Governor Bello Matawalle of Zamfara State has approved the setting-up of a commission of inquiry to probe alleged misappropriation of over N107billion by the immediate past administration in the state.
In a statement on Thursday, the governor’s Special Adviser on Media and Communications, Zailani Bappa, said the decision was reached at the State Executive Council meeting presided over by the state Deputy Governor, Mahdi Aliyu-Gusau.
According to the statement, commission is partly a fall-out of the final report of the Ahmad Zabarma Committee constituted by the present administration to investigate the last administration in terms of public finances and procurement.
Mr Bappa recalled that the committee had earlier disclosed that the last administration might have squandered the finances of the state government to the tune of over N107 billion which could not be properly accounted for.
“For instance, the sum of N10billion was discovered to have been paid to the state Government from the Federal Government by e-payment which also disappeared via e-payment within two days without any record of it in the appropriate books.
“The committee disclosed that another ten billion found to have been paid in two tranches were discovered to have landed in the accounts of two bureau d’ change companies in Kano State.
“Other shoddy deals involved many contracts awarded and either not executed or partly executed.
“The committee also discovered that over 1000 assorted vehicles were said to have been purchased by the last administration without trace of these vehicles,” Mr Bappa added.
The statement also quoted the state Deputy Governor as saying that, “the state government, therefore, owes it as a duty not allow these findings to be swept under the carpet without properly addressing them”.
