₦airaland Forum

Not few stakeholders in Kaduna State have continued to voice out their concerns over the alleged uneven disbursement of the $350m World Bank loan secured by the immediate past administration of the state under the leadership of ex-Governor Nasir El-Rufai.

Said to be most hit by the alleged injustice occasioned by the uneven disbursement of the loan are 12 local government areas in the state.

These council areas have been identified to be left in the lurch, years after the much-touted Urban Renewal Road projects initiated by the immediate past administration of ex-Governor Nasir El-Rufai took off.

Arewa PUNCH investigations revealed that despite the continued repayment of the $350 million World Bank loan secured under El-Rufai’s government, not a single kilometre of road has been said to have been completed in the affected LGAs, some of which are among the poorest in the state.


Field investigations and corroborated testimonies from community leaders and government insiders point to widespread neglect in areas such as Birnin Gwari, Giwa, Ikara, Jaba, Kagarko, Kajuru, Kauru, Kudan, Makarfi, Sanga, Soba, and Zangon Kataf.

Arewa PUNCH sources further alleged that the projects in these LGAs either never took off beyond the flag-off stage or were outrightly abandoned shortly after the groundbreaking ceremonies.

Unimpressed by the outcome of the situation, several civil society groups and opposition lawmakers in the state have raised concerns over the opaque manner in which the loan was managed, especially in relation to equitable distribution of infrastructure.

Comrade Phelimon Andrew, a transparency advocate based in Zango-Kataf, called for a legislative audit of the Urban Renewal Programme.

“We can’t keep taking loans for political PR. The communities have the right to know where every dollar went,” he said.

Our correspondent reports that although the World Bank facility was secured to fund El-Rufai’s flagship Urban Renewal Programme, said to be an ambitious infrastructural plan meant to modernise urban and rural Kaduna State, however, the execution has remained lopsided.

The residents, while expressing their frustrations over the current state of the abandoned Urban Renewal Road Projects, lamented that the initiative now lies in various stages of disrepair, disrupting livelihood and daily commuting.

“This road was supposed to be completed under El-Rufai’s administration years ago,” said Musa Yakubu, an okada rider in Sabo Tasha, “Now, it’s just a dust trap in the dry season and a muddy mess during the rains,” Yakubu bemoaned, adding, “we spend more money fixing our vehicles than making profit.”

Gimbiya Musa, a shop owner near the uncompleted stretch of road around Television Garage to Sabo Tasha bridge, also lamented the significant drop in patronage.

“Ever since the road was dug up and abandoned, customers now avoid this area. Business has dropped by more than 50 per cent. We were excited at first, but now, it feels like they just forgot us.”


Residents of Kauru, too, have voiced out their concerns. “We see abandoned construction equipment every day, rusting by the roadside. It’s a constant reminder of a broken promise,” said Ezekiel Haruna, a community leader.

“Children now play on half-graded roads, and people have started throwing waste into open drains that were meant to relieve stormwater,” observed another resident in Zitti Village in the Zango Kataf Local Government Area.

For many, the unfinished roadworks have become a symbol of neglect. “El-Rufai gave us hope that Kaduna would be transformed,” said Fatima Bello, a school teacher, “But what we were left with were potholes, traffic jams, and dust storms,” she pointed out.

“This present administration of Uba Sani must probe the previous administration of Nasir el-Rufai to tell Kaduna State citizens the truth about what happened to the $350 million World Bank loan that it secured,” Garba Habibu from Birning Gwari declared.

A top government source in one of the ministries directly involved in projects, but who does not want his name in print for fear of a possible attack or sanction alleged that while the Kaduna North reportedly benefitted from nearly 76 per cent of the projects, residents in the South and Central senatorial zones were left with incomplete and deteriorating roadways.

Similarly, a youth leader in Kaura, who asked not to be named for fear of reprisal, also queried what he termed as the injustice in the uneven disbursement of the loan.

“This is not just about bad governance. It is about injustice. How can we be paying back a loan and have nothing to show for it?”

He pointed out that among the most glaring cases is the Yarbwan-Kafanchan road, among others, which were initially designed as a signature project to boost connectivity into Southern Kaduna and which construction began with much fanfare but has since been stalled, “leaving commuters stranded during rainy seasons and sight of local businesses bearing the brunt of a failed promise.”

In Birnin Gwari, an area plagued by banditry and poor infrastructure, residents informed Arewa PUNCH that the road projects would have significantly eased movement and enhanced security if completed.

Another senior source within the Kaduna Government House, who equally spoke under the condition of anonymity, confirmed that “no single project initiated by the El-Rufai administration reached completion stage” in the listed LGAs.

“Some areas didn’t even have the contractors mobilised. All the attention were on projects that had media visibility within the Kaduna metropolis,” the official disclosed.

Meanwhile, community leaders from the neglected LGAs are calling for immediate government intervention, warning that continued neglect may fuel further social discontent.

Efforts by our correspondent to get a response from the current administration of Governor Uba Sani were unsuccessful as calls and messages to key officials in the Ministry of Works and Infrastructure were not returned as at press time.

