*Chairman on suspension
*AG’s report indicts him
*He’s to refund over N86m instantly
By Achadu Gabriel, Kaduna
Its double tragedy, as Chairman of Kagarko LGA of Kaduna state who has been on suspension by the State House Assembly over his alleged involvement in a multi-million naira contract scandal has again been asked to refund the sum of N86 million immediately.
The chairman is being also accused of inflation of figures, failure to deduct contract retention fees contrary to financial Memorandum by audit report, and for carrying out direct labour to the tune of N80 million without proper documentation and maintenance of projects financial records.
The chairman, Hon. Nasara Rabo who was suspended pending the outcome of the investigation by a Committee of the State Assembly is being accused by the Kaduna state Auditor General’s report of outrageous and untimely review of contracts sum and payment within two months.
Hon. Nasara’s suspension was precipitated by a damning area report from the office of the Kaduna State Auditor General for Local Governments.
Letter from AG for LG to the Chairman dated 11th September 2023 which was obtained by out reporter was for the period from January 2022 to June 2023.
The letter reads in part: “I am in receipt of aforementioned report from the Area Auditor of your Local Government for the period stated above.
“Outrageous and untimely review of contract sum and paid within two months of award. Out of the contracts awarded in the period mentioned above, ten (10) of them, (list here attached) awarded on the date of 18/03/2022 were reviewed by N86,221,618.26 and paid on 18/05/2022 in other words, you inflated the contract by N86, 221, 618.26 and whole contract sum was paid without due observance to financial rules and regulations such as deduction of retention money.
“Lack of deduction of retention money is an outright violation of financial memoranda (F.M 1724),” the letter stated.
“You embarked on direct labour to the tune of N80,329,000.00 without proper documentation and maintenance of projects financial record”, it stated.
The suspended Chairman was alleged to have committed serious financial irregularities and fraudulent activities and was therefore in the same letter directed to immediately refund the sum of N86,221,618.26 being the contract inflation awarded and paid within a period of two months.
Hon. Rabo was also directed to submit to the office of the Auditor General advance/ deposit ledger for the year 2022 and payment vouchers and all receipts of the earlier mentioned direct labour which amounted to N80,329,000.00 along with the reason (s) that necessitated his embarking on direct labour.
The letter was signed by the Kaduna State Local Government Auditor General, Atiku Musa.
In related development, Nasara is alleged to have gotten N12m approval from the State Ministry for Local Government Affairs to purchase for the Dnata Gbagyi a car only for him to have purchased an E Class Mercedes Benz valued at about N4m while pocketing the difference of N8m.
It was further learnt that Rabo Nasara is alleged to have refused to obey an official letter from the State Ministry for Local Government Affairs directing him to return all government vehicles in his possession while on suspension.
At the time of filing this report, three (3) official vehicles belonging to Kagarko Local Government were said to be in his possession.
Some staff of Kagarko LGA treasury department who spoke to this medium on condition of anonymity for fear of victimization accused the suspended Chairman of high handedness, pride and arrogance adding that he has penchant for flagrant disrespect for financial regulations.
“It is saddening that our suspended Chairman is always in the habit of disrespect and abuse of laid down financial regulations.
“If you met in the office, I would have shown you some evidence of what I am saying because I work in the treasury department.
“Rabo is a reckless and bad manager of public funds. He treats Local Government money like his personal company’s funds,” a staff in one the departments of Kagarko Local Government Area has said.
Another staff of the Local Government also accused the Chairman of being a disaster as far as financial regulations is concerned.
“I have been in the local government system for close to 29 years and I have been here in Kagarko LGA for long, but I have never seen a financial disaster like Rabo Nasara, the suspended Chairman.
“I just hope that members of the State Assembly committee will not succumb to his power to bribe his way back to office. I hear that he has offered each member of the investigative committee N10m to give him a clean bill of health which will ensure his return to office. Should that happen, he will come back to complete his looting expedition,” declared a staff.
Some citizens of Kagarko who do not want their identities said it was their local government money Mr. Nasara used during his campaigns for the position of Senator in the last APC primary election until he was instructed by former Governor Nasir El-Rufai to step down for Hon. Bulus Musa.
“It is believed that Rabo would have coasted to victory as the party flag bearer since he was using council money to fund his campaigns.
They therefore call on the Kaduna State House of Assembly to uphold Rabo’s suspension so as to serve as a deterrent to anyone who may be tempted to repeat what they term open looting of the people’s patrimony.
“We are watching with keen interest to see whether the State Assembly will turn its face the other way and condone this magnitude of fraud and the looting of the people’s patrimony by a man who was elected to serve his people,” a primary school teacher lamented.
However, when contacted Mr. Rabo Nasara, for his own side of the story, said he had decided to keep mute all this while by not speaking to the press until the state assembly committee complete its investigation.
However, when pressured to confirm if he received any letter from the office of the Auditor General in respect of the allegations, and another directing him to hand over all government vehicles in his possession, he denied receiving any of the two letters.
In a telephone conversion with a journalist, Mordecai Sunday Ibrahim, the suspended Chairman believes that his ordeal is orchestrated by two or more indigenes of the Kagarko Local Government, one of who is not a member of his APC party.
He also said he is being persecuted because since he assumed office, he made sure he blocked every channel of leakage to the Council’s resources adding that he has refused to allow the previous business as usual whereby contracts were awarded and paid in full, but without execution.
Further to the telephone discussion that ensued between Rabo Nasara on Wednesday, 27th September, and the journalist who forwarded a message to his WhatsApp box on Thursday, September 28, 2023, giving him the details of the content of the Auditor General’s letter.
Rabo who was requested to give his reaction to all the allegations in the letter and he replied saying, “I am not in receipt of the later personally and I don’t have the insight of the details of the particular contract. However, you can confirm from the AG to be sure of the authenticity of the letter as well as from the Local Government.”
Rabo’s subsequent reaction reads, “Secondly, if the said letter is dated 11th September 2023, and my suspension was 25th July 2023. How then is the state Assembly relying on AG report to suspend me?
“The person sponsoring this should provide the media with truth about his motive. I’ll not comment on my investigation by the State Assembly because I sense a set-up by the opposition who want me out of power at (sic) all means,” Rabo asserted.
He also followed with another message which reads, “Blackmail, or mischief of those who have looted the LGA will not deter us of the good work we are doing”
Recall that Nasara had in the telephone conversion accused Mr. Sani Sidi, the former Director General of NEMA and the acting Chairman of the Local Government as the architects of his present ordeal.
When contacted for his reaction on the suspended Hon. Rabo who’s alleging that your the person behind his ordeal, adding that you him (Rabo’) permanent sack as Chairman, but the allegation was simply dismissed by Sani Sidi as untrue and got him very angry.
Whether the Kaduna State House of Assembly will actually turn its face the other way as insinuated by some citizens of Kagarko Local Government to the damning financial malfeasance remains to be seen, but the allegation of N10 million bribe against each of the investigating committee is still subject of debate.
