BY Achadu Gabriel, Kaduna
The end of the travails that led to the suspension of Kagarko Local Government Council Chairman, Hon. Nasara Rabo, may not come anytime soon.
As fresh facts have emerged on the alleged multi-million naira contracts’ inflation, fraudulent multiple payment of numerous uncompleted projects against the suspended Council Chairman who is also facing other damaging contract allegations.
The LG Council Chairman, Hon. Rabo is also been accused of failure to deduct (remit) retention fees contrary to Financial Memorandum and indulged in carrying out direct labour above approval limit, without clearance in the sum of N72m and without proper documentation and maintenance of projects’ financial records.
The problems of the chairman who has been on suspension from office pending the outcome of the investigation by a Committee of the Kaduna State Assembly, was precipitated by a damning report from the office of the Kaduna State Auditor General for Local Governments.
Earlier, the Kagarko Local Government Area Auditor had forwarded to the State Auditor General, a report which accused the Council Chairman of outrageous and untimely review of contracts sum and payment within a two months period.
On 16th and 17th October, a team of investigators from the State Ministry for Local Government Affairs visited the local government secretariat to investigate sundry allegations against the Chairman.
By Wednesday, 18th October, another 15-man Committee of the Kaduna State House of Assembly also visited to investigate similar allegations.
Sources at the State Auditor General’s office and Kagarko LGA told journalists that another team from the State Auditor General will soon be visiting Kagarko on the same mission.
Our correspondent who went round some of the villages on an on -the -spot- check of the alleged multi-million naira disputed projects and contracts executed by Nasara Rabo’s administration in Iddah, Aribi, Kushe, Kagarko North & South and Kurmin Jibirin Wards, came up with a lots of findings:
Recalled that the 11th September 2023 Auditor General’s suspension letter to the Chairman obtained, 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. The following are the observations raised in that report:
“Outrageous and untimely review of contract sum and paid within two months of award. Out of the contracts awarded in the period mentioned above, 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.
It continue “You embarked on direct labour to the tune of N80,329,000.00 without proper documentation and maintenance of projects financial records.
“The Auditors had accused the suspended Chairman of committing serious financial irregularities and fraudulent activities and the same letter directed Nasara Rabo to refund the sum of N86,221,618.26, being the contract inflation awarded and paid within a period of two months.
“Mr. Nasara 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 the direct labour”, it stated.
It was also reliably gathered that most local government Chairmen use direct labour as a veritable tool to defraud government.
The Chairmen or their proxies usually personally handle direct labour categories of projects which do not pass through proper vetting by appropriate professionals in the local government system –and where they do, the Chairmen intimidates the civil servants who turn blind eyes to the projects they should ordinarily query.
A staff of the local government availed our correspondent an electronic copy of the Council/Management, Finance and General Purpose Committee (aka F&GPC), sitting on 30th March 2023, during which it was resolved that the local government will contribute to the Dnata Chiefdom a motor vehicle.
While the description of the item on serial number 6 of the Council Extract categorically stated that the sum of N12m, approved in that meeting was “Contribution to Dnata Chiefdom for the Purchase of Motor Vehicle. The chairman, Nasara Rabo said the whole amount was not meant for that purpose only.
“There were 13 items approved by the F&GPC contained in the Council Extract and serial number 6 clearly approved the sum of N12million from the local government to purchase a car for the Dnata Gbagyi.
But investigation revealed that only about N4m was used to purchase the car while the difference of N8million was pocketed, as the district head ended up with a Mercedes Benz C350 which market value at the time of purchase was not above N4million.
Our reporter visited Dnata Gbagyi, his Royal Highness, Mr. Bitrus James and was shown the black coloured Mercedes Benz car C350.
Regrettably, however, the car, which was handed over to the traditional ruler in July became a bigger liability and had continued to give the royal father unmitigated troubles, breaking down severally in the middle of journeys at dangerous zones.
Reacting to that questions in an elaborate interview, Hon Nasara Rabo said, “You asked me this question and I told you that I do not have the power to buy a first class, second class or third class traditional ruler a car.
“I have no such approval, but we normally give support to all the traditional rulers within the Council and we have four chiefdoms.
Anything we do for Mr. A, we also do for Mr. B and so on, as a support.
“We have supported that of Dnata, Jere, Kagarko and Ere Koro.” Reminded that the approval of the F&GPC of 30th March was specifically mentioned for the Dnata Chiefdom, Rabo said,
“I have not seen that clearance, but what I know is that it is a support to Dnata Chiefdom. That is the one I know and I think I have the record in my domain. I didn’t buy the car for the Dnata, he can tell you who bought the car.
“We told him that we cannot buy him a car but he should get somebody who will buy the car for him and we shall give support. He brought someone and said this person will buy the car for him and we gave him the support”, he said.
On how much the Council gave the royal father as support, Rabo retorted and asked, “What did you see on the approval?…N12m, our reporter responded.
Hon. Rabo who reacted with No, No, No, No! said It was not for him alone. “The support also goes for all chiefdoms.
Meanwhile, our reporter gathered that between the time of donation and reception of the car, and October 2023, when journalists visited; the royal father claimed to have spent about N2 million on different occasions to replace many parts of the engine and two radiators of the car.
