[size=13pt]Nigeria: Sokoto Acting Governor Spent N1.52 Billion in Three Weeks[/size]
http://allafrica.com/stories/201202270752.html

Sokoto — Former Acting Governor of Sokoto State Alhaji Lawal Mohammad Zayyana spent a total of N1.52 billion between January 28 and February 22, Daily Trust has gathered.

Zayyana who was then the Speaker of the State House of Assembly was sworn in on Saturday January 28 as the acting governor of the state following the Supreme Court's judgment that terminated the tenure of Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko along with four others.

Wamakko formerly handed over the affairs of the state to Zayyana on February 1. During the handing over ceremony at state government, Wamakko said he left N16.02 billion in the state's treasury.

However, while handing back to Wamakko who won the governorship election in the state at the weekend, Zayyana said he left 14.5 billion naira in the coffers of the state.

The brief handing over ceremony was witnessed by the Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Sahabi Isa Gada and other senior officials of the state.

Speaking during the ceremony held at the State Government House, Zayyana said he left cash balance of 14.5 billion naira.

He congratulated Wamakko on his victory at the poll and wished him Allah's guidance.

Responding, Wamakko commended the former acting governor for successfully piloting the affairs of the state, describing him as an honest and dedicated person who has the interest of the state at heart.

Senior Special Assistant to Wamakko on Media and Publicity Sani Umar said the money was used for the payment of salaries and capital projects.

Cutting his share very fast.

am not surprised.it has always been their way,that is why their people will remain poor.make them come collect more oil money na,FOOOLS!!

Was wage bill not paid during the interregnum? What of other liabilities that become due?

Before people will arrive and twist this story to one of corruption and embezzlement they should realize that there are indeed legitimate reasons( i.e paying of wages/salaries etc) as to why the state budget is N1.5 billion short.

Money is meant to be spent. The question we need to ask is; what was the money spent on? If he spent the money on the well-being of Sokoto people, then he did well.

YMCMB!!

OAM4J:

Money is meant to be spent. The question we need to ask is; what was the money spent on? If he spent the money on the well-being of Sokoto people, then he did well.

JOOR, MAKE WE HEAR WORD. WE KNOW THEIR PATTER, THESE NORTHERN LOOTERS, ITS IN THEIR BLOOD O.

The capital project part is what caught my attention because I am so sure salaries in Sokoto state cannot be as high as 750m (50% of the amount he spent) a month. Thus, have they tried checking if the monies he spent on the capital project was true and fair? If yes, no problems but if no, then he has done what most Nigerians in power know how to do best.

sam(obo):

am not surprised.it has always been their way,that is why their people will remain poor.make them come collect more oil money na,FOOOLS!!

you mean Nigeria right?

I wonder whether some of the N1.52billion was used to finance Wammako's comeback. Could that be why Wamakko commended the former acting governor for successfully piloting the affairs of the state, describing him as an honest and dedicated person who has the interest of the state at heart?  

Spend, spend, spend. That's all they ever talk about. Lazy, profligate children of Yakubu Gowon. No one has asked him how much he was able to invest thoughtless of generate. Let them not reorientate their psyche but continue to dance not realising the music is fast approching the last notes.

Corruption has become so ingrained in d nigerian system dat nothing shocks us any longer.Capital project my foot,which capital project did he inaugurate dat took less dan a mth of his stay to go tru due diligence& approval.Dis has embezzlement written all over it,because we shd not 4get d state also generated some internal revenue during dat period,no mata how small.Some amt for recurrent(salaries,being end of d mth)understood,but capital,no way sir

Whattttttttttttttttttttttttttttt N1.52 Billion in Three Weeks, to do what ? on what project. oh my God. that means every politician out there are just waiting for their own time to massively embezzle their own too share even if its a day opportunity ha aaaaaaa what a country.

It's in our blood, it can't be cured.

Before u pple start ur complain as usual, ask what the wage bill of Sokoto State is. No state in Nigeria pays less than #1B in salaries monthly. If he said he paid salary, dat shud be it.

Abi na new thing?. Nigeria is all about chop your own when you get the little chance. Has it been this man stayed for 2months who knows how much he would have spent, probably the whole state money would have been finished and we will here their latest English. Sokoto Is broke just like Nigeria is broke

kutchs:

Before u pple start ur complain as usual, ask what the wage bill of Sokoto State is. No state in Nigeria pays less than #1B in salaries monthly. If he said he paid salary, dat shud be it.

Spell this . . . B_ _ _ S _ _ T!

No state in Nigeria, not even states like Sokoto and the many others with outrageous levels of poverty should have a wage bill of that amount considering many of them do not produce even half as much as they consume.

PoliTHIEFcians

Nobody steals millions again in nigeria. People will call you a fool if they hear you embezzle millions and not billions.

@Kobojunkie, I undastand wia u re coming from but that unfortunately is the situation. With the new minimum wage, the different salary packages of different establishments like CONTEDISS, CAMPCASS, CONHESS, COMESS etc the wage bill of states have shot up really. What I contest is how much of these money goes actually to real workers given the ugly situation of ghost workerism in Nigeria.

Lets say sokoto state gets and spends N4.5b allocation monthly, there is nothing wierd in going thru less N2b in 3 weeks

sharp guy,

1.52 billion from oil states. Shame on the northern states. They can make their own money and be more responsible.

kutchs:

@Kobojunkie, I undastand wia u re coming from but that unfortunately is the situation. With the new minimum wage, the different salary packages of different establishments like CONTEDISS, CAMPCASS, CONHESS, COMESS etc the wage bill of states have shot up really. What I contest is how much of these money goes actually to real workers given the ugly situation of ghost workerism in Nigeria.

All that one na secondary issue. The main is that a state like Sokoto ought not to have a wage bill this high given the condition of living in the state.

Kobojunkie that is very insulting, a state like that does nt need to pay more than #200m monthly, do you know what that translate to given the no of workers in d state. You shud find out how much those special packages cost the state monthly, they are paid accross d federation.

Na unnecessary bigmanism carry us reach situation wey we dey today with some of our civil servants making even more than the president of the United States.

Again, Sokoto as a state has not earned enough to need a bill of that much each month. The state needs to divert much of that fund to actual developmental work that will impact the people and greatly improve the standards of living of the people.