Zamfara: Ex-officials Speak on ‘Missing’ N70bn, Seek Impeachment of  Lawal

Alex Enumah in Abuja

Some former government officials of Zamfara State yesterday came up with ‘facts and figures’ surrounding the alleged missing N70 billion from the state government account.

The ex-government officials in a chat with journalists in Abuja, while faulting the claims of the new administration on the issue, called for the impeachment of the Governor Dauda Lawal.

The ex-officials, a former Commissioner of Finance and Economic Planning, Rabiu Garba and his counterpart in Information, Ibrahim Dosara, described the claim of fraud against the immediate past administration of Governor Bello Matawalle, as mischievous and a campaign of calumny.

They predicated their call for the impeachment of  Lawal on alleged involvement in extra budgetary spending without the approval of the State House of Assembly.

“We are calling on the State House of Assembly to impeach the governor for spending outside the budget of the state. He awarded contracts that are not in the budget. A budget primarily is a source document where works and services of government are going to be rendered.  A budget is an act of the state assembly which the governor violated.

“He awarded the contract that was not in the budget.  There was no evidence that the contract awarded was budgeted for because I have a copy of the budget”, Garba alleged.

He added: “There was no virement to support the contracts that were awarded.  There was no evidence that the virement had been received by the State House of Assembly.

“And even, if there is, the state assembly had not attended to that issue, therefore, he was engaged in extra budgetary spending,  which is an impeachable offence and we call on them to commence impeachment proceedings against the governor.”

He alleged that the state government terminated the contract of a company and asked it to return N4. 5 billion.

“The company’s contract has been terminated and the company was asked to refund N4.5 billion for work allegedly not done. It is not true that money was paid without due process. They have revoked the contract illegally and it was awarded to friends and cronies of government.

“The contract was initially awarded for about N25 billion and has now been jacked up to N50 billion after the contract of the company was terminated”, he said, adding that, the company has taken the state government to court over the termination of the contract.

Garba, while stating that the immediate past government will not talk about the matter since it is now in the court, agreed that it is within the right of the contractor to challenge the termination of the contract since it was duly signed and awarded.

He said: “The allegation that the contract was illegally taken by the former government of Matawalle is false.

“The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) went to banks and asked about the contract we executed. The court stopped them from further investigation because they don’t have jurisdiction as it related to the state fund.

“The former chairman of EFCC came to a conclusion that the funds were diverted from the companies to private pocket without knowing that those companies executed contracts on various projects, but he came out to say that the state government diverted N70 billion to 100 private companies for his personal use which is absolutely untrue.

“The only thing is that he cannot go to state government and collect documents of those contract because the court has stopped him and is desperate to nail the former governor.

“That’s the reason he came up with that revelation of N70 billion. The issue of N70 billion does not arise because  N30 billion is for the 14 local governments and the remaining N40 billion is for the state government.”

Also speaking, Dosara said that the government of former Matawalle left the state better than what it is today, claiming that insecurity has been on the increase since the present administration came into office on May 29.

“We left the state better than it is today. The state is exposed to bandits and as things are now, the state capital, Guasau, is not spared.

“Since May 29 when this government came into power, unnecessary Internally Displaced People (IDP) camps have been created. The primary responsibility of protecting lives and property have not been attended to. He should face governance and face allegations that cannot be substantiated,” Dosara said.