Bauchi accuses ex-Gov Abubakar of lavishing N2.3bn on funeral materials
Samuel Luka, Bauchi
Former Governor Mohammed Abdullahi Abubakar of Bauchi State has been accused of lavishing the sum of N2.3 billion on funeral materials.
Spokesman to Governor Bala Mohammed, Dr. Ladan Salihu, who made the allegation, said the figure was part of the handover notes submitted to the present administration in the state.
While wondering how such amount of money could be spent by the immediate past administration on funeral materials such as clothes, robes used to dress up corpses and woods, Dr. Ladan revealed that the expenses took place within January and May 28, 2019 before Abubakar left office.
He lamented that “the immediate past administration in the state spent this amount on funeral but deemed it not fit to spend quarter of that amount on our hospitals and clinics”.
The governor’s spokesperson, who argued that it was not part of the government’s responsibility to buy burial materials for anybody, vowed that the government would deploy all the means of recovery to return the money back to the state coffers.
“We will recover every kobo spent illegally by the immediate past administration. These monies are public funds; you don’t allow individuals to hold us to ransom. They are not inheritance, they belong to the people,” he said.
Dr. Ladan assured that the Bauchi State government will petition the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and ICPC to probe every individual who has taken away public funds and assets.
The Daily Times gathered that former Governor Abubakar had forwarded a bill seeking the state House of Assembly to repeal the law on recovery of looted public funds and assets by government officials.
The bill was passed on the floor of the assembly less than two weeks to the end of the tenure of the former governor who was defeated by Governor Bala Mohammed of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2019 governorship election.
