The ad hoc committee set up by the Kaduna State House of Assembly to investigate the eight-year tenure of the immediate-past governor, Nasir El-Rufai, late Monday, grilled former commissioners and administrators in the state.

The session lasted for about nine hours, beginning from 11 am and ending at  8 pm on Monday.

Also, both serving and former commissioners, administrators as well as contractors that served in the period had been summoned to appear before the committee.

The Deputy Speaker of the House, Henry Danjuma, who is also the chairman of the probe panel, said the interrogation was fruitful.

“I think I’m happy that there have been honest and frank discussions between us and those that appeared before us,” Danjuma said.

Those summoned included a former Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Thomas Gyang; former education commissioner, Ja’afaru Sani; agric commissioner, Dr Manzo Maigari; Administrator, Zaria Metropolitan Authority, Balarabe Aliyu; Administrator, Kafanchan Metropolitan Authority, Phoebe Yayisukai; as well as former Managing Director of Kaduna State Roads Agency, Lawal Magaji, among others.

The PUNCH findings showed that some of the officials still serving in the administration of the incumbent governor, Uba Sani, were interrogated by the lawmakers at the House of Assembly Complex on Monday.

The session lasted between 11 am and 8 pm on Monday.

The probe was in connection with the plan by the Assembly to investigate all finances, loans and contract projects awarded during the tenure of ex-Governor El-Rufai.

This followed the disclosure by the Kaduna State Governor, Uba Sani, that his predecessor left him a huge debt profile in the state, leading to his inability to pay workers’ salaries.

The move to probe the administration was backed by the state chapter of the All Progressives Congress, as the party expressed its support.

At the commencement of the probe on Monday, the chairman of the committee, Henry Danjuma, representing the Kagarko constituency, told newsmen that it deemed it fit to summon both present and former officials of the government, to assist in unravelling the circumstances surrounding loans and contractual obligations in the El-Rufai administration.

The panel chairman said more officials would be summoned by the committee, depending on the evidence made available by officials who had testified so far.

He also explained that the job of the committee was just to unravel whether there were any discrepancies in the loans and contractual obligations of the immediate-past administration in the state.

The chairman said, “Today, we have invited some key persons that we deem necessary to interview so that we can get testimonies that will aid the conclusion of the sittings of the commission and presentation of a justifiable report.

“Depending on the evidence before us, we might still need to invite some more people based on the testimonies of those already invited.

 “I’m happy that there have been honest discussions between us and those that appeared before us.

 “The ad hoc committee is to investigate financial dealings that have to do with loans and contractual obligations by the Kaduna State government from May 29, 2015, to May 29, 2023, to check if there are misdemeanours.”

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