Bauchi govt asks ex-gov Yuguda to account for N213bn

Armstrong Bakam, Bauchi
A high-powered committee set up by the Bauchi State Government to do forensic audit of all major contracts awarded by the past administration from June 2007 to May 2015 in the Bauchi State Universal Basic Education Board, Ministries of
Local Government Affairs, Bauchi Specialists Hospital and other MDAs has asked former Governor Isa Yuguda to account for over N212bn.
Addressing newsmen at a press conference shortly after presenting the committee’s report to Governor Mohammed Abubakar on Friday at the Government House, Bauchi, the Chairman, Salihu Abubakar, said most of the major contracts awarded by the past administration in all the MDAs investigated were either uncompleted or not executed at all, even while payments had been made.
He said others were over-inflated, poorly executed or due process was not followed in the award; while in others, contractors were overpaid without any acceptable reason or explanation.
Abubakar lamented that the amount of money claimed to have been expended by the past administration in executing the projects did not tally with the records of amount that accrued to the state from June 2007 to May 2015 from the Federation Account.
He said from the local governments’ contributions to the Office of the Accountant General in respect of Joint Projects, Yuguda, former Commissioner for Local Government Affairs, former Special Advisers, former Permanent Secretaries and former Accountants General or their representatives as signatories to the JAAC accounts are to account for N16bn.
He stated: “On several unjustified cash withdrawals made from the accounts of the Ministry for Local Government Affairs by the Cashier to JAAC Account, Mohammed Musa, the committee recommended that former commissioners in the Ministry for Local Government Affairs, Idris Halilu and Abubakar Faggo, retired Permanent Secretaries, and others are to account for N3.5bn.”
Abubakar said within the period under review, the committee discovered huge payments made in the Ministry for Local Government Affairs without appropriate payments vouchers presented.
“The committee recommended that all former commissioners be asked to account for N96bn, while Special Advisers, Permanent Secretaries, Internal Auditors, Cashiers, Directors of Finance in the Ministry and visiting Auditors to the Ministry be made to account for N8bn.
“Similarly, the Committee wants N88.2bn, being amount illegally remitted from the Ministry of Local Government Affairs from its Federation Account Allocations to various MDAs from June 2007 to May 2015 to be recovered from former Governor Isa Yuguda, all former commissioners for Local Government Affairs, all Permanent Secretaries and all former Special Advisers in the Ministry, all former Accountants General or their representatives.

SOURCE: Punch News