Ilorin, April 10, 2025 — A prosecution witness in the ongoing trial of former Kwara State Governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed, has told a Kwara State High Court that the state government failed to repay a N1 billion loan taken from the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) fund in 2015, despite earlier assurances.
The fourth prosecution witness (PW4), Lanre Daibu, a former Chairman of the Kwara State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), made the revelation while testifying before Justice Mahmud Abdulgafar on Thursday in Ilorin.
According to Daibu, the then Finance Commissioner, Ademola Banu, had directed that the N1 billion, part of the 2013 UBEC Matching Grant, be diverted to pay salaries of teachers and pensioners in January 2015. However, the loan was never refunded before the SUBEB board was dissolved.
In a statement issued on April 10, 2025, EFCC spokesperson Dele Oyewale confirmed that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is prosecuting Ahmed and Banu on an amended 14-count charge bordering on alleged mismanagement and theft of N5.78 billion in UBEC funds.
Led in evidence by EFCC counsel, Rotimi Jacobs, SAN, Daibu said:
“My Lord, the second defendant (Banu) called me and said the state government urgently needed funds to pay salaries. I informed him that such a request must be in writing, not over the phone.”
He explained that the SUBEB board insisted on a formal request to ensure a commitment on when the loan would be repaid. A letter signed on Banu’s behalf promised repayment within one or two months. That commitment, Daibu said, was not honoured.
“I was reluctant to approve the request because the law is clear—UBEC Matching Grant funds must be used strictly for projects outlined in the Action Plan,” he added.
Daibu also submitted a document identified as Exhibit 4, a letter from the Kwara State Ministry of Finance, which he said indicated the then governor’s approval of the loan.
He further told the court that his tenure as SUBEB chairman was cut short by the dissolution of the board, which occurred before the scheduled end of his term.
Also testifying, the fifth prosecution witness (PW5), Benjamin Sehinde Fatigun, a retired Permanent Secretary in the state’s Ministry of Finance, corroborated Daibu’s account.
“There was an approval from then Governor Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed for SUBEB to lend the state government N1 billion to augment salary payments. I received the directive from the Commissioner for Finance, and the funds were transferred to the salary account,” Fatigun told the court.
Under cross-examination by Kamaldeen Ajibade, SAN, and Gboyega Oyewole, SAN, counsel to the first and second defendants, Fatigun said the state government had written to the governor regarding its inability to pay salaries, suggesting SUBEB funds as a temporary solution.
“A formal letter was sent to the governor explaining the salary shortfall, and SUBEB was mentioned as a viable source. I detailed this in my statements to the EFCC,” he added.
The matter has been adjourned until Friday, April 11, 2025, for continuation of trial.
