The Chief Press Secretary to former Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed, Alhaji Wahab Oba has described the Kwara State government’s allegation of looting of N11.9b by his principal as preposterous and unfounded,
He said Governor AbulRahman AbdulRazaq should rather account for over N.3trillion revenues that had accrued to the state in the last three years without a commensurate infrastructural development.
Midlandpost reported on Thursday that a whopping N11.9bn of public funds were allegedly stolen from the treasury of Kwara State government between 2011 and 2019, the eight-year tenure of Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed without any lawful tie to any project or programme, as revealed by a forensic audit report.
The revelation, according to a statement by the spokesman of Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, Rafiu Ajakaye in Ilorin on Thursday, was made by Partner at the SSAC and Professionals, Anthony Iniomoh, while submitting the two volumes audit report to Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq. READ: FORENSIC AUDIT REPORT INDICTS FORMER KWARA GOV. ABDULFATAH AHMED, SAYS N11.9BN STOLEN FROM TREASURY BETWEEN 2011-2019
The audit also showed that N2bn cash withdrawals not tied to any project or official expenditure were made within eight days in February 2019, barely one month before the general election.
Speaking during the submission of the report to Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq on Thursday, 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 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,” Inumoh said at the presentation of the report.
“These and others have been recommended to be referred to an Administrative Panel of Enquiry. The report said in part.
Reacting in a statement, Oba said “The allegations are preposterous, naive unspecific and generally unfounded. Every expenditure during the period under review was properly appropriated and followed due process. If there were infractions as alleged, there are laid down procedures for correction.
According to him, since Governor Ahmed left office more than three years ago, the accounts had been properly audited by various auditing agencies and had been certified.
“Any query now, six months to the election, on the legality or otherwise of the expenditure, are afterthought and politically motivated.
“Rather than search for what is not lost or embark on a political vendetta, this Government should account for more than N.3trillion accruing to it in the last three years without commensurate infrastructural development. The debt profile of this government is unprecedented in the history of Kwara State. As of today, Kwara State is paying not less than N1.3 Billion monthly as interest on various largely unaccounted-for loans.
“As recently confirmed by His Excellency, AbdulRaham AbdulRazak in his guided chat with his media agents, N17 billion out of N27 billion bond is "sitting in a bank" while the state continues to pay interest on it. This raises a lot of questions as to the reason the bond was taken in the first place.
“The Governor should tell Kwarans when last he held a State Executive Council meeting to approve various contracts and other expenditures”. The statement concluded
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