Romanus Ugwu, Abuja
A gaggle underneath the auspecies of Patriots for the Development of Peace and Social Justice (PAPS) has petitioned the Performing Chairman of Financial and Monetary Crimes Fee (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu, to demand probe of former governor of Zamfara State, Abdulaziz Yari, over alleged lacking N47 billion state fund.
The petition from the group, made accessible to newsmen in Abuja on Sunday, urged the anti-corruption company to analyze the diversion of the fund being federal authorities refund to Zamfara State authorities for the restore of federal roads within the state and procurement of fertilizers and different Agro-Allied merchandise by the administration of Yari.
The group additional defined that whereas N37.four billion was reimbursed for the rehabilitation of federal roads, N10 billion was for provide of fertilizers, Agro-chemicals, allied merchandise and grains by two corporations.
In addition they referred to as for an investigation of the 2 corporations awarded the contracts for the provision of fertilizers and different agro allied merchandise who ended up not supplying the merchandise.
PAPS Government Director, Sani Shinkafi, additional alleged that Zamfara State’s Mission Verification Committee arrange by Governor Bello Mohammed Matawallen, in its interim report dated February 2020, indicated that the state authorities acquired N10 billion from the federal authorities and misplaced the identical quantity for no justiciable trigger.
Based on him; “It’s found that in February, 2019 the earlier administration secured a mortgage of N10 billion from the Central Financial institution of Nigeria (CBN). N5 billion was meant for the provision of Afro-Chemical substances that features pesticides, herbicides and different equipment whereas the opposite N5 billion was for the acquisition of grains and different agricultural commodities.
“The contracts have been awarded to 2 corporations. One was to provide Afro-chemicals whereas the opposite was to provide grains value N5 billion. The Committee found that the loans have been dubiously obtained from the CBN with no official data to specify 100 per cent of the whole dealings, the violations of loans securing and contracts awards haven’t been optimally adopted,” he added.
“The federal authorities gave Zamfara State N5 billion for the acquisition of fertilizer and procurement of agricultural inputs by means of the Zamfara State Commodity Advertising and Distribution Board (ZASCO). The quantity was credited to ZASCO by means of its account domiciled with a brand new technology financial institution.
The cash is for reinforcing agricultural manufacturing, but it surely was by no means used as the entire quantity was transferred to a different account with a view to supplying fertilizer to the state.
“This transaction was carried out in 5 trances of N1 billion on February 6, 2019 as directed by a Everlasting Secretary probably to bypass sure banking provisions. The Firm is a Bureau the Change Organisation not registered for procurement of agricultural commodities or enter however in laborious currencies. The committee additional found that every one funds have been carried out in three days in 2019 on the warmth of a celebration main crises.
“The sum of N5 billion was paid into the account of the board from the CBN after the board acquired directives from a Everlasting Secretary to reactivate it’s dormant which hopefully has not been coated by the Treasury Single Account (TSA). The Board’s dormant account was reactivated with a gap stability of N15,055.50. On the identical date, the sum of N285,000 was deposited into the account.
The committee advisable that the 2 corporations ought to refund the N5 billion every along with any authorized measures deemed acceptable by the EFCC for taking an unlawful shoddy deal to get well the quantities concerned in purported contracts awarded.
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