El-Rufai makes shocking allegations, names Governor that’s embezzling Local Govt monies to buy properties abroad
El-Rufai makes shocking allegations, names Governor that’s embezzling Local Govt monies to buy properties abroad
Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, the former governor of Kaduna State, has made grave accusations against Senator Uba Sani, his successor, alleging that he embezzled local government (LG) monies to buy properties in South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the Seychelles.
El-Rufai, a recent defector from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Social Democratic Party (SDP), asserted in an exclusive interview with Freedom Radio Kaduna that Sani had exchanged LG allocations into foreign currencies and utilized the money to buy these foreign assets.
El-Rufai maintained that he never tampered with local government funding while in office, drawing a comparison between his term and the alleged acts of his successor.
“When I was governor, I never took a kobo from local government funds. We ensured that the allocations were handed over to them without interference,” El-Rufai stated, adding that his government always made the necessary deductions for education, healthcare, and other essential services before releasing the remaining funds to the local governments.
The former governor went on to accuse the current administration of embezzling local government funds, further alleging that federal agencies had turned a blind eye to the issue.
He claimed this was due to Governor Sani’s actions being part of a larger operation aimed at undermining El-Rufai, allegedly orchestrated by powerful figures within the presidency.
Earlier, El-Rufai had suggested that the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, was the mastermind behind the alleged scheme, driven by Ribadu’s own presidential ambitions.
However, Ribadu has since denied these accusations, dismissing them as baseless.
“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 think that because we are silent, we are unaware of what is happening. But we know everything. We know how they divert the money and the bureau de change operators involved. Those accusing us of corruption are actually doing worse,” he added.
El-Rufai also denied ever receiving bribes from contractors and dared anyone with evidence to come forward.
“I have never stolen a kobo from anyone. If any contractor has given me a bribe, let him come forward.
“When the ICPC invited many contractors, they testified that they had never met me. Contracts worth billions were executed without me ever meeting the contractors—I worked only through commissioners and permanent secretaries,” he stated.
Furthermore, he accused Governor Sani of collecting bribes before awarding contracts.
“Uba goes to Abuja with contract documents, offering them to contractors in exchange for a 40 per cent kickback. We know what is happening. They assumed that was how we ran the government, but they are wrong,” he alleged
