The Abuja Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) retrieved ownership documents for 324 houses to Kano State pensioners, following an investigation into the misappropriation of N4.1 billion in the Pension Trust Fund by previous State administrations.
Prompted by a petition from the “Concerned Kano State Workers and Pensioners,” the EFCC discovered that funds meant for housing estates were diverted, resulting in incomplete houses and financial discrepancies.
The EFCC’s spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, disclosed in a statement on Monday that former governors of Kano State sold these properties to their associates, depriving pensioners of their rightful benefits.
He said, “Findings by the EFCC showed that the state government entered into a tripartite agreement with the Kano State Pension Trust Fund to build housing estates for an aggregate sum of N41bn, out of which the Pension Trust Fund was to contribute N4.1bn.”
He, however, mentioned that the pensioners’ fund was used to build houses in three estates in Kano state, located in Sheikh Ja’afar Mahmud Adam Bandirawo city, Sheikh Nasiru Kabara (Amana) city, and Sheikh Khalifa Ishaa Rabiu city.
Oyewale added “…two former governors of the state fraudulently discounted and sold the houses to their cronies and associates, leaving the pension trustees with low budget and uncompleted houses.”
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Similarly, he stated that after securing a final forfeiture order from Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court in Abuja, the EFCC handed over the properties to the pensioners.
During the handover ceremony on March 18, Adeniyi Adebayo, the Abuja Zonal Commander of the EFCC, reiterated the commission’s commitment to combating fraudulent activities across the nation.
Present were representatives of the Kano State Pension Board, Hassan Aminu, Kubra Bichi, and Salisu Abubakar, who received the documents and expressed gratitude to the EFCC for the recovery of the houses and bringing relief and joy to the affected pensioners.
