Dogara accuses Bauchi Gov of diversion of N400bn

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Right Hon, Yakubu Dogara, at the weekend, accused Governor Mohammed Abubakar of Bauchi State of allegedly diverting N400 billion from the state treasury since assuming office in May 2015 through ghost workers.

The Special Adviser on Media and Public Affairs to Speaker, Turaki Hassan, in a statement on Saturday, indicated that Dogara made the allegation at a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) campaign rally in Dass, Dass Local Government Area, Bauchi State on Friday.

The statement indicated that the Speaker presented documented evidence to people who thronged the venue for the rally, showing them how thousands of nonexistent people were said to have been employed shortly after Abubakar came into office.

“The Speaker challenged Abubakar to take him to court and promised that he would defend the allegations and added that as a lawyer, he knew the law and would not level false allegations against anyone without having evidence,” Hassan said.

“One of the documents indicates that no fewer than 1,200 people were said to have been employed and added into the state’s payroll beginning from July 2015.

“However, one of the ghost employees by name, Bappale Adamu, was said to have been born in 1899, which is 120 years ago and started work with the state government on July 24, 2015 and will retire from the service in 2023,” the statement revealed

The statement also indicated that the 1,200 workers, although having different names and dates of birth, had the same Bank Verification Number, meaning that 0their salaries, which varied from N39,000 to N86,000, were being paid into the same bank account.

“The Speaker also wondered how Bauchi State’s monthly salary skyrocketed from N2.6 billon per month in May 2015 to N7 billion without recruiting additional workers, especially, as the governor early in his administration, fired the political appointees made by his predecessor, Isa Yuguda, which should have reduced the state’s wage bill drastically,” the statement declared.