Former ALGON Secretary Accuses El-Rufai of Illegally Deducting Local Government Funds

Kabiru Jarimi, the former Secretary of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) in Kaduna State, has countered claims made by ex-Governor Nasir El-Rufai that his administration never interfered with local government funds. Jarimi, who served under El-Rufai, described these claims as misleading, asserting that the previous government routinely deducted funds from local councils’ allocations under various pretexts.

Jarimi stated that these deductions occurred without the approval of ALGON, with many targeting local government areas in Southern Kaduna. He also revealed that the local governments never received their full allocations under El-Rufai’s administration due to these policies, which he deemed unnecessary. He said that at times, they had no funds for overhead costs after paying salaries.

According to Jarimi, El-Rufai justified these deductions as necessary to settle worker’s salaries. However, the state government also employed other means to withdraw funds, such as the creation of the Kaduna Capital Territory Authority, Zaria Metropolitan Authority, and Kafanchan Municipal Authority. Jarimi explained that salaries were shared at a 60-40 ratio between the capital territories and local governments, and deductions were made in the name of sanitation, which forced them to remit funds to the Kaduna Capital Territory Authority monthly.

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Jarimi challenged El-Rufai to explain where the deducted funds went, specifically questioning the use of security and riot damage funds, and noted that no local government ever benefited from them.

Jarimi commended Governor Uba Sani for reversing El-Rufai’s policies, particularly the abolition of the Kaduna Capital Territory Authority, Zaria Metropolitan Authority, and Kafanchan Municipal Authority, as well as the security and riot damage funds.