Kano State Governor, Alhaji Abba Kabir Yusuf is asking the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) to release the forensic investigation it conducted on “Gandollar saga” in 2018 for public consumption.
Grassroots Parrot recalls how a scandalous video showing former Governor Umar Ganduje pocketing dollars was published by Daily Nigerian online news in 2018 in what was said to be bribe payments from public works contractors.
The two minutes video was recorded in 2017 in what Daily Nigerian described as a sting operation aimed at beaming a spotlight on the governor’s alleged penchant for contract racketeering.
The Renewed Political Crisis
However, six years down the line, Governor Yusuf wants the anti-graft agency to swing into action by releasing the forensic investigation it conducted over the scandal so far.
He insisted that “no amount of media campaign would hinder the process of bringing Ganduje to book on the glaring cases of corruption filed against him.”
Following what appears to be a political imbroglio in the last few days in the state, Gov. Yusuf was apparently responding to Ganduje’s counter accusation after the state government dragged him, his wife, Hafsat, Son, Umar and five others to court over alleged bribery of $413,000, and N1.38 billion.
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Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf had on Thursday also inaugurated two judicial commissions of inquiry into cases of misappropriation of public properties, political violence and missing persons in the last eight years in the state.
While responding to the double barrel attacks by the state government, Ganduje – the All Progressive Congress APC National Chairman – through his media aide, Edwin Olofu, advised Governor Yusuf to stop using diversionary tactics to cover up for his failure to deliver to the people of the state.
“In their desperate attempt to malign me and my family, they either forgot or probably cannot conduct themselves by the dictates of the law,” he said.
Conversely, as the blame game continues on Sunday, governor Yusuf through his spokesman, Sanusi Bature Dawakin Toga, also described the eight years tenure of Ganduje as failure.
“Ganduje’s eight-year tenure represented failure and maladministration, following massive records of corruption, diversion pf public funds and sale of government properties that characterized it.” He said.
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The statement notes further that “Governor Yusuf regretted that Ganduje shamelessly spoke about non-existent failure in the New Nigeria Peoples. Party (NNPP) government, instead of facing the nemesis of corruption and political violence hanging around his neck.”
“Governor Yusuf insisted that Ganduje presided over two unproductive tenures characterised with siphoning public resources, inability to cater for the needs of Kano’s population, nepotism and bloodshed that left many families the mood of melancholy.
“Our eight months in office has remarkably outweighed Ganduje’s eight wasted years of political caricature and maladministration by all standards,” Governor Yusuf stated.
“He advised the acting National Chairman of All Progressives Congress (APC) and the immediate-past Governor of the state, Abdullah Umar Ganduje to rather buckle up in defence of his battered image at the court, instead of further exposing his impunity on the media space.
“Dawakin Tofa reminded Ganduje how his gross penchant for corruption has brought shame and disgrace to the good people of Kano, insisting that no amount of media campaign would hinder the process of bringing him (Ganduje) to book on the glaring cases of corruption filed against him.
“He regretted that Ganduje could yet muster the courage to defend himself in the media, despite the embarrassing video clip where he was caught, red-handed, stocking his large agbada pockets with dollars, a supposed kickback from a contractor; and other corrupt practices massively associated with his eight-year tenure during which he ran the affairs of Kano state as a family enterprise.
“We wish to reaffirm the present administration’s resolve and readiness to make Ganduje and his co-travellers face the full wrath of the law for their intentional wrong doings,” the statement added.
“Governor Yusuf, however, maintained that his administration is multifacetedly inclined, prioritizing focus and attention on socio-economic and physical infrastructure developments for the overall well-being of Kano and the good people of Kano state.
“Governor Yusuf believes that for anyone to assume that efforts to unravel the issue of corruption charges against Ganduje and members of his immediate family is an attempt to cover up, clearly means, such category of people are either under false illusion or being economical with the truth.
“For whatever option, Kano state government would advise the acting national chairman of APC to show cause why his name, that of his family, and the entire people of Kano should permanently erase from the global embarrassment that the dollar video has generated.
“The administration of Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf emphasized that it would leave no stone unturned to pursuing the dollar video scandal to logical conclusion. He therefore requested the release of the forensic investigation conducted by the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFFC) on “Gandollar saga” in 2018, for public consumption.
“On the allegations of poor governance in Kano despite the increase in federal allocation, Governor Yusuf revealed that his administration is still struggling to recover from state of bankruptcy Ganduje plunged the state in the last eight years.
“Apart from inheriting liability and debt running into over N500 billion from Ganduje’s administration occasioned by his reckless financial misconduct, Governor Yusuf said the immediate past APC government sold almost all the property and assets to Ganduje, members of his family, and his cronies.
“He further stated that it is also glaring that Ganduje’s administration was associated with massive corruption, nepotism and intimidation of innocent citizens of Kano state, hence the reason for setting up two Judicial Commission of Inquiry”
“Governor Yusuf added that for someone to believe the lies that our administration is a failure for justifying the huge resources in less than a year, means that the person has never been to Kano to see things for himself, or the person is a member of the opposition party who simply want to malign our administration.
“Governor Yusuf revealed that the NNPP government in Kano recorded life-changing initiatives to the good people of Kano state, part of which include the foreign post-graduate scholarship for first class students, payment of tuition fees and entrance examinations for hundreds of thousands of university and secondary schools students, free maternal and child healthcare, renovations and equipping of some secondary healthcare facilities, among many other modest achievements that have impacted positively on the lives of Kano people.
“Additionally, Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf has taken a bold step in paying the backlog of pension gratuity for the state pensioners who were denied their entitlements by Ganduje’s administration in the last eight years. We completed the abandoned five kilometre roads in some Local Government Areas.
“Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf has also distributed four batches of palliatives to hundreds of thousands of Kano residents to cushion the effects of fuel subsidy removal and increase in price of food stuff.
“Kano residents still remembered how Ganduje’s administration kept food items meant to be distributed to the masses during Covid-19, under the sun and in the rain until they completely spoiled while other items were only brought out for distribution during 2023 elections, after greater percentage of the items were diverted and sold by his foot-soldiers.
“While inaugurating the JCI, Governor Yusuf said the first commission is to investigate issues related to misappropriation of public properties and assets while the second will investigate the cases of political violence and missing persons in the state.
“He wondered why Ganduje has started being jittery of the constitution of the commissions even when he has not been invited yet, to answer for his misdeeds.
“According to the statement, the Governor is on the verge of restoring sanity from the spate of political thuggery which the immediate-past administration promoted; and disruption of election processes in both 2019 and 2023 when unsuspecting and hapless Kano people were maimed, injured, dehumanized, brutalized and killed by thugs loyal to the APC and Ganduje.
“We wish to warn Ganduje to stop dragging the name of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu into his corruption saga, as we believe that our able and well respected President does not interfere into cases before the courts of competent jurisdiction, as we witnessed during our trying times at the Supreme Court when he allowed justice to prevail for the opposition parties,” Sanusi Bature added in the statement.