EFCC arrests Kano Assembly Speaker, 10 other members over alleged N25billion fraud

Gov Kwankwaso

EFCC says it was responding to petition against the Assembly and the state governor

The Speaker of Kano State House of Assembly, Gambo Sallau, the clerk and nine lawmakers who were earlier arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC in Kano, have been moved to Abuja for further investigation.

A source within the commission told PREMIUM TIMES that the lawmakers were arrested over allegations of aiding the abuse of Kano State Government funds.

According to the source, some prominent indigenes of the state petitioned the commission alleging that the N25 billion approved under the state’s 2013 supplementary appropriation law was to be used as smokescreen to cover unauthorised usage of funds by the governor, Rabiu Kwankwaso.

The source said, “The supplementary appropriation was to be backdated and used as smokescreen to cover some unauthorised usage of state funds by Kwankwaso.”

Already, he said the eleven persons have been moved to Abuja, where they are expected to make statement before a team of investigators.

Earlier, EFCC’s spokesperson, Wilson Uwujaren, had said the lawmakers were invited by the commission to answer questions following a petition against them.

“It is true they were invited for questioning in respect of a petition against them for abuse of supplementary processes,” he said.

Mr. Uwujaren said the Speaker and the other officials responded to the Commission’s invitation on Monday at its Kano Office.

He also confirmed that the affected lawmakers were being transferred to the Commission’s Headquarters in Abuja since the petition against them was received in Abuja.

But a source at the Assembly informed PREMIUM TIMES that seven other lawmakers were arrested alongside the Speaker.

However, another source within the Kano Government said the arrest of the lawmakers has stalled the plan by Kwankwaso to present the state’s 2014 budget to the Assembly.

Governor Kwankwaso is one of the five PDP governors who recently defected to the opposition All Progressives Congress.

The arrested lawmakers are said to be allies of the governor