SIXTEEN of the Kano State members of National Assembly have passed a vote of confidence on Governor Umar Ganduje, in spite of the $5 million bribery allegation against him.
The lawmakers gave the endorsement on Thursday during a press briefing at the National Assembly. Among them was Abdulmumin Jibrin, the former Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Appropriation, who had publicly accused the Speaker of the House, Yakubu Dogara of corruption.
Jibrin had taken his allegations against Dogara and four other principal officers of the House to all the anti-corruption agancies in the country, as well as to the presidency, insisting that Dogara was corrupt and must be probed for allegedly padding the 2016 budget with illegal projects running into several billions of naira.
But on Thursday, Jibrin and his colleagues from Kano State gave Ganduje a clean bill of health despite videos of the governor allegedly receiving bribes being all over the internet.
The Kano legislators said “no amount of blackmail and subterfuge can obliterate the excellent work that Ganduje has done and is still doing in Kano State”.
They were ostensibly referring to the videos published by an online newspaper, Daily Nigerian, which showed Ganduje collecting bundles of dollars alleged to be bribes from someone who was described as a contractor working for the state.
The newspaper alleged that Ganduje collects between 15 and 25 percent kickback from any contractor that carries out any project for the state government.
The Kano State Assembly had set up a committee to investigate the allegations, but Ganduje went to court and obtained an order restricting the committee from going ahead with the probe. The court also prohibited Daily Nigerian from further publishing any other Ganduje bribery video.
On Thursday, the state’s federal lawmakers, led by Kabir Gaya, Senator representing Kano South, reiterated their support for the governor, and their commitment to ensuring that he would be re-elected in 2019 in order for him to continue his good works in the state.
“As major stakeholders in Kano State, we hereby state unequivocally that His Excellency, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje has performed creditably well in the saddle of captainship of the State and has therefore earned our unalloyed support and vote of confidence,” they said.
“Dr. Ganduje who came into office when a lot of factors seemed terribly against the tide of permeance for any State Chief Executive, especially the factor of economic downturn typified by the huge slide in the size of Federal Allocations accruable to the states, shocked many with his outstanding achievements in the various sectors ranging from infrastructural development to human capital development among others.
“We make bold to say that the leadership of His Excellency, Dr. Ganduje has brought unprecedented socio-economic development to Kano State such as never experienced.”
Present at the press briefing were five Kano federal lawmakers, but the statement they issued was signed by 16 persons; two senators and 14 House of Reps members.
They are: Abdulmumin Jibrin, Munir Danagundi, Aminu Suleiman, Nassiru Ahmed, Tijjani Jobe, Alhassan Doguwa, Abdullahi Gaya, Badamasi Ayuba and Bashir Baballe, Mustapha Dawaki, Sulaiman Aliyu Romo, Muhammad Wudil, Muktar Chiromawa and Sani Bala.
The lawmakers refused to answer questions on the bribery allegation against Ganduje, saying the matter was already in court and commenting on it would be sujudice. They however reiterated that they would deliver over 5 million votes for Buhari come 2019.