- Files Fresh Charges Against APC National Chairman
By Abiola Olawale
The turbulent times rocking the life of the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and a two-time Governor of Kano State, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje, have continued to deepen as the Kano State Anti-Corruption and Public Complaints Commission has leveled fresh charges of corruption and maladministration against the former governor.
The chairman of the anti-graft commission, Muhuyi Magaji made this known while speaking with the members of the press on Tuesday.
The Chairman alleged that the commission in its investigation found out how Ganduje allegedly diverted a total of N51.3 billion funds meant for Local Government affairs.
Magaji also claimed that the Ganduje government took N1bn from the state coffers a month before the expiration of the administration’s tenure in May 2023 but the money was sent to Bureau de Change operators and not used for road renovation as earmarked.
He said: “What is happening now is the tip of the iceberg. As I am talking to you, we are investigating a case whereby N51.3bn local government funds were directly taken from the government coffers and sent to other individuals, and we traced it to people.”
“We have filed a series of cases. We have a case whereby N1bn in April last year (2023) was removed from government coffers under the allocation of renovating 30 roads in the metropolis and it was taken away and sent to Bureau de Change.
“We have a case of N4bn whereby it was sent from the consolidated revenue account of Kano State to an agricultural company. All these cases are before the court,” he said.
The Kano anti-graft chairman, who said he was being viewed as a “stubborn person” in some quarters, insisted that the court ruled that money laundering was a federal offense but the commission has the right to probe alleged corruption and maladministration by the Ganduje administration.
The New Diplomat reports that the troubles of Ganduje began when the Kano State Government initiated a formal summons against him, his wife, his son, and five others at a Kano State High Court over allegations of financial impropriety while in office.
It would be recalled that the former Governor was accused of collecting a $400,000 kickback from a contractor. The government also accused Ganduje of criminal conspiracy, misappropriation, diversion of public funds, and bribery, to the tune of N1.3 billion.
It would also be recalled that a Kano State High Court said recently that it has fixed April 17, 2024, for the arraignment of Ganduje, his wife, son, and five others, for alleged bribery.
