Sophia Michaels
The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kano has sent a message to Abdullahi Ganduje, the immediate former governor of the state.
The APC asked Ganduje to ignore an invitation by the Kano Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission (PCACC).
The PCACC has invited Ganduje for questioning over video clips that showed him allegedly collecting bribes from contractors.
In 2018, Daily Nigerian, an online newspaper, published videos of Ganduje allegedly receiving bundles of dollars from contractors which he stuffed into his “babanriga”, a traditional outfit.
The newspaper said the former governor requested $5 million as a bribe, from the contractors who recorded the video.
The PCACC said the video clips were authentic and asked the former governor to appear before the commission next week.
In a statement on Thursday, Abdullahi Abbas and Zakari Sarina, Kano APC’s chairman and secretary, said the invitation is a plot to smear the image of Ganduje.
“We realised that the reenactment of the politically motivated issue of the dollar video by the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) which is before a court of law, is part of a sinister plot to dent the image of the former governor,” the statement read.
“Similar scenario was played to scuttle the former governor’s chance of securing the gubernatorial ticket for the party in 2019.”
They alleged that the NNPP is trying to drive a wedge between President Bola Tinubu and Ganduje whom they described as one of his strongest allies in the north.
“While Ganduje’s contributions to the Tinubu political project right from the conduct of the primary election, is widely appreciated, his relationship with the President remains cordial,” they said.
