Leading Reporters

Abia State Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu, is under scrutiny for reportedly disbursing a staggering sum of N107.2 billion to contractors for projects that either do not exist or remain incomplete. This revelation has sparked widespread concern and calls for accountability within the state government.

READ ALSO: Exposed: How Gov. Ikpeazu allies emptied Abia Excess Crude Account:  Ararume, Enyinnaya, Dike, Chuku Wachuku, T.A. Orji , others fingered

A forensic audit conducted by an audit firm has revealed how the immediate past government of Abia State approved funds to contractors for the construction of non-existent state-owned Airport and other infrastructure.

The Abia State Governor, Dr Alex Otti made the revelation during a presentation at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, Washington DC, United States.

He spoke on the theme, ‘Dynamics of State Governance, Economic Transition and the Challenges of Seeking to Establish a New Order Amidst Multiple Constraints and Pushbacks.’

Otti said it is difficult to admit how some Nigerian leaders contest elections for reasons shrouded in corruption.

The governor who took over from Okezie Ikpeazu in 2023 explained that some politicians have abused the privilege of governance thereby impoverishing their states.

Otti explained how he engaged one of the top audit firms to examine the state accounts, adding that the auditor uncovered several deals that are shrouded in corruption.

He said, “Talking about corruption, I set up a forensic audit as soon as I took over last year in Abia so that there won’t be any argument, I called in one of the top three audit firms in the world, and not too long ago, they sent in their report and some of the things in the report are frightening.

Bashir El-Rufai, son of former Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna has tackled Governor Uba Sani for saying his father plunged the State into debt.

Recall that Governor Sani had on Saturday said the El-Rufai administration left a huge debt burden of $587 million, N85 billion, and 115 contractual liabilities for the state.

According to governor, the state was now finding it difficult to pay salaries as a result of the debt which is being removed from the Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC).

Sani said, “Despite the huge debt burden of $587 million, N85 billion, and 115 contractual liabilities sadly inherited from the previous administration, we remain resolute in steering Kaduna State towards progress and sustainable development.

“We have conducted a thorough assessment of our situation and are sharpening our focus accordingly. It gladdens my heart to inform you that despite the huge inherited debt of the state, till date, we have not borrowed a single kobo.”

Reacting to Governor Sani, Bashir tackled the governor saying he was looking for a cheap excuse for his incompetence.

Bashir stated this in a post via his X handle on Saturday.

The El-Rufai said, “These guys have realised that they are wholly incompetent and the only way to mask the nonsense is to deflect. From a Governor that is always sleeping in Abuja to a litany of incompetent aides that were only rewarded for foolish political reasons.

“One would think that from all the FAAC allocations these unserious clowns have changed to dollars, debt would be the least of their problems,” he said.

The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has advised Nigerians to be wary of scanning QR codes from unfamiliar sources, as they could be used for identity theft and illicit transactions by scammers.

It disclosed this information on Saturday via its official handle on X, a social media platform. A QR code is a type of barcode that stores information and can be read by a digital device. It also grants quick access to information and actions.

According to NITDA, these codes can be exploited by malicious actors to deceive and lure unsuspecting users into scanning them and to perpetrate fraudulent activities.

ALSO READ: Busted: How Cynotrust Intelligent Systems Ltd: A company linked to NITDA DG received N264m into its UBA account In one swoop

NITDA wrote:

“QR codes can be exploited by malicious actors to deceive unsuspecting users and perpetrate fraudulent activities. Scammers utilize QR codes in various ways to achieve their nefarious goals, including:

• Phishing scams: Phishing scammers can generate QR codes that point to malicious applications or phishing websites. Users scan these codes thinking they are genuine and end up having their information stolen.
• Payment fraud: Scammers can create QR codes that start illicit transactions or reroute payments to their accounts, rather than to the intended recipients.
• Data theft: Threat actors may embed malicious payloads like malware or data-stealing scripts within QR codes. By exploiting security vulnerabilities in users’ devices, they can steal private documents, financial information, and passwords among other sensitive data.
• Identity theft: Users personal information, including names, addresses and contact details can be collected using QR codes inserted in fake advertisements or online surveys. The information can then be exploited for identity theft or other targeted frauds.“

It also listed some measures that can be used to prevent falling victim to QR code scams.

According to NITDA, some of these measures are: verifying the legitimacy of QR codes and associated links before scanning them, updating devices with the latest antivirus software and security patches regularly and using reputable QR code scanning mobile applications with built-in security features.

Uba Sani, Governor of Kaduna State, has decried the amount of local and foreign debt Nasir El-Rufai, his predecessor, accrued for the state.

During a town hall meeting at the late Umaru Musa Yar’Adua Hall, Kaduna, on Saturday, Sani revealed his administration inherited a total of $587 million, N85 billion and 115 contract liabilities.

He said these commitments meant the government spent N7 billion of its N10 billion federal allocation on debt servicing and would be unable to pay salaries, which stood at about N5.2 billion.

These comments drew criticism from netizens, who perceived them as an attack on El-Rufai. Bashir, the former governor’s son, took to social media to mock Sani and his aides, claiming they were incompetent.

We now learnt that, as part of the ninth Senate, Sani was instrumental in securing a $350 million loan for the El-Rufai administration after three senators from Kaduna opposed the request in the eighth Senate.

‘HOLD ME RESPONSIBLE, SANI TOLD SENATE

Between 2019 and 2023, Sani represented Kaduna Central in the Senate, but before him, there was Shehu Sani.

Shehu Sani expressed disapproval of El-Rufai’s loan request, and his position was shared by Suleiman Hunkuyi (Kaduna North) and Danjuma La’ah (Kaduna South).

Shehu’s argument was that another loan would erode the economic viability of the state, which already had huge debt burdens to fund.

When the All Progressives Congress (APC) replaced Shehu with Uba on the 2019 ballots, it was the positive El-Rufai needed.

In March 2020, Shehu was no longer in the Senate, and Uba was chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and Other Financial Institutions. The loan request topic came up for debate again, and Uba swore it was critical the state got it at the time and even asked that the nation hold him responsible if the then governor failed to utilise the loan of about $350 million properly.

“They were wrong in their assertion,” Uba said of the Kaduna senators who opposed borrowing. “Having checked the laws, the accounts and the performance of the Kaduna State Government, the World Bank was convinced that Kaduna State merited its support.

“Equally important is the integrity of the Governor of Kaduna State. While considering the request for the loan, the relevant committees in both chambers of the National Assembly factored in the unassailable integrity of Governor Nasir El Rufai to approve the loan request.”

Four years after, Uba has now complained of the economic viability of the state, as 70 percent of its allocation has gone into debt servicing while workers are yet unpaid.