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Senator Shehu Sani, a lawmaker in the 8th National Assembly, has recounted how Nasir El-Rufai, the former governor of Kaduna State, fraudulently obtained $350m from the World Bank.
The ex-lawmaker disclosed this in an exclusive interview with Pulse.ng when asked if holding state governors accountable was more important than the federal government.
He informed our correspondent that the 8th Assembly made repeated efforts to prevent the loan acquisition, as El-Eufai had not sufficiently clarified the purpose for which he intended to use the funds.
Senator Sani said, "When it comes to the issue of this $350 million loan, it will interest Nigerians to know that that loan was sourced through fraud, in the sense that the 8th National Assembly did not approve of it.
"We disapproved of that loan. We have refused to approve it since 2018. But to our surprise, a month after we left office, money started dropping in the coffers of the Kaduna State government. This shows that there was a deal between the Ministry of Finance and the World Bank. They were simply waiting for us to leave the office. So, Kaduna State's $350 million loan was fraudulently obtained from the World Bank."
The ex-lawmaker continued by revealing that due processes were not followed in sourcing for the fund and that the 9th Assembly approved the money after it was secretly sourced.
Shehu Sani's sacrifice in feud with El-Rufai
Recall that Pulse reported that the Kaduna State government had already opened an investigation into the activities of the El-Rufai-led government.
When asked if he supported the investigation against the El-Rufai-led government, Senator Sani said, "There is the need for a full-scale investigation on how Kaduna State got that $350 million. That is one. The second issue is how the money was expended.
"The whole project they said they used the money for in Kaduna State is less than $50 million. But they collected $350 million. What did they do with the money?"
The ex-lawmaker also recounted his ordeals while fighting for a good course to save Kaduna State from the claws of looters.
He revealed that his feud with El-Rufai and continuous refusal to approve the $350 million loan cost him his return to the Senate for a second term.
Senator Sani said, "It was because of that loan that I was denied a return to the Senate. Because of that loan, I was framed in a murder case.
"Because of that loan, my office and my house was attacked. Because of that loan, a lot was organised. Even protest marches were organised for me.
"Because of that loan, I was vilified in Kaduna State. This is a governor who openly called on the people of Kaduna State to attack me and my colleagues in the Senate. Because we refused to allow them to collect money from World Bank."