• Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Education
  • Health
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy Policy
Sunday, June 1, 2025
  • Login
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
Elanza News
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Education
  • Health
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy Policy
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Education
  • Health
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy Policy
No Result
View All Result
Elanza News
Home News

El-Rufai’s Men Deny Diverting N1.37bn

Ojimaojo Abubakar by Ojimaojo Abubakar
March 7, 2025
in News
0
El-Rufai’s Men Deny Diverting N1.37bn
0
SHARES
7
VIEWS
FacebookTwitterWhatsappEmailTelegram

Commissioners who served under the administration of former Governor Nasir El-Rufai in Kaduna State between 2015 to 2023, have reacted to the recent order of the Federal High Court sitting the state.

Justice H Buhari of the Federal high court had on February 28, ordered for the interim forfeiture of the ₦1.37 billion allegedly diverted into a private account while ruling on the ex parte application filed by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC),

RelatedPosts

EFCC Accuses Ex-CBN Governor Emefiele of Fraud and Property Misappropriation

Tinubu Commissions New Naval Fleet To Boost Maritime Security

BUA’s Termination Linked to Contract Violations, Not Political Intrigue, Asserts – Usman

The ₦1.3b was allegedly paid into the account of an unregistered company in respect of the Kaduna Light Rail Project.

In their reaction, the former cabinet members insisted that there was no basis for any forfeiture proceedings or court order, describing the court order as a sheer oppression and abuse of power to confiscate private assets and discourage foreign direct investments.

In a statement, the former commissioners challenged those they described as purveyors of lies and falsehood to come forward with genuine documents to contradict any of the foregoing facts.

The statement reads: “First, we wish to state that the Kaduna Light Rail Project came about as part of the infrastructural revolution of the Mallam Nasir El-Rufai administration to turn Kaduna into a modern and developed state. The project was conceived as a landmark legacy project by the State Executive Council in October 2015, to be funded with part of the just secured World Bank Performance for Results loan of about $350 million.

ALSO READ:  Northern APC Stakeholders Reject Badaru, Others Hail New Criteria for Appointments

“Given the magnitude of the project, which was estimated to cost between US$600-700 million, we needed foreign collaboration and funding. We therefore started with adverts in reputable local and international publications including The Economist Magazine. A copy of the advertisement for Expression of Interest dated November 2015 in the national dailies is attached as Annex 1.

“In the end, an Indian company known as Skipper secured the award of the project following the competitive tender process. They were to be responsible for securing a loan of about 85% of the project cost from the Indian Export Import Bank, whilst Kaduna State Government was to pay 15% as equity. The contract term was consequently changed from an EPC to a Build, Own, Operate and Transfer so that Skipper will be responsible for ensuring the efficient operations of the light rail system and the repayment of the loan.

The statement admitted that the former government paid the sum of N890million to Skipper and GTA as the cost of feasibility study for the light rail project. Adding that the project couldn’t continue due to the non-approval of a Sovereign Guarantee by the Federal Government.

“However, the then Minister of Finance pushed back, saying the nation’s foreign debt burden was becoming too high and that she would be accused of being partial towards Kaduna State if they gave the Sovereign Guarantee. So, because of this, we could not continue with the project. Meanwhile, during the intervening period, we had increased our down payment to N12 billion as part of Kaduna State’s 15% equity contribution”.

ALSO READ:  Nigerian military cleared of forced abortion allegations in North-East

“When it became obvious that the Sovereign Guarantee would not be we granted, we recalled the money from Sterling Bank. The bank refunded all the funds except for the cost of the feasibility study (₦890million as stated in Paragraph 4 above) that had been paid which remains the property of the Kaduna State Government. Anytime, anyone wants to embark on the project, he will just pick up the report and start the project. There were other costs that had been incurred by Skipper and GTA, which had to do with geo-mapping of corridors, land acquisition, domestic and international travel and other relevant expenses; for which an understanding was reached for a setoff against interest received on the deposit.

“As a responsible and transparent administration, we engaged the services of a forensic audit firm to ensure that the refunds due to Kaduna State Government were received “.

“It would be recalled that when some senior officials of the immediate past Kaduna State Executive Council were arrested by the ICPC, the allegation was that the ₦13 billion for the light rail project was missing.

“But, when evidence of the refund that was made to the Kaduna State Government and the report of the forensic audit that was conducted by the El-Rufai administration were made available to the ICPC, the narrative changed! Surprisingly, ICPC became hostile and decided to go after Sterling Bank and forced the bank to deposit ₦1.3billion into an Escrow Account with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), pending litigation to determine if any fraud or crime had been committed.

ALSO READ:  Army chief hails NAOWA on supports, humanitarian activities

“Please note that the ₦1.3 billion which Sterling Bank was forced to pay into the Escrow Account is the addition of the N890 million cost of the Feasibility Study and about N400 million interest that accrued on the deposit in the joint venture account”.

Tags: El-Rufai
Ojimaojo Abubakar

Ojimaojo Abubakar

Abubakar Ojimaojo is a graduate of Mass Communication, political and football analyst currently work at elanzanews.ng as Editor. He pride himself as skilled wordsmith with a passion for delving into contemporary political issues on both national and international scale.

Related Posts

Court dismisses Emefiele’s bid to reclaim forfeited 753 Abuja duplexes, apartments

EFCC Accuses Ex-CBN Governor Emefiele of Fraud and Property Misappropriation

by Nathaniel Irobi
June 1, 2025
0

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has levelled new accusations against Godwin Emefiele, the former Governor of the Central...

Tinubu Commissions New Naval Fleet To Boost Maritime Security

Tinubu Commissions New Naval Fleet To Boost Maritime Security

by Ojimaojo Abubakar
June 1, 2025
0

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has commissioned a fleet of advanced naval assets to strengthen the Nigerian Navy’s operational capabilities, marking...

BUA’s Termination Linked to Contract Violations, Not Political Intrigue, Asserts – Usman

BUA’s Termination Linked to Contract Violations, Not Political Intrigue, Asserts – Usman

by Nathaniel Irobi
June 1, 2025
0

Hadiza Bala Usman, Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Policy Coordination, has refuted claims made by the BUA Group...

Recommended

SDGs: Advancing Nigeria Beyond 2020-2030

SDGs: Advancing Nigeria Beyond 2020-2030

1 day ago
FG Proposes Examination Malpractice Tribunal to Punish Cheats

FG Proposes Examination Malpractice Tribunal to Punish Cheats

20 hours ago

Popular News

  • Arewa group hails Tinubu’s inclusive appointments

    NURTW President Hails Tinubu’s Reforms, Urges Greater Support For Transport Sector

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Environment Minister’s Scholarship Beneficiary Tops 2025 UTME In Northern Nigeria With 345 Score

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Abuja Estate Firm Announces Customer Loyalty Rewards

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Christian Group Seeks Reversal of NBAIS Certificate Recognition

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Association Hails Works Minister, Urges Re-award Of Abandoned Road Projects

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Connect with us

Facebook Instagram Twitter Youtube
Elanza logo

Elanza News is your NO 1 online platform for all news update.
#SayNoToFakeNews
Contact Us

Category

  • Arts & Literature (25)
  • Business (716)
  • Education (213)
  • Entertainment (307)
  • Health (187)
  • National (2,062)
  • News (7,728)
  • Opinion (283)
  • Politics (1,564)
  • Science (15)
  • Security (403)
  • Sports (414)

Newsletter

© 2023 Elanza News - The No 1 online news platform

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Science
  • National
  • Entertainment
  • Sports
  • Health

© 2023 Elanza News - The No 1 online news platform