Ganduje Suspends Director, Nine Others over Salary Scam

Ibrahim Shuaibu in Kano

Kano State Governor, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, has ordered the immediate suspension of a Director at the state Ministry of Finance and sacked no fewer than nine employees of the Ministry for Local Government over their alleged connivance to divert funds, running into millions of naira.

The nine local government employees were schedule officers under the platform of REMITA.
Also, the state government has handed over four employees of the Kano State Pension Funds Trustee, including two top members of Kano Pension Union to the police authorities.

The four persons, whose case files had already been handed over to the state Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission for investigation, were accused of connivance to siphon public funds.

According to a statement, issued from the office of the Head of Civil Service, Alhaji Muhammed Awwal Naiya and made available to journalists yesterday, noted that preliminary investigation by a special committee indicted the affected officers for illegal insertion and fraud in the salary of civil servants in Kano.

The governor who is visibly worried over the discovery of salary scam, warned that any violation of due process, contravening the government’s quest against zero tolerance to corruption would not go unpunished.

Ganduje promised that the state government would deploy the necessary machinery to recover all diverted funds, as well as not hesitate to effect all appropriate dispensary action against anybody indicted in the salary scam.
“It is therefore pertinent to make it abundantly clear that government will not condone any act of fraud or theft in every business of governance”.

The statement therefore appealed to all civil servants and pensioners, who are yet to receive their entitlement, as a result of the ongoing investigation to be patient.

Ganduje promised that workers in this category would be paid after undergoing fresh screening exercise.