The Kano State Government has set up a 12-member executive committee to recover N1.8 billion allegedly deducted illegally from the salaries of civil servants by private loan vendors.
The government also announced the immediate suspension of further loan contracts between workers and private vendors, while withdrawing from all third-party involvement in such agreements.
Speaking during the inauguration of the committee on Thursday, the Secretary to the State Government, Umar Faruq Ibrahim, said an independent audit uncovered arbitrary deductions from workers who obtained soft loans from private lenders.
According to him, the audit revealed that some vendors made deductions beyond the legally approved one-third salary limit, violating existing financial regulations.
The committee, chaired by the Commissioner for Finance, Ismaila Aliyu Danmaraya, has been tasked with identifying affected workers — including deceased and retired beneficiaries — to facilitate refunds.
The SSG also dismissed earlier reports claiming that N1.5 billion was missing during the tenure of former Head of Service, Abdullahi Musa. He said the audit report cleared Musa of wrongdoing and confirmed that the actual illegally deducted amount was N1.8 billion.
Ibrahim expressed concern over what he described as indiscriminate loan agreements between civil servants and private loan vendors, revealing that the total liabilities linked to such arrangements had risen to N13 billion.
He added that the state government would no longer allow loan vendors access to the state payment platform for salary deductions.
“In February 2025, the government received complaints regarding illegal deductions from workers’ salaries in the name of loan repayments,” the SSG said.
“Following the complaints, the government engaged an independent audit firm to investigate the deductions. The findings showed arbitrary deductions and the granting of multiple loans beyond the one-third salary deduction limit approved by law.”
Other members of the committee include the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, the Head of Civil Service, the Accountant General, representatives of local government standing committees, the Director of the Computer Centre, and officials from the Ministry of Planning and Budget, among others.
