A forensic audit report submitted to Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrasaq in Ilorin on Thursday accused the Abdulfatah Ahmed administration of siphoning off N11.9 billion belonging to the state government.
The forensic audit report noted that this was done between 2011 and 2019 without any lawful tie to any project or programme adding that there were ‘other mind-boggling revelations of alleged malfeasance within the period’.
The audit 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 last 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 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 showed 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 a 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 a thing 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 submitted during the presentation of the forensic audit report on Thursday.
The report asked 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.
Giving his speech, 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 a few things you have said now, it is mind-boggling especially the withdrawal 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’ he said.
Team@orientactualmags.com learned the event was attended by the Secretary to the State Governor Prof. Mamma Saba Jubril; Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice , Senior Ibrahim Suleiman; Commissioner for Finance, Florence Olasumbo Oyeyemi; the state Accountant General , AbdulGaniyu Sani and the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Abdulrazaq Folorunsho.
Other members of the audit firm are Tijani Dako and Bamidele Sobiye.
Former Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed in a statement on Thursday evening however denied allegations that N11.9 billion was siphoned off on his watch.
He asserted that everything the Abdulrahman Abdulrasaq administration had done with regard to the audit exercise was ‘politics-infused’.
‘The allegations are preposterous, naive, unspecific and generally unfounded. Every expenditure during the period under review was properly appropriated and due process was followed. If there were infractions as alleged, there are laid down procedures for corrections.
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 in respect of the legality or otherwise of the expenditure six months to the General Election is an afterthought and politically- motivated.
Rather than search for what is not lost or embark on political vendetta, this Government should account for more than N.3trillion it had gotten in the last three years without commensurate infrastructure development. The debt profile of this government is unprecedented in the history of Kwara state. As at today, Kwara state is paying no less than N1.3 Billion monthly as interest on various largely unaccounted for loans.
As recently confirmed by His Excellency, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq during 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 also tell Kwarans when last the State Executive Council meeting was held to approve various contracts and other expenditures. Time of reckoning is here’ he said- Team@orientactualmags.com
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