The “Special Assignments” Mirage: Where is the N726 Million?
By Mohammed Babagana Abubakar
In the vocabulary of Nigerian bureaucracy, few terms are as elastic or as dangerous as “Special Assignments.” It is a phrase often used to cloak expenditures that cannot survive the light of public scrutiny. As the Kano State House of Assembly moves forward with impeachment proceedings against Deputy Governor Aminu Abdussalam Gwarzo, the most glaring question hanging over the Government House is the fate of N726 million allegedly extracted under this very label.
The Ghost of 726 Million Naira
Between February and July 2024, a period of just six months, the 44 local government councils of Kano State reportedly disbursed a staggering N726 million for these so-called “special assignments.” To the average citizen in Dala, Fagge, or Doguwa, this figure is astronomical.
To put this in perspective, N726 million could have:
Provided thousands of solar streetlights to insecure rural corridors.
Funded a massive state wide vaccination campaign for children.
Renovated dozens of dilapidated primary schools that currently lack roofs.
Instead, the money was reportedly moved under a vague heading that carries no specific deliverables, no public milestones, and no visible impact on the lives of the people.
The Assembly’s notice of impeachment is clear: these payments were allegedly a “guise.” In legal and administrative terms, when funds are moved for a “special assignment” without a clearly defined scope of work or a verifiable report of completion, it ceases to be governance and begins to look like a systematic siphoning of public wealth.
If these assignments were indeed “special” and for the benefit of Kano, why is there no trail of their success? Why did each of the 44 councils regardless of their unique local needs have to contribute to this specific pot? The uniformity of the payments suggests a top-down mandate for extraction rather than a bottom-up need for service delivery.
The Deputy Governor, in his capacity overseeing Local Government Affairs, was the primary gatekeeper of these funds. His role was to ensure that every kobo sent to the local councils translated into a better life for the villager and the petty trader. By allegedly presiding over a “Special Assignment” scheme that drained N121 million every month from local coffers, he has invited the charge of Breach of Public Trust.
Trust is built on transparency. When N726 million vanishes into the fog of “assignments” that no one can see or touch, that trust is shattered. The House of Assembly is right to demand an accounting.
The people of Kano are not interested in “mirages”; they are interested in their money.
If the Deputy Governor cannot produce the receipts of these assignments, then the only “special assignment” remaining is for the Assembly to conclude this impeachment and restore sanity to Kano’s fiscal management.