Source: https://punchng.com/Concerns-mount-over-disbursement-of-El-Rufais-$350m-World-Bank-loan-in-Kaduna

Lol. Money wey the movers and shakers of that region concerned don embezzle finish? Dem don take the money marry new wives, buy homes for them, pay their expensive kids school fees and send sidechicks to Dubai . That money is shared before it arrived.

It has begun. El-rufia should be probed.

If you do not want to be witch hunted, don't hang out in covens...

Now wahooo

No one is above the law anyone found culpable should face the resultant consequences.

Obi/El rufai 2027 .


Corruption/corruption ticket.

This is the man who believes he has the reservoir of all knowledge.

Good old el rufai. Just another politician.

Though by the way, birnin gwari was for a long time a military zone so there was no way any project could be executed there

El-Rufai might have squadered some World Bank loan but Uba Sani himself is not doing much in Kaduna State presently.

Why

israelmao:
El-Rufai might have squadered some World Bank loan but Uba Sani himself is not doing much in Kadina State presently.

How will Uba Sani do much when El-Rufai has already mortgaged the future of the state. Most of their resources now go to repaying debt and interest courtesy of El-Rufai loans.

LOL.

israelmao:
El-Rufai might have squadered some World Bank loan but Uba Sani himself is not doing much in Kaduna State presently.

This is the reason why Uba Sani cannot do much, money he is supposed to use is being used to service loan acquired by El-Rufai.

El Rufai has secured his generation with that loan. Billionaire Fulani.

Lol

Obiedun:
This is the man who believes he has the reservoir of all knowledge.

Or you mean the despicable rogue that believes he has reservoir of all knowledge.

If he broke the rules they should sue him to court and let him go there and explain himself instead of conducting online trial .. This kind of media brouhaha is sickening and nauseating .

The witch hunt begins

And na this short devil dey waka about talking about good governance. Barawo

Obi vice

israelmao:
El-Rufai might have squadered some World Bank loan but Uba Sani himself is not doing much in Kaduna State presently.

What loan did Elrufai squander? If he is guilty of anything, we all know Elrufai would have been hounded by this vindictive government until he bends the knee as was done to Yahaya Bello, Okowa et al. They tried and found nothing hence resorting to smear campaign. Elrufai is still in the country and a major opposition figure. He ran a largely transparent government in collaboration with the Open Government Partnership. The World bank loan is a performance-based one, the entire 350 million dollars was not disbursed during Elrufai's tenure. Uba Sani is still getting draw-downs from the loan while blaming Elrufai with nothing to show for it besides propaganda and sponsored PR.

The intricacies before and after the approval of the loan was largely publicised with Uba Sani as a major player for the approval of the loan. It is on record that Elrufai fell out with the likes of Shehu Sani when they refused to approve the loan that led to Kaduna electorates voting in Uba Sani who stood as a guarantor for the loan.

In any case, Elrufai transformed Kaduna through his Urban Renewal programme and made Kaduna State the highest in Northern Nigeria in terms of IGR. His legacies both in Abuja as FCT minister and governor of Kaduna cannot be wished away by mere propaganda. It would do Uba Sani well to focus on governance and try to match the performance of his predecessor. For now, he's clueless and lagging behind. No one will remember Elrufai for what he didn't do, they will only remember him for what he did. Ditto, Uba Sani.

[quote author=Latty88 post=135295997]This is the reason why Uba Sani cannot do much, money he is supposed to use is being used to service loan acquired by El-Rufai. [/quote
Nigerian politicians or political leaders always hide under the umbrella of seemingly poor proformance and mismanagement by their predecessors to cover up their failures.

APC supporters at it again: El Rufai is now their newest villain.

Mallam, we know you are a good man. You only have a fall out with your party.

Good luck in your future endeavours.

See strategy. Since he's a social media man, they want to demarket him first on that same social media by exposing his ill-doings and shame him to hiding and irrelevance before unleashing efcc on him and later charge him to court from there, you can guess the rest of the story

Now , Lagos Ibadan expressway media trial is now on Elrufai, mallam no kukuma dey read Newspaper.

Bloody thief! The body-bag bragging wickedly Evil Soul that uses Religion to deceive the gullible indigenous ones, he tried his worst to Enslave indigenous People of Kaduna on their Ancestral Father Land. It is well known that Southern Kaduna was not just neglected but wickedly dealt with throughout his tenure. His hate for Christians and Christianity made him to support the Muslim-Muslim ticket, we thank GOD that today... Is ALMIGHTY GOD not wonderful?!

Make e reach me abeg first..

malali:
There should be a federal law mandating total visibility of every loan—local or foreign—collected by any sitting Nigerian governor.


Because the very essence of public office is public accountability. Today, governors collect hundreds of millions in loans, often in complete secrecy, only for future administrations to reveal them like confessions at a shrine. This retroactive honesty is too late—the damage is already done.

Such may not work for now in Nigeria because even those cut in broad day light are declared as innocent 😇

Charly68:
If he broke the rules they should sue him to court and let him go there and explain himself instead of conducting online trial .. This kind of media brouhaha is sickening and nauseating .

Which court? He will rather upturn back to ruling party (for now APC)