BUKOLA SARAKI’S “KLEPTOCRACY”: How He Mismanaged Kwara’s Billions, Why He Doesn’t Want Goodluck.
Thursday, 02 September 2010 11:29
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Street Journal has reliably gathered that the Chairman of the Governors’ Forum, Abubakar Bukola Saraki is one of those secretly working against the emergence of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan as Nigeria’s President in 2011.

Street Journal’s investigations revealed that though the Kwara State Governor openly professes his unalloyed support for President Jonathan’s candidacy, his actual loyalty to the President is divided. With his dirty past and uncertain future, the only way Saraki can save his neck is to ensure that Dr. Goodluck Jonathan does not continue in office in 2011.

The high handedness of the Saraki family ran the Societe Generale Bank bankrupt years ago and till date, they are yet to answer the charges against them. Even when charges of corruption were brought against Bukola Saraki, his sister, Gbemisola and others in 1990, their father allegedly used his clout to shield them from the law.

While the others appeared in court, none of the Sarakis ever did. Street Journal also gathered that the high-handedness that led to the failure of Societe Generale Bank was brought into governance in Kwara State where Governor Bukola Saraki’s father is the sole political kingmaker. Investigations also showed that in Kwara State and even beyond, members of the Saraki family are seen as being above the law.

Street Journal gathered that just about 10 months after Bukola Saraki was elected Governor of Kwara State, the House of Representatives summoned then Central Bank Governor Joseph Sanusi to explain how Societe Generale Bank overdrew its capital base by N 11 billion. The then Central Bank of Nigeria Governor was issued an order on 3 March 2004 which gave him only seven days to give a satisfactory explanation regarding the bank's activities. Strangely, no director of the bank was summoned by the House of Representatives.

Among other things, the Governor was alleged to have mismanaged about N65 billion which accrued to the state from the federation account between April 2003 and June 2008. A petition written to the EFCC by the Kwara State chapter of the Yoruba Council of Elders (YCE) in 2008 reads in part “the total money from Federation Account meant for the 16 Kwara local governments between April 2003 to June 2005 is about N65 billion.

While Baruten, Ilorin West, Offa and Oyun were supposed to be given (out of it) a sum of not less than N5 billion, N5.7 billion, N3.4 billion and N3.1 billion respectfully. But after our own survey by teams of expert builders, economists, engineers and others, that covered the entire 16 local government council areas, it was been discovered that in each of these local governments, no serious project worth an amount of N1.5 billion took place between this period.

This shows that about N40 billion meant for local governments is elsewhere and for the four local governments mentioned above, there are no traces of development that could match up to the colossal amount of the local government revenue," The YCE also alleged that the while serving as a Director in Societe Generale, the Governor’s father, Chief Olusola Saraki influenced the granting of unsecured loans to the tune of N 250 million to the PDP. The YCE further stated that "Dr. Olusola Saraki, the father of the Kwara State governor, and other directors of the crippled bank had been investigated and were due to be arraigned on a 30-count charge before high powered politics swept away former EFCC chairman, Nuhu Ribadu and his team."

Street Journal has also found out that between the years 1999-2003 which happened to be the most critical period in the life of the SGBN, Bukola Saraki acquired 15 luxurious cars, which included a Ferrari. He and his wife, Toyin, also purchased houses in London worth 10 million pounds On 29 November 2001, Bukola Saraki bought a mansion in London for four million, two hundred and fifty thousand pounds (£4,250,000.00). The house with title number, NGL805616, is located on 70 Bourne Street, London SW1W 8JW. The lease hold on the property was registered on 9 January 2002 with the land registry, Harrow Office.

It was reportedly bought with a loan from Fortis Bank, SA-NV. The house now has a free hold. The three story structure is nothing short of a palatial mansion befitting only a king. The house is not far from Buckingham Palace road. The interior of the house speaks volumes about Governor Saraki’s high taste and love for good things; almost everything in the house, including door knobs, are gold plated. Toyin Saraki had previously bought number 69 Bourne Street in 2000 for two million pounds. In 2002, the governor also bought Number 53 Ashley Gardens for 4 million pounds; he used a front company known as "53 Ashley Gardens Limited."

Apart from his U.K properties, Bukola Saraki owns several properties in Nigeria worth several millions of naira including a N700 million house in Victoria Island said to be fetching him N96 million rent annually. Friends and associates of the Governor have posited that he was in the private sector when he bought his London property. He was the Vice Chairman of Societe General Bank at that time. Those who believe that while the bank was experiencing financial problems, he, as an executive of the bank was acquiring a multi-million pound home may therefore not be wrong.

The question that however arises is: What did Dr. Bukola Saraki use as collateral for the four million, two hundred and fifty thousand pound (£4,250,000.00) loan? How much was Bukola Saraki paid as the Vice Chairman of a bank that was having financial problems at the time he worked there? In 2003, the Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) were drafted to investigate some allegations of fraud at the SGBN perpetrated by the Saraki family.

