By ShehuTukur
The National Chairman of the APC, Dr Abdullah Ganduje has dismissed the investigative panels of enquiry set up by his successor to probe him as a desperate effort to give him a bad name and tarnish his reputation. Ganduje was reacting to the announcement of three judicial panels of enquiry on financial malfeasance, electoral violence and land grabbing. Watchers of political developments in Kano are however curious about the limited scope of the panels which are only focused on the last administration while leaving out the eight years of Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, the political godfather of the incumbent governor.
” This is political persecution taken too far, elections are over, let Abba Yusuf focus on the challenges of hunger, deprivation and infrastructure development that are staring the people of Kano in the face and stop playing games” , a respondent answered in Kano. They argue that such limited focus of the enquiry has already given out the game as the desperate persecution of one political opponent who was a stumbling block to the emergence of Abba Yusuf as governor and take over of the state by the New Nigeria Peoples Parry (NNPP).
Chairman of APC in Kano, Abdulahi Abbas, sees through the smokescreen and fittingly asked why the Kwankwaso years, 1999-2003 and 2011-2015 when the most reckless financial improprieties and greedy land-grabbing took place was left out of the scope of the panels of enquiry. It is an open secret in Kano that about 70 per cent of government properties were sold or fraudulently given out to friends and family members when governor Abba Yusuf was commissioner for Works, Housing and Transport and played an important role in these criminal allocations.
The APC also alleged that the members of the panels were known members of Kwankwaso’s party, the NNPP, put together to deliver a hatchet job of political witch-hunt and victimization. It stated that the government should be upright in its dealings by not selfishly restricting its investigation to between 2015 and 2023.
“From 2011-2015, the controversial five-kilometre road projects in the 44 local governments were awarded and only for the funds to be misappropriated without the projects being executed.
“During the same period under review, over N3 billions naira was also earmarked for a particular project but misappropriated by Kwankwaso during his Presidential Campaign in Lagos when N70 million was released by each local government,” it explained.
It added that just as it is claiming to be fair to all, the government should invite all the 44 local government council chairmen that served during the Kwankwaso administration to give account of what really transpired in order to unravel the mystery behind the misappropriated funds.
The statement cited instances of misuse of public funds when the Kwankwaso administration took a Machiavellian reform of the pension law to use over N4 billion naira from the Pension Trust Fund to misappropriate pensioner’s fund between 2011-2015 which impact is still hurting pensioners in the state.
“While the All Progressives Congress (APC) will continue to be law-abiding, it will not, however, condone witch-hunt, political victimisation and persecution. The Government need to be reminded that the mentioned scandals will one day be investigated.”
On the second commission to investigate political violence in the state before and during the last general elections, the APC chairman also made reference to violence allegedly perpetrated by the NNPP loyalists.
“Since 2019 when they were in the opposition, the people of Kano were very much aware of how elements of this government and it’s supporters have threatened the peace in the state. Even while in government, the violence perpetrated to celebrate it’s coming to power is still fresh in our minds,” he indicated.
He said key stakeholders in Gov Yusuf’s government that include the secretary to the state government, a commissioner and two advisers threatened to kill judges of the 2023 Election Petition Tribunal in a viral video, but nothing was done to assuage the situation.
“It is shocking and disturbing that despite the threat to lives meted out by one of the Commissioners against the Judicial officers his name was resubmitted to the Kano State House of Assembly for further confirmation as Commissioner and he has since been cleared by the said House.
“It is no doubt that the clearance of the said commissioner clearly demonstrates that evil deed is “viable venture” in the Government of Kano State because the doers are encouraged, appeased and rewarded abundantly.
“Between 1999 -2003, the violence that erupted in Kwankwaso town of Madobi local government when people objected to the crowning of Kwankwaso’s father with traditional title, lives were lost and properties vandalized.“ With members of the NNPP brandishing dangerous weapons including guns and ammunitions “.
