Ahmed, ex-Kwara Gov., diverted N1bn UBEC funds to Pay salaries – Witnesses tell court

Witnesses have testified that Abdulfatah Ahmed, former Governor of Kwara State, diverted N1 billion from the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) Matching Grant fund to pay salaries.

Two prosecution witnesses testified in the ongoing trial of former Kwara State Governor and his then Finance Commissioner, Ademola Banu, on Thursday before the state High Court in Ilorin, over the alleged diversion and mismanagement of N5.78 billion UBEC funds.

The EFCC’s Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, confirmed the developments in a statement issued shortly after the court session.

Lanre Daibu, the fourth Prosecution Witness (PW4) and a former Chairman of the Kwara State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), told Justice Mahmud Abdulgafar that Banu directed the release of N1 billion from UBEC’s 2013 Matching Grant fund to pay teachers and pensioners’ salaries in January 2015.

The money, Daibu said, was never repaid until the Board was dissolved.

Led in evidence by prosecution counsel Rotimi Jacobs, Daibu disclosed that Banu had initially contacted him via telephone to request the funds.

However, Daibu said the Board insisted the request be made in writing.

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“We concluded that such requests must come in writing to secure the state government’s commitment to repay. A letter was eventually sent on behalf of the second defendant promising repayment within a month or two. But the repayment never came, and the Board was dissolved before the issue could be resolved,” he said.

Daibu emphasized that he was hesitant to approve the loan because UBEC grants are legally restricted to educational infrastructure projects as outlined in the Action Plan.

Nevertheless, he admitted that the loan was eventually approved following a letter tendered as “Exhibit 4” from the Ministry of Finance, indicating that the then-governor had authorized the disbursement.

He also revealed that he could not complete his tenure as SUBEB Chairman because the Board was dissolved before his term expired.

Similarly, Benjamin Sehinde Fatigun, the fifth Prosecution Witness (PW5), a retired permanent secretary in the Kwara State Ministry of Finance, confirmed that Ahmed authorized the controversial loan.

“There was an approval from the then governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed, for SUBEB to lend the state government N1 billion to augment salary and pension payments.

“The fund was transferred to the state’s salary account on the instruction of the Commissioner for Finance, the second defendant,” Fatigun testified.

During cross-examination by defense counsels Kamaldeen Ajibade and Gboyega Oyewole, Fatigun stated that the Ministry of Finance had notified the governor in writing of the government’s inability to meet its salary obligations, prompting the decision to source the funds from SUBEB.

“My lord, we were in a dire financial situation. A letter was sent from the Ministry to the governor explaining the challenges, and SUBEB was proposed as a funding solution.

“The process and disbursement were detailed in the statements I submitted to the EFCC,” he added.

Ahmed and Banu are being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on an amended 14-count charge bordering on the alleged theft and mismanagement of UBEC funds totalling N5.78 billion.

The proceedings were adjourned till Friday, April 11, 2025, for continuation of the trial.