Isiyaku Ahmed
The Kano State Governor-elect, H.E. Abba Kabir Yusuf has advised local government chairmen to refrain from using public funds to finance the upcoming supplementary elections in the state.
This was contained in a public advisory signed on Thursday and made available to newsmen by Sunusi Bature Dawakin Tofa, the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor-elect.
Parts of the public advisory read;
“We wish to issue another public Advisory on the purported use of public funds to finance the supplementary elections on Saturday 15th April 2023.
“We are in possession of credible information that the Kano State Government under the leadership of Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje has directed the release of N61 million to Doguwa, over N60 million to Nasarawa, over N60 million to Wudil. Other local government councils are also listed to receive hundreds of millions of Naira to fund elections.
“The money was released solely for sponsoring political thugs to unleash violence on the innocent citizens and residents of Kano State during the supplementary elections.
“We wish to again caution all the local government chairmen and their management staff including Directors of Personnel Management (DPMs), Treasurers, and other employees at the state and local government levels who may be directly or indirectly involved in this heinous act to as a matter of responsibility distance themselves and ensure that all public funds already released are not used for such purposes and returned to the appropriate coffers.
“While appreciating the good samaritan who came forward to confide in us some of the evil plans to be meted against the good people of Kano ahead of the forthcoming supplementary elections, it is very pertinent to bring to the attention of all employees in the state that anybody found wanting on this scandal will face the necessary action at the most appropriate time.
“We are aware, that the state government has brought in thousands of thugs from within and outside Kano State to destabilize the relative peace. It is, therefore, necessary to call on the security agencies to take swift action against the potential repeat of violent thuggery attacks on innocent citizens of Kano state.”
This advisory is served in the public interest, please, the statement added.
It could be recalled that Kano ALGON Chairman Bappa Muhammad had reacted to a similar advisory issued on 6 April 2023 by the Kano Transition Committee (GTC) Chairman, Dr. Baffa Bichi.
ALGON is the umbrella organization of all the elected local government chairmen in the state.
According to Bappa, such spurious allegations are common whenever there is a change in leadership.
He reminded the signatory of a similar allegation made against the former Governor of Kano State, Dr. Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso, in 2014, of using public funds siphoned from the 44 LGs to finance his presidential ambition.
The Kano ALGON Chairman advised the signatory to desist from unnecessarily heating the polity by making such unfounded allegations in the interest of peace and the security of the State.
