The corruption scandal rocking Kano State has deepened as the Commissioner for Community and Rural Development, Abdulkadir Abdulsalam, has reportedly confessed to authorising a N1.17 billion payment for a non-existent contract while serving as the state’s Accountant General, Premium Times reports.
According to investigators, Abdulkadir Abdulsalam made the admission during interrogation by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), which is probing a suspected N6.5 billion fraud and money laundering scheme.
Documents obtained by Premium Times revealed that in November 2023, the commissioner approved the questionable payment in collusion with the Director-General of Protocol to Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf, Abdullahi Rogo. The deal was allegedly facilitated using forged “letters of authority” in the names of A.Y. Mai Kifi Oil and Gas Ltd. and Ammas Petroleum Company Ltd. However, the managing directors of both firms later denied knowledge of the contracts, saying they signed the documents at the instruction of the former Accountant General.
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Investigators disclosed that on November 9, 2023, the N1.17 billion was withdrawn directly from Kano State’s Federation Account Allocation and channelled to bureau de change operators, Gali Muhammad of Kazo Nazo and Nasiru Adamu of Namu Nakune. Muhammad was said to have handed $1 million in cash to Mr Rogo at the Kano Liaison Office in Asokoro, Abuja.
Although Abdulsalam admitted authorising the payment, he reportedly failed to justify why the funds were routed through bureau de change firms. He also declined to respond to calls and messages seeking clarification.
The ICPC confirmed that it has so far recovered N1.1 billion of the diverted sum. Broader investigations into the N6.5 billion scandal are ongoing, with officials saying Rogo is believed to have masterminded the scheme by funnelling public resources through front companies, bureau de change operators, and private accounts. About N1.3 billion linked to him has already been recovered.
Despite mounting evidence, the Kano State Government has continued to dismiss reports of the scandal as politically motivated. It insists that all financial transactions under Governor Yusuf’s administration were duly budgeted and documented, denying that state funds were diverted for personal use.
