Following accusation by the former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nasir El-Rufai that Vice President Namadi Sambo left huge debt as governor of Kaduna state; the Vice President has challenged him to present his facts to the public.
In a statement issued by his Media Assistant, Umar Sani, the Vice President also debunked the allegation that he abandoned the Zaria water project that he received payment for, saying it was a deliberate attempt to drag his name into the bud.
The statement reads, “My attention was drawn to a statement said to have emanated from Nasir El-Rufai a chieftain of the APC alleging that the Vice President left a huge debt as a Governor of Kaduna State, stressing that anyone in doubt should verify at the debt management office and that the Vice Presidents company failed to execute the Zaria water project having received payment for same.
“While it is not in the character of the Vice President to trade words or join issues with anyone, the compelling need to set the records straight has necessitated that clarity of the issues raised be proffered for posterity.
“As a patriot and one who is determined to expose corrupt practices it will have served members of the public some good if such records which were made available to him are published for all to see.
“I therefore challenge El-Rufai to publish the debt profile of Kaduna state from 1966 to date for the public to decipher and judge whether huge debts was bequeathed to Kaduna State or not by the Namadi Sambo Administration.
“In his haste to drag the name of the Vice President to the mud and muster some continuous relevance in the media, he failed to conduct an elementary check on the status of the Zaria water project.
“The contract for the reactivation of the two treatment plants built separately by the defunct North Central State government and later the kaduna state government was awarded to Nalado Nig Ltd to return it to its original capacity of 60 million liters per day water treatment plant. At the time of the award of the contract it was operating at a minimal 10 million liters per day.
“The contract was executed successfully and handed over to the Federal Ministry of water resources. However after an audit of the water situation in Zaria was conducted it was discovered that Zaria requires about 150 million liters daily to stabilize in terms of water supply so under the Namadi Sambo Administration the current 150 million liter per day water supply contract was award to MotherCat Nig Ltd after a competitive bidding process and we have it on good authority that it is at 90% completion.
“This is in recognition of the efforts of the federal govt that is constructing the Galma Dam by Gilmor Nig Ltd that will supply the raw water for Zaria and its environs. By this recap which we have since explained and laid to rest we call on El-Rufai and his likes who are in pursuit of strategic political interest to do so using established legitimate means and not to attempt to cast aspersions on the integrity competence and respectability of well intentioned persons”.
