Aides of former Katsina State governor, Ibrahim Shema, have accused him of embezzlement in leaked audio.
The 13-minute conversation between former chief of staff to Shema, Husseini Dambo and a former caretaker committee chairman of Kankara local government area, Hadi Audu, claimed that Shema converted billions of naira of the state government and 34 council areas into his personal use.
In the audio conversation, Dambo alleged that Shema is worth a trillion of naira having allegedly diverted funds belonging to the state government.
Part of the conversation read, “We just suffer for nothing. Even an ordinary plot of land I do not have. I am ready for a showdown,” Dambo said even as he accused Shema of being selfish.
Dambo said he knew some of the governor’s companies in Lagos, which he claimed, were established through monies diverted from the state.
Dambo and Hadi were also heard complaining about the alleged overbearing influence of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chairman in the state, Salisu Majigiri.
They accused Majigiri, who served as chief of staff to Shema, of shielding the former governor and making him inaccessible, noting that the chairman’s attitude was driving prospective members away from the party.
When contacted, Shema, who spoke through his spokesman, Olawale Oluwabusola, described the audio conversation as baseless, insisting that “there is no substance in what they are saying.”
However, Majigiri (PDP chairman) who laughed off the leaked conversation said it was part of the gambit for 2023 polls.
Meanwhile, the audio has renewed calls on the anti-graft agencies to intensify the probe and hasten the prosecution of Shema, as some residents of Katsina state have reacted to the conversation, insisting that it underscored the need for a holistic probe of Shema’s eight-year tenure, including all those that served as commissioners and close aides.
Shema, who governed Katsina State from 2007 to 2015, is currently undergoing trial by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for allegedly embezzling the state’s funds to the tune of N5.7 billion.
The commission arraigned Shema on a 26-count charge of conspiracy and laundering of N5.7 billion allegedly stolen from the account of state SURE-P. However, Shema pleaded not guilty to the charges and the trial is ongoing.
