The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Wednesday, the fourth of December, called a witness, Abubakar Hassan, to testify in the trial of the immediate past Governor of Kwara State, Abdulfatah Ahmed.
Ahmed and the former Commissioner for Finance, Ademola Banu, are currently standing trial for the alleged theft and mismanagement of Kwara State funds.
Among other allegations, the two were accused of conspiring to steal money intended for the payment of teachers’ salaries working with the State Universal Basic Education Board.
The spokesman for the EFCC, Dele Oyewale, disclosed this in a statement, stating that the trial has resumed.
He said the former governor and his commissioner were arraigned in October two thousand and twenty-four, and pleaded not guilty to the charges.
At the resumed hearing on Wednesday, the EFCC presented its first witness, Abubakar Hassan, an assistant director of finance at the Universal Basic Education Commission.
While being led in evidence by counsel to the EFCC, Rotimi Jacobs (Senior Advocate of Nigeria), Hassan informed the court that the Kwara State Government misappropriated approximately five billion naira intended to execute projects at primary and junior secondary schools between two thousand and thirteen and two thousand and fifteen, when Abdulfatah Ahmed was governor.
According to him, “The Matching Grant Funds from the Universal Basic Education Commission are intended to provide certain infrastructural facilities for students in both primary and junior secondary schools. Such facilities include the construction of buildings for primary schools, the provision of laboratories for students, the construction of toilets, the provision of water and sanitation, and cultural education.”
Hassan stated that the Kwara State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) prepared and submitted an action plan for two thousand and thirteen, which was defended and received approval to execute certain contracts in compliance with the action plan.
“The Commission made lodgements for two thousand and thirteen, two thousand and fourteen, and two thousand and fifteen. Kwara State received a matching grant of approximately two billion naira for two thousand and thirteen, eight hundred and seventy-six million naira was released for two thousand and fourteen, while they received nine hundred and eighty-two million naira in two thousand and fifteen, totalling approximately five billion naira,” the witness said.
He revealed that, “Implementation of the two thousand and thirteen Action Plan had already commenced, and contractors were already being mobilised to work on-site, but surprisingly, during our project monitoring exercise, we discovered that the funds intended for the project in two thousand and thirteen had been diverted by the Kwara SUBEB. We discovered that approximately two billion naira was diverted.”
Following this discovery, the witness said that the report of the project monitoring committee was sent to the Kwara SUBEB, asking them to comply with the committee’s recommendations, but there was no response.
As a result, the Commission wrote to the banks requesting the return of the funds for two thousand and fourteen and two thousand and fifteen paid to the state. He said there were no activities in two thousand and sixteen, two thousand and seventeen, and two thousand and eighteen due to the failure of the state to comply with the Universal Basic Education Commission’s earlier recommendations regarding the diverted funds.
Hassan further stated that the responsibility for spending Universal Basic Education Commission grants rested solely with SUBEB, and the State Governor or anyone outside SUBEB has no involvement, either directly or indirectly, in the expenditure of the funds.
The trial judge, Justice Mahmud Abdulgafar, adjourned further hearing of the case until the seventeenth of February, two thousand and twenty-five.
