From Alfred Babs, Ilorin 

Kwara state government has alleged that about N11.9billion of public funds were stolen from it treasury during the regime of former Governor Abdulfattah Ahmed between 2011 and 2019.

The state government in a statement signed by Rafiu Ajakaye, Chief Press Secretary to the governor on Thursday said that the stolen funds discovered by an audit firm appointed by the government were without any lawful tie to any project or programme.

The statement said that a forensic audit report revealed the alleged fraud amid other mind-boggling revelations of alleged malfeasance within the period of the immediate former administration in the state.

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 to the general election.

But Abdulwahab Oba, Chief Press Secretary to Ahmed said the allegations raised by the government through the audit firm was political, coming three years after the former governor had left office.

Oba in a reaction to the alleged fraud said, “Since we left office more than three years ago, the accounts have been properly audited by various auditing agencies and had been certified. Any query now, six months to election, on the legality or otherwise of the expenditure, are after thought and politically motivated. 

“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.

“Rather than search for what is not lost or embark on 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 at today, Kwara State is paying not less than N1.3 Billion monthly as interest on various largely unaccounted for loans”, Oba said.

“As recently confirmed by His Exellency, Abdulrahman 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. Time of reckoning is here. 

Speaking during the submission of the report to Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq on Thursday, Partner at the SSAC and Professionals, Anthony Iniomoh said, “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.

“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.”

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.

Iniomoh said that the report is in two volumes covering Internally Generated Revenue; Capital Receipts; Internal and External Loans; Recurrent / to market his party and its Presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.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.