THE Kano Public Compliant and Anti-Corruption Commission (PCACC) has revealed that it filed fresh corruption charges against Abdullahi Ganduje, the state’s former governor and the current All Progressives Congress (APC) chairman.
The PCACC chairman, Muhuyi Magaji Rimingado, said this on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme on Tuesday, April 16.
Rimingado described what the agency had made public about Ganduje as “a tip of the iceberg.”
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He said the commission was investigating a case whereby N51.3 billion local government funds were directly taken from the government coffers and sent to other individuals under the former governor’s watch.
Rimingado claimed that the Ganduje administration embezzled N1 billion from state coffers at the end of its term in May 2023, and the funds were transferred to Bureau de Change operators rather than being used for designated road maintenance.
“We have piled a series of cases. We have a case whereby N1 billion 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 N4 billion 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.
Rimingado, who said he was being perceived as a “stubborn person” in some places, maintained that although the court had declared money laundering a federal crime, the commission was still entitled to investigate corruption and poor management claims against the Ganduje government.
The anti-graft chair declared that there should be no sacred cows in the state’s fight against corruption.
“And that is how it is supposed to be. Anybody that is charged before the court of law, let him go and answer,” he said.
On Wednesday, April 17, 2024, Ganduje will be arraigned before the Kano High Court on charges of bribery, diversion, and mismanagement of funds.
These charges include the alleged acceptance of bribes of N1.38 billion and $413,000.
There has been pressure on Ganduje, who was the governor of Kano from May 2015 to May 2023, to step down from his role as the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Chairman.
The ICIR reportedon Monday that the party leaders suspended Ganduje in his ward at the state’s Dawakin Tofa Local Government Area.
The party’s legal adviser at the ward, Halliru Gwanzo, made this known while addressing journalists in the state on Monday, April 14.
The Kano State Government had dragged Ganduje, his wife, Hafsat Umar, and five others to court over eight corruption charges, amounting to billions of naira during his eight years in government.
The charges were contained in a charge sheet dated April 3, which also attached a list of 15 prosecution witnesses.
According to the lawsuit, the other respondents are Abubakar Bawuro, Umar Abdullahi Umar, Jibrilla Muhammad, Lamash Properties Ltd, Safari Textiles Ltd, and Lesage General Enterprises.
Meanwhile, in March, a Federal High Court in Kano State ruled that PCACC lacked the power to investigate Ganduje over a dollar bribery video.
The court presided over by Abdulahi Liman, stated on Tuesday, March 5, that the offence was a federal one, and only the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) could prefer charges against Ganduje.
Liman emphasised that there were limitations to the Kano anti-graft agency’s power to probe the former governor.
A reporter with the ICIR
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