Ibrahim Shekarau, the immediate past governor of Kano State said yesterday he was ready to answer questions from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over his stewardship of the state in the last eight years.
The former governor, who spoke through his spokesperson, Sule Yau yesterday in Kano, while faulting allegations made by the new governor, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, that his administration left a liability of N77.4 billion and $209.2 million for its successor.
Mr Shekarau also accused the new governor of going out of his ways to smear his reputation.
“He is not afraid of EFCC, he is ready when invited to answer any question, because we have nothing to hide; we have no skeleton in our cupboard,” Mr Yau said. “Is it possible to write a cheque of N3 billion and withdraw it at a go from any bank in Nigeria? The EFCC will even ask you questions if you make a withdrawal of as low as N10 million. As I have stated, they are on a vengeance mission, it shows that they have nothing to offer the people of Kano State. This administration is out to castigate our government and that is their mission instead of them to add to our achievements.”
Mr Yau spoke while reacting to a claim by Mr Kwankwaso that the sum of N3 million disappeared under mysterious circumstances from the Kano State Pension Fund. He further dismissed allegations made by Mr Kwankwaso over the N77.4 billion debt burden allegedly left behind by Mr Shekarau. Faulting Mr Kwankwaso’s claim that he inherited an empty treasury, Mr Sule said the last administration left over N4 billion in the coffers of the state.
No legacy of borrowings
He also said that his administration did not borrow any money, adding that it is unfortunate that the new government is in a hurry to discredit whatever they have achieved in the last eight years.
“I want to state categorically that the government of Shekarau has never borrowed a kobo from 2003 to 2011. I challenge those making this frivolous accusations name the banks and the country they said we borrowed money from,” he said.
“Everybody knows the background of Kwankwaso, he is a very vindictive person we are going to see the worst in the next four years. They are not in government to make progress because they know they will not perform that is why they want to use the debt issue as an excuse. This is the same man who came to Government House in the morning and signed the handing over note only for him to go outside hours later and said another thing. You can see the kind of person he is.”
Mr Sule equally faulted an alarm raised by Mr Kwankwaso that the Shekarau government expended the sum of N4 billion on hotel bills.
He, however, admitted that the government spent N3. 5billion to accommodate government guests in ten hotels spread within the Kano metropolis as against three hotels identified by Mr Kwankwaso’s transitional committee.
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