‘ASUU Queried Detained Accountant General’s Source of Wealth Last Year’
•Says AGF was warming up for Kano seat of govt
Kingsley Nwezeh
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Bauchi Zone, had last year, queried the source of wealth of the Accountant-General of the Federation (AGF), Mr Ahmed Idris.
Idris, who was arrested by EFCC on Sunday in Kano and flown to Abuja on Monday, is presently undergoing interrogation by investigators of the anti-graft agency.
The union had asked Idris to explain how he acquired some multi-billion naira properties in Kano State.
ASUU’s Bauchi Zone Coordinator, Prof. Lawan Abubakar, in a statement, sought the AGF’s explanation regarding his source of wealth and how he bought Sokoto Hotel in Kano at the sum of N500 million and ordered for its immediate demolition to build a multi-billion naira shopping mall.
The union, which then confirmed that the project was ongoing, reportedly asked the AGF to account for the money he used in acquiring multi-billion naira Gezawa Commodity Market and Exchange.
“We would want Gentlemen of the Press to assist us in the conduct of two Investigations.The first is to uncover who bought the version of the Sokoto Hotel in Kano with a whooping sum of N500 million cash down and demolished it the next day for an on-going development of a multi-billion naira shopping mall.
“How and where did he get money for such investment? The second assignment is to assist uncover who is hiding to invest multi-billion naira in the Gezawa Commodity Market and Exchange. How and where did he get money for such investment?”, they had asked.
On the ongoing strike, Mr Abubakar blamed the AGF and the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, for impeding resolution of the industrial action.
According to the union, the duo had “continued to throw spanners in the wheel of progress of the concerted efforts, aimed at amicable resolution of its disagreement with federal government.”
He also alleged that the AGF insisted on Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System, IPPIS, in order to gain N16,000 per enrollment of each of the academic staff of universities on the salary payment platform.
“While the Minister of Labour and Employment, has continued to exhibit all manners of antics and insisting that government does not have the money to responsibly educate its citizens, the AGF has continued to greedily and selfishly count on the gains of N16,000 per enrollment of each academic staff he would have made
“Thereby insisting that ASUU members be enrolled on the only payment platform he has now, Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System, IPPIS,” said the coordinator.
