BY: COMRADE MUSA GARBA CHIKAJI, KADUNA
It is becoming increasingly clear that the so-called Kaduna Accountability Group is nothing but a front for former Governor Nasir El-Rufai and his cronies, whose main agenda is to discredit the administration of Governor Uba Sani with baseless propaganda.
Their latest attack, published under the guise of a ‘sponsored exposé,’ is nothing but a desperate attempt to distort facts and mislead the public about the operations of the Kaduna State Internal Revenue Service (KADIRS) and its Executive Chairman, Jerry Adams.
First, let’s set the record straight: Jerry Adams did not concoct figures or make grandiose claims about Kaduna’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).
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He simply presented facts and figures to counter misleading allegations spearheaded by the El-Rufai-led smear campaign. Rather than engage in a factual discourse, this so-called accountability group resorted to blackmail, outright lies, and a deliberate misinterpretation of the Codification Laws governing KADIRS.
Misrepresentation of the Codification Laws
The group falsely claims that Jerry Adams lacks the qualifications to hold the position of Executive Chairman of KADIRS, deliberately misquoting Section 13B of the Kaduna State Codification Law. The law clearly states that a chairman must possess cognate experience in fields such as social sciences, management, accounting, taxation, etc. Adams not only meets this criterion but exceeds it. If the group truly doubts his professional qualifications, they should formally reach out to the relevant professional bodies for verification rather than peddling lies.
The IGR Debate: Facts vs Fiction
Jerry Adams served as the Executive Director of Corporate Services in KADIRS for three years, overseeing the revenue accounting unit of the agency. His knowledge of Kaduna’s IGR from 2015 to date is not speculative; it is backed by direct oversight and operational experience. The reality is that much of the IGR recorded during El-Rufai’s administration was due to one-off transactions such as back-duty audits and sales of government properties. These temporary revenue sources inflated figures and created a false impression of sustainable growth.
Furthermore, before the Consolidation and Codification Laws of 2016, revenue collection and accounting were scattered across various MDAs, meaning each agency recorded its own figures separately. The claim by this so-called group that Governor Sani inherited a revenue system with a huge lift is, therefore, nothing more than a fiction of their imagination.
The Lies About KADIRS Assets
Yes, the current corporate headquarters of KADIRS was acquired under El-Rufai’s administration, but that is just one of 33 offices operated by KADIRS across the state. The vehicles procured under El-Rufai’s tenure account for only 20% of the total fleet currently in use. These are verifiable facts, and anyone in doubt can physically visit these offices and confirm for themselves.
False Claims About Grants and IGR
The claim that KADIRS records federal grants as IGR is not only baseless but a reflection of the intellectual dishonesty of the group. If they had any evidence to substantiate this, they would have presented it. Instead, they rely on blanket statements and innuendos, hoping that mere repetition will make their falsehoods credible.
A Call for Focus and Continuity
The current IGR figures under Governor Uba Sani’s administration are organic, driven by ongoing reforms within KADIRS.
Unlike the El-Rufai years, where one-off revenue sources created a misleading picture of sustainability, the current administration is working on lasting improvements.
I urge Governor Uba Sani, KADIRS, and Jerry Adams to remain focused and undistracted by the antics of these paid propagandists.
The people of Kaduna deserve factual, issue-based discussions—not poorly scripted lies masquerading as accountability.