Former Kwara SUBEB Chairman Defends N1B Loan As Salary Solution In N5.7B Diversion Trial

At the resumed hearing of the alleged diversion of N5.7B of SUBEB funds by the immediate past governor of Kwara State, Alhaji AbdulFatah Ahmed, and his Finance Commissioner, Demola Banu, on Thursday, the former Chairman of the Kwara State Universal Basic Education Board, Barrister Lanre Daibu, told the State High Court that the N1 billion loan received from the board in 2013 was used by the then state government to augment salary payments for workers and pensioners who were owed.

Alhaji Daibu, also a lawyer and former commissioner in the state, was a witness in the court today for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in the ongoing trial.

Daibu, the ex-chairman of the board, also reiterated that the former governor and the ex-finance commissioner were not signatories to the SUBEB account.

He had narrated to the court that the then Commissioner for Finance, Mr. Banu, had approached the board to explain the paucity of funds in the government and the need to request a N1 billion loan from the SUBEB account in order to pay workers and pensioners.

Daibu also said that the N1 billion was taken out of the money meant to execute projects in SUBEB.

He said that the board had met, and after exhaustive discussions on the matter, sought the commitment of the state government’s request in written form before the release was approved.

The EFCC witness, who said that the state government had stated that the loan would be repaid from the monthly revenue allocation, added that the money was not paid back before he left office, and the board was dissolved.

Counsel to the former governor, Kamaldeen Ajibade, SAN, during cross-examination, had put it to Daibu that the statement which the former SUBEB chairman made to the EFCC was made under caution and that it was made as a suspect of the EFCC.

Daibu also said that the N1 billion loan was transferred to the salary account of the state government and not to either of the personal accounts of the defendants.

Also, during his cross-examination by counsel to the first defendant, a retired Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, Mr. Benjamin Seyinde Fatigun, said that the ministry initiated a memo to the governor suggesting a way out for the state government due to difficulty in paying the salary of its workforce.

“There were issues in payment of salaries in 2015. The monthly FAAC allocation to the state’s government, at that time, was unstable,” he said.

Fatigun also said that SUBEB was identified as a quick fix to rescue the government from the situation, adding that this was the reason why the loan was borrowed to augment the staff salaries, which included civil servants, teachers, and pensioners.

He also said that the N1 billion loan from SUBEB was paid into the state’s salary account and not the personal accounts of the first and second defendants.

The presiding judge, Mahmud, however, adjourned the case until Friday, April 11, for the continuation of the hearing.