Masari set to probe Shema’s administration
THE Katsina State Government has disclosed plans to set up a special task force for the recovery of funds allegedly stolen from government coffers by officials of former Governor Ibrahim Shema’s administration.
The state governor, Alhaji Aminu Bello Masari, said that arrangement has been concluded for the officials of the immediate past government to face prosecution for alleged mismanagement of the state’s resources.
The governor also vowed to ensure that all those who illegally looted the state treasury will not only return the stolen funds, but also face judgement.
A statement by the Media Aide to the Governor, Alhaji Abdul Labaran Malunfashi, said Masari spoke when he received reports from three committees, including the one which investigated the activities of Katsina Road Maintenance Agency (KASROMA).
Masari lamented that, “the looting of public funds by government officials during the last administration was mind boggling,” warning that, “anyone found to be involved in the theft of public funds will not be spared by the law, no matter who they may be.”
The Chairman of the committee investigating KASROMA, Alhaji Abdu Kanti, had earlier told the governor that the committee had discovered that out of the N7.1 billion appropriated to the agency, “N4.6 billion could not be accounted for, while the sum of N28 million was voluntarily returned to the committee.”
Besides, Governor Masari observed that the N4.6 billion allegedly stolen from KASROMA was three times more than the N1.2 billion needed to fix the 10 Basic Apprentice Training Centres (BATC) and the one agricultural and livestock training centre in the state.
He condemned, “the manner of the looting of public funds in the state where N30 billion was stolen from government coffers with impunity, as if it was an inheritance.”
He stressed that, “anyone found culpable in the abuse of public trust would be punished, so as to serve as a deterrence and warning to officials serving in the current administration.”
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