The trial of the immediate past Governor of Kwara State, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed, and his Finance Commissioner, Ademola Banu, over alleged stealing and mismanagement of public funds to the tune of N5.78 billion got underway on Wednesday before Justice Mahmud Abdulgafar of a Kwara State High Court in Ilorin.

At the resumed hearing of the case on Wednesday, the EFCC presented its first witness, Abubakar Hassan, an Assistant Director of Finance, Universal Basic Education Commission, UBEC.

While being led in evidence by EFCC’s lawyer, Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), Hassan told the court that the Kwara State Government misappropriated about N5 billion meant for the execution of projects at primary and junior secondary schools between 2013 and 2015, when Abdulfatah Ahmed was Governor.

He said: “The Matching Grant Funds from the Universal Basic Education Commission is meant to provide certain infrastructural facilities for both students of primary and junior secondary schools.

Such facilities include the construction of primary schools, provision of laboratories for students, construction of toilets, provision of water and sanitation and cultural education.”

Hassan further stated that the main objective of the UBEC when it was established in 2004 was to ensure that no Nigerian child is denied basic education.

He said basic education started from primary school to junior secondary school. Stating the procedures for obtaining grants from the Commission, the witness said:

“UBEC law provides that the Chairman of State Universal Basic Education Board, its Executive Secretary and the Director of Finance are signatories to Matching Grants Accounts.”