Alhaji Muhammad Bashir Sa’idu, chief of staff to Nasir El-rufai governorship administration in Kaduna State, has reportedly implicated him in his confessional statement to the police.
Recall that Muhammad Bashir Sa’idu who served as commissioner of finance to the administration of Nasir El-rufai was on December 31st arrested by security operatives over allegation of money laundering and financial mismanagement.
The Nation Newspaper report claim that Muhammad Bashir Sa’idu indicted his former principal, Nasir El-rufai in his confessional statement.
Muhammad Bashir Sa’idu is credited a statement which was reportedly released to the media by an unnamed security operative who also demanded his identity remain anonymous, to have stated in his confessional statement that he carried out the instructions of his principal, Nasir El-rufai in the alleged money laundering.
According to report, Muhammad Bashir Sa’idu is being investigated for money laundering in 2022 when he served as the Kaduna State commissioner for finance under Nasir El-rufai’s governorship administration in Kaduna State.
He is accused of selling 45 million dollars which belonged to Kaduna State governorship to an unnamed bidder at a grossly devalued rate with a malicious intent to inflict loss on government of Kaduna State.
The charges against him has it that he sold 45million dollars at a devalued rate of N410 per dollar against the rate at the parallel market which was N498 per dollar; hence, maliciously making the Kaduna State government to lose ₦3,960,000,000 as a result.
Also the prosecutor also accuses Muhammad Basir Sa’idu of laundering the proceed of the corrupt transaction which was ₦3,960,000,000 in violation of the country’s money laundering prevention and prohibition act.
The Nation Newspaper reports that Muhammad Basir Sa’idu in his response to the charges, confessed that he neither decided the rate at which the Kaduna State government converted its foreign currencies to naira nor decided who would be awarded the bid. According to him, his responsibility was limited to submitting the names of the bidders and their rates; as a result, the governor, Nasir El-rufai decided which buyer would be awarded the bid. He also stated that the bids he usually sent to the governor in most cases, were higher than the rate at the parallel market; however, the governor had the final say and decided the buyer.
Muhammad Basir Sa’idu by his alleged confessional statement attempts to exonerate himself from the money laundering offence he is accused of.
While the investigation is still far from its end, many have insinuated that former governor Nasir El-rufai is being targeted by the government of Bola Ahmed Tinubu for victimization especially since their political alliance appears fractured.
Speculations have it the former governor is who vigorously campaigned for power rotation to Tinubu’s advantage and also contributed to Tinubu winning the All Progressive Congress (APC) presidential primary election, is now spearheading political alliance to ensure that president Tinubu fails reelection in 2027.
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