The National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Abdullahi Umar Ganduje has attacked Gov. Abba Kabir Yusuf for launching two committees to probe him over alleged corruption and sale of public properties.
Daily News 24 reports that Mr Yusuf on Thursday inaugurated two judicial commissions to probe cases of diversion of public properties, political violence and missing persons from 2015 to 2023 – a period during which Mr Ganduje presided as governor of the state.
The Kano State government said it had filed criminal charges against the ex-governor over alleged bribery of $413,000, and N1.38 billion.
Gov. Yusuf had said the first commission is to be chaired by Justice Zuwaira Yusuf, which will look into cases of political violence and missing persons from 2015 to 2023.
“And it’s expected to unravel the criminal networks involved in the violence and unmask the sponsors to face justice.” Yusuf said.
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The other commission, chaired by Justice Faruk Lawan, is assigned to look into cases of misappropriation of public property and assets from 2015–2023.
But in a statement issued on Friday, Mr Ganduje accused the governor of trying to malign him and his family instead of focusing on governance in Kano state.
Mr Ganduje, who spoke through his spokesperson Edwin Olofu said “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 administration.
“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 affirmed.
“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.
“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,” the statement said.
“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” he declared.
“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,” the ex-governor added.
