The Niger State Government has asked former Governor Babangida Aliyu to
refund N2.9bn, which the state government alleged was embezzled.
A
statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the state governor, Dr.
Ibrahim Dooba, indicated that the money was taken as loan on the eve of
Aliyu’s departure.
It stated that although the new administration
of Governor Abubakar Bello was not on a witch-hunt, but noted that “the
misappropriated money” belonged to the people.
The government
said, “They took this loan on the eve of their departure. And as was
customary with that administration, they did nothing with the money.
“You
can’t collect a loan on behalf of the people and share it among
yourselves. That’s literally what they did. They simply raised a list
and allocated money to those on the list.
”The office of the SSG,
for example, was given N600m. The records did not say what he would do
with the money. Well, we want our money back. The money belongs to the
people.”
The statement added that the present administration had
prioritised the needs of the people, stressing that such looted but
recovered funds would be expended on projects.
It added, ”Our
people need food, shelter, security, roads, water and so forth. For
example, the governor wants to start with the provision of potable water
and in the coming weeks, we’ll provide water at predictable intervals
to Nigerlites.
“On the problem of electricity, we have started an
arrangement to rent a power plant from overseas to provide regular
electricity before a permanent solution is found.
“Also,
Minna-Kataeregi road, Kontagora-Tegina, Minna-Suleja, Bakeko-Katcha,
Kaffin-koro, Kuta-Sabon Gari and Maitumbi-Maikunkele roads among others,
are receiving urgent attention.”
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