Three local government chairmen in Kaduna State have been suspended by the Kaduna State House of Assembly following allegations of financial mismanagement.
The suspension was announced on Tuesday after the chairmen were accused of awarding contracts without adhering to the due process as stipulated by the Kaduna State Public Procurement Law of 2016, Section 35 Subsection 23.
The ad-hoc committee on investigation, chaired by a member, representing Lere East, Munirat Sulaiman Tanimu, thoroughly scrutinised the financial activities of five local government areas: Chikun, Kaura, Kagarko, Soba, and Birnin Gwari.
The investigation was mandated by the Assembly following a resolution on July 18, 2023.
Tanimu explained that the committee invited the affected chairmen to provide financial documents, including bank statements from June 2022 to June 2023, departmental vault account (DVA), approved budgets for 2022 and 2023, capital and recurrent expenditures for the respective years, and a list of awarded contracts and their levels of completion, among others.
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Upon studying the documents, the committee found that the chairmen of Kaura, Kagarko, and Chikun had contravened Section 48 of the Local Government Administration Law of 2018 and Section 35 Subsection 25 of the Kaduna State Public Procurement Law of 2016.
She said these sections outline the necessary compliance with budget allocations and the state’s public procurement regulations.
As a result, the committee recommended that the three chairmen vacate their offices for the next six months for further investigation.
They were also directed not to be present at the local government secretariats during this period and must hand over their responsibilities to their respective vice chairmen.
The Assembly also acknowledged that the chairmen of Birnin Gwari and Soba local governments did not violate any laws but were reprimanded for their failure to procure the 2023 approved budget from the Ministry of Local Government on time.
Contributing on the report, the House Speaker, Yusuf Liman Dahiru, who presided over the plenary emphasized that all political office holders should refrain from embezzling public funds, warning that anyone found guilty would face strict legal consequences without any preferential treatment.
Musa Bello and Daily Trust