KADUNA: Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has accused President Bola Tinubu of unlawfully deducting N100 billion every month from the Federation Account without legislative approval, describing the action as an impeachable offence.
El-Rufai made the allegation during an interview on a programme aired on Television and monitored by Rapidospace News online.
According to him, the alleged unauthorised deductions have been ongoing for over 15 months, amounting to approximately N1.5 trillion.
He said the deductions were carried out without appropriation by the National Assembly or the various state assemblies, despite the fact that part of the funds constitutionally belongs to the states.
El-Rufai stated that this is government data and not speculation, adding that each state assembly is required by law to approve expenditures related to its share of the Federation Account.
The entire deduction and expenditure process is unconstitutional. It is an impeachable offence, yet it has been happening for more than 15 months,” he said.
The former governor questioned the use of the funds, asking why insecurity continues to worsen across the country despite the huge sums allegedly withdrawn monthly.
So where has the N1.5 trillion gone? What is it being used for? Why is the security situation deteriorating? Why is the government now asking communities to protect themselves?” he queried.
El-Rufai further expressed disappointment with the current state of affairs, noting that he would not have believed the situation could deteriorate to its present level if told during the 2022 or 2023 election campaigns.
If anyone had told me during the campaigns that things would become this bad, I would have dismissed it,” he said.
