THE Governor of Sokoto State, Ahmed Aliyu, has accused some local government and local government education authority officials of diverting N30,000 stipends meant for workers in the state to celebrate the just concluded Eid-el-Kabir.
The governor asked the state officials to return the fund or face serious consequences.
According to Punch, the governor gave the warning on Friday, July 5 while addressing a crowd of well-wishers and supporters at the government House, in Sokoto following a successful Hajj exercise.
The governor decried the nefarious attitude of some finance officers especially at the local governments level who denied its staff of the N30,000 approved as Sallah gifts by the state government.
“I wonder how somebody would deny our workers the stipends we gave them in order to make them financially stable during the Sallah festive season,” Aliyu lamented.
“Those who diverted those funds must return them immediately or else we will take serious punitive measures against them.
He vowed to punish the perpetrators in order to serve as a deterrent to others.
The governor further charged all heads of agencies where such corrupt tendencies were perpetrated to hasten the compilation of all the affected workers and ensure that they are refunded.
He also assured the people of the state of his administration’s determination to ensure accountability, transparency and the prudent management of public funds for the good of all.
Nurudeen Akewushola is an investigative reporter and fact-checker with The ICIR. He believes courageous in-depth investigative reporting is the key to social justice, accountability and good governance in society. You can reach him via nyahaya@icirnigeria.org and @NurudeenAkewus1 on Twitter.