Kaduna APC Assembly members accuse Yero of looting

Thirteen days to the end of the Peoples Democratic Party administration in Kaduna State, the All Progressives Congress caucus in the Kaduna State House of Assembly has accused outgoing Governor Mukhtar Yero of last-minute looting of the state’s treasury.
The legislators alleged that there was a plot by the Yero to defraud government of N2.744bn SURE-P funds.
The caucus described as “an act of last-minute looting” Yero’s decision to appropriate the 2014 SURE-P funds for the 24 local government areas.
Addressing a press conference in Kaduna on Friday, the House Deputy Minority Leader, Dr. Aminu Abdullahi-Shagali, said it was also an act of criminality for the governor to allocate 50 per cent of the money to road projects.
According to him, the request submitted by the governor to the House earlier in the week was improper and violated laid down regulations relevant to the SURE-P funds.
Our correspondent gathered that the funds in question had been included in the handover notes of the PDP government in the state.
Shagali argued that  if the House approved the request, there was no way the local governments could judiciously execute any project before May 29 when the life of the government would terminate.
He said, “We found it absolutely necessary to address the people of Kaduna State through the media. Ordinarily, by this period of the month, when handover note of the outgoing government has been received and incoming government is preparing its inauguration, we shouldn’t be concerned with anything.
“However, the attempt by the outgoing government to quickly appropriate and disburse the SURE-P funds to the 23 local governments is a gross last-minute looting and squandering of public funds.
“A request submitted this week by the executive arm to the House to appropriate the 2014 SURE-P funds for the 23 local governments to the tune of N2.744bn is not only improper but gross financial recklessness.
“There is no how a local government can judiciously execute any meaningful project within two weeks considering the fact that diligent due process and financial regulations have to be followed.
“Even though an attempt was made to discuss the issue and pass it, a resolution was made during an executive session that the fund should not be appropriated and disbursed.
“We, the concerned members of the Kaduna State House of Assembly, hereby wish to state categorically state that we are not a party and will not be a party to such financial recklessness; and dissociate ourselves from the move.”