Dr. Olusola Saraki, his wife, Florence, son, Bukola, and 9 other shareholders were dragged to the NDLEA after being accused of using depositors' funds to buy shares at the Societe Generale Bank of Nigeria, contrary to the Banking and Other Financial Institutions Act. Street Journal’s investigation revealed that the presidency intervened and the case never saw the light of the day. The money, which amounted to billions of naira, was allegedly moved from several bank branches in bullion vans. There are no records of these transactions.

The bank’s financial dealings were so bad that it was sent out of the clearinghouse by June 2003, a month after Bukola Saraki made frantic efforts to transfer Kwara State accounts to the bank to save it from total collapse. In a curious move, the Federal Government had also granted the SGBN a N13 billion lifeline to enable it to pay off some of its high profile debts, including monies owed to Nigeria’s former international soccer star, Austin Jay-Jay Okocha. By early 2004, the bank and its top management were accused of involvement in a N 37 billion naira fraud. Surprisingly, the bank was said to be unable to account for N 17 billion alleged to have been overdrawn from its accounts with the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Till date, people still wonder why nobody from the Saraki family has been brought to book on account of their conduct at the Societe Generale Bank. The activities of the Transition Implementation Committee (TIC), the body that managed the local government areas in Kwara State for a while also says a lot about Governor Saraki’s leadership style. Street Journal found out that in May 2003, when the Saraki led government came into office, Governor Bukola Saraki appointed transition committees to run the affairs of the 16 local councils. In the first six months, the most senior civil servants in the councils called Director of Personnel Management (DPM) ran the councils.

They were allegedly given a little part of council allocation to cover salaries. In the second six months, caretaker committees were appointed by the state government. They too had no access to council allocation. They were given enough to cover salaries and emoluments and N200, 000 per month for running expenses. The total accrual to all the local governments for the 12 months came to N7.9 billion (7 billion, 843 million and 364,000 naira).

That simply implies that the TIC hardly exhausted a quarter of their accrual. But till today, the balance has not been accounted for. In most of the petitions submitted to the EFCC by the local government chairmen that took over from the Transition Implementation Committee, a company, OlaKleen was mentioned. This company, said to be owned by the governor’s younger brother, Olaolu Saraki, is the consultant to a state project named “Operation Keep Kwara Clean”. Although Olakleen is only working in the state capital, Ilorin, the 16 local councils are made to pay for the service, coughing out about N14 million every month. When asked then, one of the Chairmen said “in my local government, I employed my own cleaners whom I pay N5, 000 in salary on a monthly basis. I had 30 cleaners, yet I was still compelled to pay N960, 000 a month to Olakleen when they were neither working for me nor operating in my local government.”

One other thing that set the Governor against the council bosses was issue of 4 per cent deduction from each local council for the salaries of traditional rulers. In another petition from the former chairmen, it was stated that a 2001 law stipulated 2.5 per cent of council allocation to the traditional councils; the current government raised it to 4 percent. Pointing out what he called arm-twisting, a former Chairman of Edu Local Government said “my local government has three traditional rulers: Emir of Lafiagi, Emir of Saragi and Emir of Shonga. Lafiagi’s salary is N80, 000, the other two N50, 000 each, making it a total of N180, 000.

So if I have N70 million allocations, 4 percent of it, about N3 million is taken from me to pay a salary of N180, 000. In addition, the monthly miscellaneous expenses of these traditional rulers are the burden of the local government. If they are sick or traveling or having ceremonies, we pick the bills.” For years now, the state government has not accounted for the proceeds of this deduction from the joint account domiciled at Intercontinental Bank along Wahab Folawiyo Road, Ilorin. The account number of this joint project is 0029253979001.

All the sixteen local government were forced to pay certain amount of the net allocation accruing to them, with the understanding that the state will also pay a certain percentage of its allocation. Street Journal gathered that while the local governments have been loyal to the agreement the state government is yet to fulfill its own side of the bargain. Apart from the gross deduction the 16 local governments have lost about N5b to this arm twisting in the name of joint capital project. The signatories to the account are the state accountant general and the Deputy Director of Treasury, none of the local government chairmen is a signatory. It was also gathered that Chief Olusola Saraki’s close affinity with former President Obasanjo coupled with the influence wielded by Governor Saraki in the Yar’Adua days made it impossible for the EFCC to bring either of them to book. Investigations carried out by Street Journal revealed that the Kwara State Governor was largely instrumental to the appointment of Mrs. Farida Waziri as the EFCC Chairman.

