Kano audit exposes loan vendors’ N1.8bn salary fraud

The Kano State Government has cleared the immediate past Head of Service, Abdullahi Musa, of allegations of N1.8 billion mismanagement, saying an independent audit established that the funds were not diverted by any government official but were illegally overcharged by loan vendors operating within the state payroll system.

Secretary to the State Government Umar Farouk Ibrahim disclosed this at a Dinner and Award Night jointly organised by the state government and the Nigeria Labour Congress at Government House, Kano, following an investigation ordered by Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf during the 2026 Workers’ Day celebrations.

The probe was triggered by Kano NLC chairman Kabiru Inuwa, who had alleged that the former Head of Service mismanaged public funds, prompting the governor to direct the SSG to investigate the matter and establish the facts.

Ibrahim said the government engaged an independent professional auditing firm to conduct a detailed review of the payroll system and examine the accounts of affected civil servants.

The audit found that several loan vendors had imposed charges far above their agreed contractual terms, resulting in unauthorised deductions from workers’ salaries that cumulatively exceeded N1.8 billion.

The state government, which had earlier suspended the loan scheme pending the outcome of the investigation, has now directed all implicated vendors to refund the full N1.8 billion.

The recovered funds, Ibrahim said, would be redistributed to affected civil servants in a transparent and equitable manner.

He added that stricter oversight of third-party financial service providers operating within the state payroll system would be introduced to prevent a recurrence.