Former Secretary of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), Kaduna State Chapter, Kabiru Jarimi, has refuted claims by former governor, Nasir El-Rufai that he never interfered with local government funds during his tenure.
El-Rufai, who recently defected from the All Progressives Congress to the Social Democratic Party, had accused his successor, Governor Uba Sani, of diverting LG funds to purchase properties abroad.
“As I speak, no local government in Kaduna receives more than N50 million per month. Once the allocation arrives, they siphon it, exchange it into dollars, and use it to buy properties in Seychelles, South Africa, London, and other places,” El-Rufai alleged in an interview with Freedom Radio Kaduna.
However, Jarimi countered the claim, asserting that LG funds were routinely deducted under El-Rufai’s administration.
“I was shocked by El-Rufai’s comment because local government funds were deducted without our approval.
“Most of the deductions targeted Southern Kaduna LGAs,” he stated while addressing journalists in Kaduna on Sunday.
“We never got our full allocations under El-Rufai. His government kept introducing policies to deduct funds unnecessarily.
“I even considered resigning. At times, we had no funds for overhead costs after paying salaries,” he added.
Jarimi alleged that El-Rufai justified the deductions as necessary for salary payments while also employing various strategies to withdraw additional funds.
He pointed to the creation of the Kaduna Capital Territory Authority, Zaria Metropolitan Authority, and Kafanchan Municipal Authority as means of diverting LG allocations.
“Salaries were shared 60-40 between the capital territories and LGs around them. In Kaduna South, deductions were made in the name of sanitation, forcing us to remit funds to the Kaduna Capital Territory Authority every month,” he explained.
Challenging El-Rufai, Jarimi questioned the whereabouts of deducted funds meant for security and riot damage.
“We contributed to a security fund, yet no former LGA chairman can account for how it was used. The same applies to the riot damage fund; no LGA benefited from it.
“I challenge the former governor to explain where the money went,” he demanded.
Jarimi praised Governor Uba Sani for reversing several of El-Rufai’s policies, particularly the abolition of the Kaduna Capital Territory Authority, Zaria Metropolitan Authority, and Kafanchan Municipal Authority, as well as the scrapping of the security and riot damage funds.
He further commended the current administration for allocating a percentage of its Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) to local governments, a move he described as a step towards financial autonomy for LGAs.
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