N432b Probe: Embattled El-Rufai Goes To Court

By Gideon Njoku

An embattled immediate past Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, has gone to Court to stop the Kaduna State House of Assembly from probing him over alleged misappropriation of the sum of N432b. The alleged misappropriation, the Kaduna Assembly claims, has put the State Government in a difficult situation with the huge debt left for it by El-Rufai.

El-Rufai has to his shock been embattled since the administration of Governor Bola Tinubu, an administration he feels strongly he was part of those who installed it.

Recall that the Senate refused to approve his nomination by President Bola Tinubu as a member of his Cabinet. Following on the heels is his spat with the Governor of the State, his successor, Senator Uba Sani, whose political godfather he thought he was. Sani was El-Rufai’s Aide in his first term as Governor, who he eventually helped to go to the Senate to replace Shehu Sani. El-Rufai later encouraged and fought for Ubah Sani to succeed him in office. They have since fallen apart, politically.

However, the greatest challenge to El-Rufai is the decision of the Kaduna State House of Assembly to probe him after the Governor had raised an alarm over the debt left for him by El-Rufai’s Administration and after a Committee of the Assembly indicted  El-Rufai for alleged misappropriation  of funds, and recommended him for a full blown probe and an investigation by the EFCC.

Governor Sani had revealed that El-Rufai’s Government left a crushing debt of $587million, N85billion, as wellas 115 contractual liabilities.

Since then, individuals and groups have rallied against El-Rufai and beckoned on the EFCC to invite him for questioning.

Feeling boxed in, the former Governor and power-broker, has run to the Courts to stop his Probe by the Assembly, pleading that he was not given the opportunity to defend himself.

El-Rufai’s fundamental rights suit challenging the Assembly Committee’s report, which indicted him for money laundering and other financial infractions during his eight-year tenure as Governor of Kaduna State, was filed on Wednesday by his Counsel, Abdulhakeem Mustapha, SAN, at Federal High Court in Kaduna against State House of Assembly.

The Assembly had indicted El-Rufai and some of his Aides of corruption and financial mismanagement during his Governorship.

The probe, according to the Assembly, will concentrate on  El-Rufai’s  Government’s loans, financial transactions, contractual liabilities, and any other relevant matters.

A frustrated Governor Sani said his Government is spending about 70 per cent of its resources on debt servicing.