Alleged Bribery: Ganduje replies Kano govt, calls Governor Yusuf ‘failure’
The National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, has reacted to the decision of the Kano State Government to file criminal charges against him over alleged bribery of $413,000, and N1.38 billion.
SolaceBase reports that Governor Abba Yusuf, on Thursday, dragged ex-governor Ganduje and five others to court on eight count charges relating to bribery allegations, misappropriation and diversion of funds among others running into billions of naira.
Reacting to this on Friday, Ganduje, in a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Edwin Olofu, urged Governor Yusuf to “stop using diversionary tactics to cover up for his failure to deliver to the people of the state.”
He described the actions of the Governor as “an unfortunate and sorry attempt to shift public glare from the fact that there is really nothing on the ground in the state to justify the sharp increase in statutory allocations to the state since the inception of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu led administration in May 29, 2023.”
“In their desperate attempt to malign me and my family, they either forgot or probably cannot conduct themselves by the dictates of the law.
“They failed to take judicial notice of the recent pronouncement of the Federal High Court in Kano which ruled that the so-called offence I am being accused of is a federal offence that can only be prosecuted by the Attorney General of the Federation and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
“Rather than join issues with my traducers in Kano over the trumped-up charges levelled against me, I would implore them to redirect their energies towards easing the plights of our people in Kano” Ganduje counselled.
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“They still have the opportunity to revert to my blueprint for the sustainable growth and development of Kano State. It is not yet late in the day for them to emulate my developmental strides. They can still salvage the situation as my tenure was devoid of any wrongdoings,” part of the statement read.
While Ganduje added that the decision by the current administration to set up two committees to probe him over alleged misappropriation of public property, political violence and missing persons in the state is a welcome development, he argued that it would have been in the best interest of the state to extend the dateline of the probe to flag off from 1999 to date.
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“As the saying goes, he who comes to equity must come with clean hands. It shouldn’t be seen as targeted at my administration alone. It should not be seen to be borne out of malice, vindictiveness and ill will. It should be for public good and interest.
“We conducted the affairs of governance in the state openly and transparently during my tenure. We don’t need to be seeking direction from our masters to do what is proper,” he said.
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