Sources in the EFCC revealed that after her retirement in 1999, Mrs. Waziri was one of those who lobbied the EFCC hierarchy to stop the investigation of the Saraki dynasty. EFCC investigators were at the time digging into how the Sarakis looted the Societe Generale Bank of Nigeria. Mrs. Waziri, who was close to several EFCC officials, used her leverage to stop further investigations and the planned prosecution of the Saraki family, including the governor whose questionable wealth in Nigeria and the United Kingdom grew bigger just as the fortunes of the family bank, in which he was executive director, deteriorated. And in what has been described as a bid to continue their invincibility, the Saraki family has decided to tighten their grip on the politics of their home state. Gbemisola, the senator daughter of Dr. Olusola Saraki and sister to the Governor is planning to succeed her brother as Governor.

Though Bukola is said to oppose her sister’s governorship ambition, it is believed in some quarters that she enjoys the support of their father, who is the main kingmaker in Kwara State. The whole state is presently divided over the issue as Islamic clerics have declared that it is wrong for a woman to rule a state like Kwara. . Senator Saraki’s governorship ambition has sparked off a cold war between her and the Governor. It is also being speculated that the Senator’s ambition has caused a disagreement between the Governor and his father.

The Governor’s camp is of the opinion that a neutral candidate who is qualified should be sought to lead the state in 2011. Opinions are currently divided on whether Gbemisola Saraki’s ambition might bring about an end to the Saraki’s political dominance in Kwara State. And once that happens, they will be made to face the full weight of the law, hence the Governor’s fears. Another school of thought has however described Gbemi’s ambition as a project within a project.

It Those harbouring this belief opined that Chief Olusola Saraki is gradually transferring his role as godfather to his son. The idea is that Gbemi would insist on contesting and since the majority in Kwara would not want a female Governor, Chief Olusola Saraki would throw his weight behind his daughter’s ambition.

Street Journal gathered that sentiments would even be whipped up that Bukola doesn’t want to support his sister because they were born by different mothers, though the Governor was taken care of as a kid by Gbemi’s mother. The plot is that would openly oppose his father, showing that he wants to accede to the wishes of the people; he will eventually support another candidate who will emerge as Governor. That will both place him as the new political godfather and an authority whom the people would look up to. Street Journal also gathered that the grouse Dr. Bukola Saraki has against the President is that the latter refused to pick him as Vice President.

Inside sources revealed that during the days of absence of the late President Yar’Adua, Saraki had gone to Jonathan, who was then the Acting President to lobby for the Vice President’s position. He was said to have promised that he would use his clout and contacts in the national assembly to ensure that Yar’Adua would be declared incapacitated and unfit to rule.

The Acting President’s refusal allegedly caused a strain in the relationship though both of them moved on as if all was well. Street Journal gathered that some elements loyal to the Kwara State Governor are of the opinion that if not for good luck and opportunity, somebody like Goodluck Jonathan would not be leading Nigeria as President.

The factors listed include the fact that he has no record on which to lean in his desire to become president in 2011. His entire public service record reveals an incurable mediocrity: a nondescript deputy director at NDDC; a cowardly deputy governor in Bayelsa; a governor whose wife ended up stealing millions of dollars (according to Nuhu Ribadu’s EFCC); a scheming vice president and now a divisive and below-average president!

http://www.elombah.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3906%3Abukola-sarakis-kleptocracy-how-he-mismanaged-kwaras-billions-why-he-doesnt-want-goodluck&catid=36%3Aomoba&Itemid=83

all of the candidates have mismanaged resources

www.nairaland.com/attachments/324804_SarakiWanted_jpg83ef0f3bcfba6b279ae2e7e132dcafc5

[size=14pt]This idea of State Governments hijacking LG Funds is a misnomer and a cancer that needs to be surgically removed from our Constitution. Something seriously needs to be done to  address this malice that have turned our LG’s into a heaven of depravation, squalor, abject poverty, and penury,  a cap in hand mentality is the bane of this vital institution, they are at the mercy and at the whims of despotic State Executives.  This is not right.

We see these abhorrence in the whole polity from the North to the South, East to West, the independence of our LG is something that should be pursued with a new vigour in the next parliament, Independence on how they spend their funds, what they spend it on,  and whom they spend it on, after all what are Councillors there for, if not to check any excessive and unruly behaviour of the LG Chairmen.

Can we really have a Fashola or Amechi or better still a Bukola Saraki in our LG’s, men who have harking to the yearns of their people and have spread the gospel and dividends of democracy to their respective people and states.

These turncoat and blatant profligacy of our LG Funds is really becoming a serious slight on our democracy and what it stands for.[/size]

true talk

Saraki dynasty

Senator Olusola Saraki - President
Mrs Olusola Saraki - First Lady
Dr Bukola Saraki - Senate President
Senator Gbemisola Saraki - Governor, Kwara
Mrs Toyin Saraki - Deputy Governor, Kwara

I believe bukola saraki has done much more good in kwara than any bad you can try to mention

we don't need the type of saraki in power again....



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