N1.38bn Bribe: Stop Running In Circus, Ganduje Replies Kano Governor

Posted by Nwa Diokpa Featured, Latest Headlines, News Across Nigeria Friday, April 5th, 2024

(AFRICAN EXAMINER) – The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje, on Friday, cautioned the Kano State Governor, Abba Yusuf, to focus in bringing good governance to the people instead of going on a futile attempt to discredit his name.

Ganduje was reacting to the decision of the state government to file criminal charges against him for alleged bribery of $413,000 and N1.38bn, respectively.

The African Examiner recalls that Governor Yusuf on assumption of office in 2023, accused the former governor of misappropriation of funds and also allocating plots of land to some members of his immediate family.

Reacting in a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Edwin Olofu, on Friday, Ganduje stated that the bribery allegation was an ‘unfortunate and sorry attempt’ to change the narrative from the fact that there was nothing on ground in the state that the governor can use to justify the huge allocations he has been getting since the beginning of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

He said, “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.

“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.

“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 wrongdoing.

“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.”