By Iro Dan Fulani

The acting governor of Adamawa State, Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, has promised to set up a judicial panel of inquiry into the alleged plundering of up to N80 billon state fund by the administration of his predecessor, Murtala Nyako.

Fintiri, who made the promise in his maiden broadcast to citizens of the state on Tuesday, accused the immediate past administration of “high level of mindless plundering of the state treasury”, which he said led to a debt profile of more than N12 billion in the statutory revenue account apart from liabilities of about N70 billion in the state funds that have been diverted to non-viable projects.

He also promised to work with all anti-graft agencies in the country to recover the state’s stolen funds and through effective publicity bring to public notice the abuses that necessitated and justified the change of government in the state.

The acting governor said although he is serving for a brief period, his administration is irrevocably committed to correcting the wrongs of the past and repositioning the state for future challenges.

“We have therefore mapped out strategies to reinvigorate the various sectors of the economy through which dividends of democracy can reach our citizens. The secretary to the state government shall, in due course, inform the world about these scandalous abuses and how the simple canons of government activities were thrown overboard,” he stated.

Fintiri commended the legislature, judiciary, the security agencies and citizens of the state for the positive roles they played in bringing about a peaceful change of government.