Zamfara State Government has accused a former governor of the state, Alhaji Abdulaziz Yari, of diverting the N37.8bn refund made to the state by the Federal Government for executed projects.
State Commissioner for Finance, Alhaji Rabiu Garba, told newsmen on Tuesday that Yari’s administration spent N47bn on Federal roads across the state between 2011 and 2018 and was refunded by the Federal Government.
According to Garba, “In his handing over note, the former governor declared that the sum of N47.8bn expended on rehabilitation and construction of federal roads was not reimbursed to the state up to the time he left office.
“But to our utmost dismay, when we wrote to the Federal Ministry of Works for the reimbursement of the said money, we discovered that the sum of N37bn was paid to Yari.”
Garba, on behalf of the Governor Bello Matawalle administration, appealed to the Federal Government; the international community and the security agencies to intervene and retrieve the N37bn from Yari for the overall benefits of the people of the state.
The former governor could not be reached for his reaction to the allegations as his mobile telephone line failed to connect.
But his political associate and Vice Chairman, Zamfara State chapter of the All Progressives Congress, Alhaji Sani Gwamna, described the allegation as “laughable and shameful.”
Gwamna said, “The commissioner does not know his duty. If the said amount was diverted, the Zamfara State Government was supposed to report the issue to the EFCC for the recovery of the money.”
Gwamma said the state government should go to court if it was sure of its allegations.