Kano Assembly probes Shekarau over verbal award of N7bn project

• It is politically motivated – Ex gov

From Edwin Olofu, Kano

The Kano state House of Assembly has commenced the probe of former governor Malam Ibrahim Shekarau over alleged verbal award of a seven billion Naira worth of road contract without following due process.

The probe exercise commenced yesterday, when the state House of Assembly summoned Shekarau’s two Commissioners, that of Works and Housing, Alhaji Sarki Labaran as well as Musa Iliyasu Kwankwaso of Rural Development respectively.

The two former commissioners as well as their former permanent secretaries, who appeared before the House were informed that their principal, Shekarau awarded the road project contract through the ministry of Rural Development and Works worth over seven billion Naira and that it was not executed.

Reading the Notice of Motion of the House, the Legislative Chamber’s  Deputy Majority Leader, Yusuf Babangida, alleged that money was paid to the contractor for not doing the job even before he mobilized to site, while the roads are still lying fallow without been executed.

The roads, according to the House, are Tattarawa-Jalli, which was allegedly awarded at the cost of N1.5 billion and that the job has not been done; Konar-Kira, Ungogo to Fanisau, at the cost of N3.5 billion and that over N350 million was allegedly inflated.

The other road, according to the House, is Takai, Rimi to Magami, which was said to have been awarded at the cost of N2.5 billion and the work is still on-going, while the contract sum was said to have been duly paid to the contractor.

The House accused former Governor Shekarau of awarding the contract verbally without the consent of the relevant bodies who are staff of the ministries involved, adding that all the job which monies were paid have not been done while  all the contract sums worth over N7 billion have been paid.

However, the summoned former commissioner of Rural Development, Musa Iliyasu Kwankwaso told newsmen that  “what is happening is nothing but politics; they are not happy that Shekarau is getting  a ministerial post, but they cannot do otherwise”.

He said, ‘ All they are asking are nothing but speculative issues and we are fully ready for them, they should come with concrete evidence then we know they are serious, all the job we did followed diligent due process and we did them with the due sense of humility and law’.

Musa Iliyasu Kwankwaso noted that, “You can see they are not even comprehensive in their actions; because they are in a hurry to tarnish Shekarau’s image, but they have failed; and the greatest failure will come in 2015 when we will chase away red caps”.