The Kano State government has denied allegations that it paid N1.3billion as bank overdraft fees in relation to funds it used to pay workers’ salaries and pensions before and after the commencement of the 2017 Muslim Ramadan and Eid El-Fitr celebrations.
The Commissioner For Finance, Kabiru Dandago, and Commissioner For Information, Muhammad Garba, denied the claims during a press briefing in Kano.
According to them, the state government only paid an interest of N10.7 million to some banks in order to pay workers’ salaries and enable a hitch-free Eid El-Fitr celebrations last month.
Mr Dandago explained that the state’s accountant general and finance ministry negotiated the interest rates from the normal 27 to 30 percent down to 14 percent for the banks managing the state joint account and 15 percent for the bank managing the federal allocation account which was calculated at N10.7 million.
He said the amount would be claimed by the banks in question once the federal allocation funds due to the state are paid into the state government’s bank accounts.
Meanwhile, Garba told reporters that it is the first time Kano State is making such arrangements in order to assist civil servants to access their salaries and pensions before the date of the Eid El-Fitr celebrations., an arrangement he said was made in good faith to increase the purchasing power of the state’s civil servants for Sallah activities.
He added that the arrangement was made in good faith to increase the purchasing power of civil servants in the state for Sallah activities.
The state government urged the people of Kano to ignore any rumour or “mischievous speculations” of such financial deals, stressing that doing that would expose any attempt aimed at tarnishing the image of the state government.
