The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is investigating former Kano State Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso over an alleged N2.5 billion pension fraud, MUK TV has learned.
Kwankwaso was invited and interrogated by EFCC officials regarding the matter, as reported by The Punch.
A source within the anti-graft agency, who was not authorized to speak publicly, stated, “The commission invited Kwankwaso over the alleged N2.5bn Kano pension funds. We have grilled Kwankwaso over the matter, and he has provided some details to interrogators.”
Another insider confirmed, “Former Kano governor Kwankwaso has been invited by the commission. He has been grilled, and we’re continuing with our investigation.”
When contacted, EFCC spokesperson Dele Oyewale declined to comment.
In March 2023, The same paper reported that the Abuja Zonal Command of the EFCC handed over documents of properties and 324 houses recovered for Kano State pensioners.
The handover was facilitated by a final forfeiture order granted by Justice I.E. Ekwo of the Federal High Court in Abuja.
EFCC spokesman Oyewale explained that the forfeiture followed successful investigations into a N4.1 billion Pension Trust Fund contributed by pensioners for housing, which was misappropriated by two successive Kano State administrations.
Oyewale said, “The commission investigated a petition by Concerned Kano State Workers and Pensioners of alleged misappropriation of pension funds in the state. Findings by the EFCC showed that the state government entered into a tripartite agreement with the Kano State Pension Trust Fund to build housing estates for an aggregate sum of N41bn, out of which the Pension Trust Fund was to contribute N4.1bn.”
He added, “However, the contribution of the pensioners was used to build the houses in three estates located in Sheikh Ja’afar Mahmud Adam Bandirawo city, Sheikh Nasiru Kabara (Amana) city, and Sheikh Khalifa Ishaq Rabiu city, all in Kano State. Two former governors of the state fraudulently discounted and sold the houses to their cronies and associates, leaving the pension trustees with low-budget and uncompleted houses.”
Upon completion of the investigation, the EFCC secured a final forfeiture order for the 324 properties to the Kano State Pension Fund Trustees. On March 18, 2024, the Abuja Zonal Commander of the EFCC, Assistant Commander Adeniyi Adebayo, handed over the documents of the properties worth N4.1 billion to the pensioners, assuring them of the EFCC’s commitment to combating fraud.
Representatives of the Kano State Pension Board, Alhaji Hassan Muhammed Aminu, Kubra Ahmad Bichi, and Salisu Yakubu Abubakar, expressed their gratitude to the EFCC for assisting in recovering their houses.
The EFCC’s probe of Kwankwaso comes amid political tension between the ruling New Nigeria People’s Party, led by Kwankwaso in Kano, and the All Progressives Congress, led by the immediate-past governor, Abdullahi Ganduje.
Last week, the state Assembly, loyal to Kwankwaso’s political ally and incumbent governor Abba Yusuf, reversed Ganduje’s 2020 decision to split the Kano emirate into five.
Yusuf also reinstated Lamido Sanusi, whom Ganduje had dethroned as Emir of Kano in 2020.
