Former Senator of Kaduna Central Senatorial Zone and human rights activist, Shehu Sani, has said that the report by the Kaduna State House of Assembly indicting the immediate past Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, of a N423 billion financial scandal has vindicated him.

He made the statement on his X handle, describing how he was able to remain the only voice speaking against the systematic looting of public funds, he claimed was embarked upon, by the El-Rufai regime.

Besides, the Former State Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Reverend Joseph Hayab, commended the lawmakers in the state over the report on how El-Rufai plunged Kaduna State into debts and mismanaged funds.

Meanwhile, Senator Sani noted how other politicians in the state were intimidated and silenced while he remained steadfast and refused to be silenced over the former Governor’s eight years of mismanagement and poor governance.

He said: “For eight years, I stood alone telling the people of Kaduna State, and the country, how our state was systematically looted by the governor and the criminal gang around him.”

Sani added that people inside and outside the state were deceived by the ex-governor’s “aesthetics and industrial scale propaganda.”

He said, “ They wrecked the economy of the state, enriched themselves and their families, destroyed the lives and livelihoods of millions of people, and used religion to divide our state. I was persecuted and many attempts were made on my life and that of my supporters. Many politicians in the state were silenced out of fear of arrest, attacks by thugs, or having their properties confiscated or demolished.”

Senator Sani added: “I refused to be silenced. The Kaduna Assembly report is a vindication.”

However, in a statement, Reverend Hayab described the report of corruption against el-Rufai as a tragedy; he further wondered if those involved in the purported diversion of the Kaduna State funds “have any conscience at all.”

He said, “Reading through the report of Kaduna State House of Assembly’s Ad hoc committee, investigating the loans collected by the previous administration and the way and manner the commonwealth of Kaduna people was spent reveals that the lion must have eaten the meat that is forbidden, with allegations of likely money laundering. What a tragedy!

“The figures of money unaccounted for reported by the KDSHA committee make one wonder if those who cornered the fortunes of the state into private pockets have any conscience at all,” pointing out that “The other cause for worry is why should the masses of Kaduna suffer when very few individuals stash away loans purportedly taken to better their lives and at the end of the day deny the populace the services promised them.

“The paradox is that the so-called tough posture the former governor displayed with an air of know-it-all could be associated with the typical way lions in the jungle behave, chasing away other animals only to eat all accrued meat alone. Besides, the sad development tells a lot about the damage praise singing can cause society, whether at the federal, state, or local level.”

The reverend said it is worrisome that “many talented and industrious young educated persons who should be in the front calling on leaders to be accountable now seem dedicated to praise singing,” adding that they attempt to paint individuals in leadership positions “with little or no integrity to look angelic for a pot of soup at the expense of generations unborn.”

He continued, “On account of the charge of preliminary findings on the dealings by El-Rufai’s led government, I strongly appeal to Kaduna State citizens to unite and insist that justice is served. Anyone who fails to account for the collective fortunes of the citizenry should be compelled by law to refund the funds side-tracked or face the consequences prescribed by law.”

“When people engage in divisive action to cover up for the evil they do, it is godly people who should come out publicly and unite to condemn and resist such a move. Our children and future generations will not forgive us if we keep quiet and allow evil like the revelation coming from the investigations by the KDSHA to go with impunity.

“Accordingly, I commend our state assembly members for showing courage to come out strongly united to call wrong by its name irrespective of who is involved. Our support and prayers should not stop until every deceit is exposed. The current governor of the state must be applauded for not taking sides and not interfering with the decisions and actions of the legislative house.

“If the Governor were to be from another party, the story would be as if it is a vendetta or witch hunt. By this one act, Governor Uba Sani has proven that leadership is service to God and humanity and not about sectionalism, calling for accountability.”

But El-Rufai, in a statement by his spokesman, Muyiwa Adekeye, criticised the report of the state lawmakers, saying that it was a vendetta and witch hunt.

Writing on behalf of his principal, Adekeye wrote, “Malam Nasir El-Rufai is immensely proud of his record of governance and the legacy he left in Kaduna State,” saying that “this record of consistently high performance in public and private office cannot be altered by any malicious effort to use the auspices of a state legislature for defamation and undeserved smears.

“Many of the officials who served in the El-Rufai government appeared before the ad-hoc committee because of their confidence in the quality of their service and the rectitude with which they served Kaduna State. They were under no illusion that they were participating in a fair process. It was obvious that the ad hoc committee was merely going through the motions of an inquiry just to give some gloss to predetermined conclusions.”