How Bank Declined Gov. Abdulrahaman Request To Secretly Transfer N500m From World Bank’s Immunization Fund To Fund Private Account

A new generation bank sitting in Ilorin, the Kwara state capital has reportedly rejected a transfer request of N500million allegedly submitted by some aides of Mallam Abdulrahaman Abdulrazaq for failing due diligence policy.

The transfer request, according to top banking official who does not want to be named, is expected to be withdrawn from the N887.8 million World Bank’s fund credited to the state recently to fund immunization project.

The banking official said they turned down the request because the transfer request form, which was hurriedly filled in favour of a private account holder, whom they claimed is a health consultant to government does pass integrity test to receive such slush fund .

She explained further that, apart from the fact that the signature on the transfer form was considered not regular, the beneficiary account was recently opened in Abuja as a corporate account with a foreign lady as sole signatory .

She said although the bank regional manager had received several calls from the Governor, giving approval to the withdrawal, but the operation head of the bank declined to minute to the transaction, for failing due diligence test of the bank

Asked to name the foreign lady in the conversation, she said it’s against the banking principle to reveal identity of their customers

In January this year, the world Bank announced that Kwara state government had received the sum of N887m under the Immunisation Plus and Malaria Progress by Accelerating Coverage and Transforming Services project.

The fund support which came through the World Bank assisted-IMPACT project was targeted at financing infrastructure upgrade of at least one Primary Health Care Centre in each of the 193 wards in Kwara State

The Abdulrazaq administration is notorious for being reckless with states fund. The opposition in the state have accused Abdulrazaq of inability to account for almost N500bn which his government has accessed within three years in office with close to N60bn loan and bond borrowed on behalf of the state .

A civil society organization in the state, ENETSUD had in several occasions indicted the Ramoni-led administration of financial missaproriation through contract inflation and others.

The organisation also indicted the Government of shaddy dealings in N138million Naira which was paid to a contractor without due process for 38 units of transformer .

Up till today, the Abdulrazaq administration has been unable to account for Kwarans how the contractor, a government crony could run away with N138million transformer fund with nobody holding him accountable.