Between 2011 and 2019, at least N11.9 billion in public funds were allegedly stolen from Kwara State’s treasury.
According to a forensic audit report, funds allegedly taken by the previous administration had no legal connection to any project or programme.
The audit also revealed that N2 billion in cash withdrawals unrelated to any project or official expenditure were made in just eight days in February 2019, less than a month before the last general election.
Speaking during the submission of the forensic audit report to Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq on Thursday, Partner at the SSAC and Professionals, Anthony Iniomoh, said the report was in two volumes covering Internally Generated Revenue; Capital Receipts; Internal and External Loans; Recurrent / Overhead Expenditure; Personnel Cost (Salaries and Wages); Capital Expenditure; Assets Disposed; Kwara State Internal Revenue Service; Infrastructural Fund Kwara (IFK); Harmony Holdings Limited; amongst others.
“A few highlights of our findings may be necessary for the record. Our forensic audit revealed a colossal pilfering of N11, 981,268,709 which we recommended should be recovered to the public coffers. Similarly, we recommended to the state government to prosecute certain officers and companies in addition to claiming exemplary damages on transactions totalling N6,023,358,444, amongst other key findings,” Inumoh said at the presentation of the report.
“This is especially so in the cases of firms that we observed were paid huge public funds without any evidence of work done on record. In one instance, records show that a firm that was incorporated at the Corporate Affairs Commission on 14th June, 2016 was paid by the state government for a contract it purportedly executed for the state in April of the same year. It became apparent that this was a preconceived attempt to defraud the state.
“There was an instance of public officer getting paid at two different places for years, which is a clear breach of the law. Other infractions arising as a result of obvious conflict of interest and violation of due process were also spotlighted for the government to draw up new policy instruments to prevent such in the future.
“There was also a cash withdrawal within 8 days of N2.06 billion in February 2019 which was of interest to the audit. However, no documentation was made available to validate the purpose for which the money was withdrawn. There were also several other cash withdrawals within the state over the period running into billions of Naira which we could not validate.
“These and others have been recommended to be referred to an Administrative Panel of Enquiry. Furthermore, the audit revealed that loans were obtained by the Kwara State Government within the period under review.
“The elements of these loans could not be validated. Above all, the bank accounts to which these loans were disbursed to and what the loans were used for could not be established or validated,” he said.
The report suggested to the State government to prosecute some individuals and firms indicted in the two-volume report, while other issues were to be referred to administrative panel of inquiry for some individuals to explain their roles in the many infractions.
Governor AbdulRazaq, for his part, said the revelations were truly disturbing but hardly surprising, given the patterns of events in those years.
