Arrests by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, prompted by a flurry of petitions and revelations of corruption and abuse of office against Adamu Mua’zu at the Judicial Commission of Inquiry set up by the state government threaten to rubbish the  image of the former Bauchi governor

By Desmond Utomwen/Bauchi

For the eight years he dominated the political landscape of Bauchi State as governor,  Adamu Mua’zu cut the image of an incorruptible public officer whose personal interest was wholly subsumed in the overriding interest of the state. His image loomed so large that as the build-up to the transition in 2007 became fiercer, his anointed successor, Muhammed Nadada Umar, believed he only had to cite the “achievements of Mua’zu” to win the votes of the electorate. Nadada had served in Mu’azu’s administration as Secretary to the State Government, SSG. His ambition, however, crashed.

• Ex-Gov. Mua’zu

The first sign that all may not have been as rosy as the former governor had projected came on 28 March, when operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, clamped down on some key figures in his government. TheNEWS learnt that 29 officials, including Nadada Usman and Senator Bala Adamu Kariya, the former Special Adviser on Local Governments, were arrested over the alleged misappropriation of N8 billion belonging to the Department of Local Government, DLG, between 1999 and 2002. Others arrested were Alhaji Lawal Baraza, Umar Barau Ningi, Auwal Shehu Ilelah, Haruna Alfa Ahmed, Baba Akuyam, Sule Abdulkadir Doguwa, Muhammed Nadada Umar, Bappah Tilde and Malam Jolly from Zaki Local Government. Twenty former council chairmen are also currently being questioned in connection with the N8 billion missing from the department.

This magazine learnt that the arrest on the aides of the former governor was prompted by revelations from the ongoing Judicial Commission of Inquiry sitting in Bauchi, instituted by the administration of  Governor Isa Yuguda. This magazine learnt that Yuguda had discovered “an era of decay” under Mu’azu and constituted a committee to look into how affairs of the state were handled under the previous regime, with particular reference to its assets and liabilities.

Inaugurating the commission, Yuguda noted that apart from the financial improprieties and irregularities uncovered by the committee, the audit report of the DLG revealed misappropriation of over N8.8 billion over a period of seven years, while the Contract Review Committee also came up with allegations of misappropriation of public funds. The decision to constitute the Commission, according to Yuguda, was to ensure that the government acted in fairness and in accordance with the rule of law.
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