Kebbi Assembly Takes Action Against Local Government Chairman
The Kebbi State House of Assembly has taken decisive action by suspending Muhammad Fawa, the Chairman of Fakai Local Government Council, following serious allegations of corruption and misconduct. The suspension was approved during Wednesday's plenary session after lawmakers adopted the findings of a special investigative committee.
The immediate suspension comes after a comprehensive investigation revealed multiple instances of alleged wrongdoing by the local government chairman, including theft of council properties and gross misconduct.
Committee Uncovers Evidence of Corruption
Salihu Dangoje, who chaired the Special Committee that investigated the allegations, presented a detailed report that uncovered substantial evidence against Chairman Fawa. The investigation revealed that the chairman was involved in the misappropriation of five electrical transformers valued at N2.5 million each.
"The committee discovered that the chairman had initially claimed the transformers were taken for servicing with permission from a KEDCO official," Dangoje explained during the report presentation. "However, the said KEDCO official failed to appear before the committee to corroborate this claim."
Further investigation revealed that Chairman Fawa eventually confessed to the misappropriation, with evidence showing suspicious fund transfers into specific accounts. The committee also found irregularities in the allocation of farmlands, leading to immediate revocation of these allocations.
Mahuta Dam Project Controversy
The investigative panel also examined the Mahuta Dam rehabilitation project and found significant inconsistencies in the chairman's claims. Fawa had stated that the contract was awarded to ZBCC company, but this was directly contradicted by the company's project engineer.
"The ZBCC project engineer refuted the chairman's claim, stating that their company was never awarded any contract," Dangoje added. "Their equipment was only hired for supervision purposes, yet the committee found that the full contract sum had been paid despite no evidence of an actual contract award."
The committee discovered no documentation supporting the contract award to ZBCC, raising serious questions about the transparency of the project funding.
Suspension and Recommendations
Based on these findings, the committee recommended a six-month suspension for Chairman Muhammad Fawa, which has been forwarded to the Kebbi State Governor for approval. During this period, the vice chairman will assume leadership responsibilities of Fakai Local Government Council.
Other key recommendations from the committee include:
- Immediate commencement of the Mahuta Dam rehabilitation project
- Permanent revocation of all illegally allocated farmlands
- Issuance of a commendation letter to the NSCDC Divisional Officer in Fakai for professional handling of the transformer incident
The motion for the chairman's suspension was formally moved by Muhammad Buhari Aliero and seconded by Nura Kangiwa. Speaker Muhammad Usman announced that the suspension takes immediate effect, emphasizing the Assembly's commitment to accountability in local government administration.
This action demonstrates the Kebbi State House of Assembly's zero-tolerance policy toward corruption and misconduct among public officials, particularly at the local government level where resources are meant to directly benefit communities.
