Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has accused his successor, Governor Uba Sani, of diverting local government funds to purchase properties in Seychelles, South Africa, and the United Kingdom.
Speaking in an interview with Freedom Radio Kaduna over the weekend, El-Rufai alleged that Sani converted local government allocations into foreign currency to acquire these assets abroad.
El-Rufai insisted that during his tenure, he never tampered with local government allocations, allowing the councils to operate independently after deductions for primary education, healthcare, and other statutory obligations.
“When I was the governor, I never took a kobo from local government funds. We gave them their funds to operate. Once we set aside SUBEB, primary healthcare, and other allocations, we gave them their money. Both the PDP and APC chairmen are alive to bear witness,” he stated.
He further alleged that under the current administration, no local government in Kaduna receives more than ₦50 million per month, claiming that the rest of the funds are diverted and exchanged into dollars for property acquisitions abroad.
He said: “As I speak, no local government in Kaduna receives more than N50 million per month. Once the allocation arrives, they siphon it, exchange it into dollars, and use it to buy properties in Seychelles, South Africa, London, and other places.
“They thought when we keep silent, we are ignorant of what is happening. But we know everything. We know how they divert the money, we know the bureau de change… Those who accuse us of stealing are doing worse than what they accuse us of doing.”
El-Rufai also accused Governor Sani of demanding kickbacks from contractors before awarding contracts, alleging that the governor takes 40% of contract sums as bribes.
“Uba goes to Abuja with contract documents to offer contractors and get 40 percent in kickbacks. We know what is happening. They thought that was how we ran the government, but they are wrong,” he alleged.
He challenged anyone who had ever given him a bribe to come forward, asserting that, unlike his successor, he never personally dealt with contractors but delegated such responsibilities to commissioners and permanent secretaries.
El-Rufai said: “I have never stolen a kobo from anybody. If there is any contractor who had given me a bribe, I challenge him to come forward. When ICPC invited many of the contractors, many of them said they had never met me. You could execute contracts worth billions without seeing me as a governor.”