“At the time of filing this report, the car was grounded, needing a complete engine and gear box according to his specialist’s mechanic assessment.
Another competent source in the local government told journalists that the suspended Chairman was always in the habit of holding Council/Management, Finance and General Purpose Committee (F&GPC) in his private residence at Bwari instead of the local government secretariat.
The LG source revealed that the chairman held such meetings with only a selected Council and Management members who are his core loyalists after which he would later bring the Council Extract for the signatures of those concerned even when they were not invited for the meeting.
The source informed that Hon. Rabo always get the local government Planning Officer to prepare the Council Extract, a statutory function of the Council Secretary.
The suspended Chairman simply responded that, “May be you should still ask him very well, who schedules Council meetings and who has the right to produce Council Extracts and minutes as a duty.
“I have always told him (the Council Secretary) to produce the of schedule meetings for the year and if he is the one who schedules meeting, and he is to make records and to produce Council Resolutions in a paper”, he said.
The source further disclosed that for about two years, the suspended Chairman had always by-passed the Council Secretary with correspondences.
“He minutes correspondences to the local government Director of Administration and Finance thereby making the Secretary redundant”_ it added.
A careful study of the “List of Capital Projects for Kagarko Local Government Area 2022/2023” and the “List of Capital Projects for Kagarko LGA 2023”, which was shared to all the management staff during the recent visit by the investigative committee of the Kaduna State House of Assembly, indicated double payment for one project twice.
Findings revealed that, the direct labour purportedly executed on serial number 30 of the list is the renovation of Director of Administrations and Finance house (DAF’S) at senior staff quarters Kagarko secretariat, valued at N4,873,450 only and the duration was for two weeks.
The specific date is not stated although the work fell under the 2022/2023 capital projects. Interestingly, serial number 16 of the second capital projects list for 2023 captured the renovation of DFS at the local government secretariat.
The direct labour work was valued at N4,886,000 only and awarded on 29/11/22. The State local government system does not have DFS but DDFS.
Meanwhile, credible sources in the local government authoritatively confirmed that renovation never took place but that both money were withdrawn from the Council treasury.
Also reacting to these allegations, Hon. Nasara Rabo dismissed them, as lies, adding “It is very clear, it is not the same project. They are all residences of the Director of Admin and Finance and the Deputy Director Admin and Finance. “If you do the two jobs carrying the same name, then it is an error”.
However, it was authoritatively learnt that from the electronic copy of the Council Extract of the F&GPC meeting of 30th March 2023, the purported sponsorship of four persons in Kagarko LGA to attend X-Fest Africa Leadership Training and Business Innovation submit in Kigali Rwanda never took place, although the sum of N5.5million, was allegedly withdrawn from the local government treasury.
Mr. Nasara Rabo said the Rwanda trip had only been postponed to November 30th, but two other fraudulent activities were observed from the Council Extract which are the purported N5m renovation of the military formation (check-points) at Kagarko and another N2,722,000 for the military check-point at Kubachi.
In his reaction, Rabo said, “As I speak to you, that of the Kagarko has been completed but that of Kubacha is yet to be done as the clearance is still pending.
“For that of Kagarko, there are about 72 joint Task Force is in the local government secretariat. So we had to get a place renovated for them to stay and it includes the military watch tower, about 50 mattresses…”
Many indigenes of the local government in the various wards visited who spoke journalists, were grossly disappointed with the suspended Chairman.
Waziri Gaya, the PDP Secretary, Kushe ward and a resident at Dogon Kurmin said when the Chairman gave the contract for the construction of the road into their village, they rejoiced thinking that a messiah had come in the person of Nasara Rabo, but now they know better.
“When the Chairman said he was going to construct this our road, we were so glad and thanked God for bringing us a messiah in the person of Nasara Rabo, little did we know that he is a deceit.
“Just imagine the job done that did not last one year. You can see for yourself the state of the road. It would have been better if he left the road the way it was.
“On daily basis we and our children are involved in accidents on this bad road particularly during the rains when it is highly slippery,” Waziri lamented.
The story was not different in Aribi where the same of road construction was done but which did not last one year before it became completely washed away.
At Bakuchi, the suspended Chairman awarded the construction of a block of three classrooms in addition to furnishing the classrooms with the chairs and desks for the pupils.
At the time of visit on Saturday, 21st October, the work was said to have been completed, but the ceiling work was not done, no single furniture was in any of the classrooms, the block was not painted and the floor was not cemented.
However, the suspended Chairman published a calendar for the year 2023, where he show cased many projects purportedly executed; both on-going and completed by his administration.
In the calendar obtained, Rabo claimed to have completed phase one and two electrification of Isah Makaranta in Iddah ward, but what is on ground is only a transformer delivered to Isah-Amujeye (Mission) with polls standing but without a single cable on them.
While journalists could not visit all the villages listed in the projects calendar purportedly executed and completed, many villagers who learnt of their visits have continued to inundate with calls, lamenting on the level of lies Mr. Nasara Rabo published claiming that he had done projects in their villages/ wards.
Some of the villagers offer to sponsor journalists to return for an on-the-spot assessment of the purported fraud perpetuated by the suspended Chairman.
