a derelict shop situated on Pipeline Road, Eneka.

The establishment disguised as a pool house and served as the hub for producing the fraudulent water.

During the operation, authorities discovered that used Eva plastic bottles were being refilled with contaminated water sourced from a paint bucket.

The water was then filtered through unhygienic rubber funnels covered with cloth.

Counterfeit Eva labels were affixed to the bottles, which were subsequently sealed with fake Eva corks.

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One suspect, identified as Chibunna James, was apprehended while in the process of loading the adulterated water for distribution. However, the mastermind behind the operation remains at large.

The confiscated products were promptly evacuated to the NAFDAC office for further investigation and analysis.

Cyril Monye, NAFDAC’s Public Relations Officer for Rivers State, disclosed that the scheme of the perpetrators involved repackaging contaminated water in used Eva bottles, employing makeshift filters made from unsanitary materials, and applying fake labels and corks to deceive consumers.

While efforts are underway to locate and apprehend the ringleader of the syndicate, NAFDAC urges the public to provide any relevant information that could aid in their apprehension.

Furthermore, Monye revealed that thirty packs of the counterfeit products were confiscated and transported to the NAFDAC office in Port Harcourt for thorough investigation. To prevent the circulation of the counterfeit water, the uncorked bottles were emptied and disposed of.

NAFDAC busts fake Eva water factory, arrests suspect

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