By Milcah Tanimu
Eight former commissioners from the El-Rufai administration have denounced the ongoing probe into their tenure, labeling it an attempt to damage their reputations. The former officials claim that the investigation is aimed at tarnishing the image of selected members of the Kaduna State Executive Council from 2015 to 2023.
This controversy began on March 30 when Uba Sani, the current governor of Kaduna, disclosed that his administration had inherited a significant debt of $587 million, N85 billion, and 115 contractual liabilities from the El-Rufai era. According to Sani, this debt burden is severely impacting the state’s monthly federation allocation.
Following this revelation, the Kaduna State Assembly established a committee to investigate the financial activities of the previous administration. On June 5, the assembly recommended a probe into former Governor Nasir El-Rufai over allegations of public funds diversion and money laundering, based on findings from an ad-hoc committee report.
In response, the former cabinet members—including Jafaru Sani (Education), Hafsat Baba (Human Services and Social Development), Thomas Gyang (Public Works and Infrastructure, Planning, and Budget), Bashir Saidu (Finance), Ibrahim Husaini (Agriculture and Environment), Aisha Dikko (Justice), Fausat Ibikunle (Housing and Urban Development), and Idris Nyam (Business, Innovation, and Technology)—criticized the committee’s report. They described it as malicious and unfair, arguing that there are inconsistencies between the committee’s recommendations and the testimonies it gathered.
The ex-commissioners highlighted discrepancies in the report’s figures and accused the committee of inconsistency. They questioned why the House of Assembly has not officially released the report to those who provided testimonies and criticized the recommendations as baseless.
“As senior officials in the El-Rufai Administration, which served the people of Kaduna State between May 2015 and May 2023, we restate our pride in the dedication and integrity of our service,” the statement reads. “The report circulating on social media is an unprofessional document, tainted by bias, exhibiting no serious interest in establishing facts. It is apparent that the report is riddled with inaccuracies and instances of falsification and misrepresentation of the testimonies provided by invited officials.”
The former officials asserted that the conclusions of the report seemed predetermined and not based on the facts presented. They continue to stand by their record of service, maintaining that the investigation is an unwarranted attempt to discredit their work.