N12bn Fraud: Ex-Gov Accuses Kwara Govt Of Political Vendetta

Former Governor of Kwara State, Abdulfatah Ahmed, has reacted to the findings of an audit report alleging that the sum of N12 billion was stolen between 2011 and 2019.
The audit report, commissioned by the State Government, said public funds were looted from the treasury without any project to show for the funds withdrawn
Mr Ahmed, a member of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), was the Governor from 2011 to 2019.
“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 general election,” Rafiu Ajakaiye, the Chief Press Secretary to the current Kwara Governor, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, said in a statement.
Speaking during the submission of the report to the Governor, Partner at the SSAC and Professionals, Anthony Iniomoh, said the report  was 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 of; Kwara State Internal Revenue Service; Infrastructural Fund Kwara (IFK); Harmony Holdings Limited; amongst others.
But in a statement signed by his spokesperson, Wahab Oba, the former Governor said the forensic audit report was “politically motivated.”
He said all expenditures covering his two terms as Governor were appropriated with due process.
“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”, the statement said.
Ahmed said the release of the forensic audit report was suspicious since it was coming months to the 2023 general elections.
“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 the election, on the legality or otherwise of the expenditure, are an 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,” he said.
While absolving himself of any wrongdoing, Mr Ahmed accused the current All Progressive Congress (APC) government in the state of incurring “unaccounted” loans.

“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,” Ahmed said.