Yesterday, during the continued court proceedings regarding the alleged diversion of funds from the Kwara State Universal Basic Education Board (KWSUBEB), involving former Kwara State Governor AbdulFatah Ahmed and his Finance Commissioner, Demola Banu, a witness for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Dr. Musa Dasuki, testified at a state High Court. Dasuki disclosed that the state government accessed its matching grants between 2013 and 2016 to settle workers’ salaries.
The EFCC’s Ilorin Zonal Directorate had charged the two defendants with misusing N5.78 billion in matching grants allocated by the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) between 2013 and 2019. Both Ahmed and Banu have denied the allegations, pleading not guilty to the charges.
Dasuki, a former Permanent Secretary at KWSUBEB, confirmed that the state government fulfilled its obligation by paying its 50% counterpart funding to SUBEB from 2013 to 2016 without delay. During this period, the state deposited over N1 billion in 2013, followed by N952 million, N869 million, and N973 million in 2014, 2015, and 2016, respectively, into a designated Skye Bank account.
The witness, who is also implicated in the case, further explained that the state government later sought to withdraw these funds as a loan to address salary arrears for its workforce.
The veterinary surgeon told the court during cross-examination by the former governor counsel, Jimoh Mumuni (SAN) that ex-governor Ahmed and Mr Banu were neither signatories of SUBEB’s account nor board members.
“The loan was not granted to the then governor Ahmed or his commissioner for finance. Though the loan was not repaid to the best of my knowledge, it was essentially granted to pay workers’ salaries.
“The SUBEB has a board. I was a member as a permanent secretary and the accounting officer of the board. The two of them were not members of the board. They cannot be members by the virtue of the law establishing the board.”
Earlier, when cross-examined by EFCC counsel, Rotimi Jacobs, the retired permanent secretary said the short term loans granted SUBEB granted to the state government in those years marred the execution of those projects.
The projects were the provision of infrastructure facilities to primary and junior secondary schools in the state.
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