Kano NNPP alleges, Ganduje diverts N100 billion LG funds

The Transition Committee of the incoming administration of the New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP in Kano has alleged that governor Umar Abdullahi Ganduje has misappropriated over N100 billion belonging to the 44 Local Government Council Areas in the State.

The Committee asserted the misappropriation or diversion of over N100 billion funds belonging to the local governments was done in his personal interest against the financial rules and regulations.
Barrister Muhuyi Magaji Rimin Gado made the revelation on Saturday, during a town hall meeting on “Strengthening Investigative Data Driven Journalism in the Fight Against Corruption in Local Languages in Nigeria, organized by WADATA Media Advocacy Centre, WAMAC with Support of MacArthur Foundation in Kano.

Gado is the former Chairman of Kano State Anti-Corruption boss and a member of the NNPP Asset Recovery.
He said: “Official documents recovered clearly shows how N100 billion was Siphons from the Kano Local Governments Treasury to Personal accounts, this is away from other similar diversions we have seen in the quest of our investigation.

“Systematic and endemic Corruption in the Ganduje administration is something that even himself as the State Anti Corruption Agency Chairman, never knew until he became part of the NNPP asset recovery transition Committee member.”

Rimin Gado added that, “the amount of corruption perpetuated under the outgoing government of APC in Kano is mind-bugling and they are going to do all they could to unravel them to everybody to see”.

In his speech, the Executive Director/Project Manager of WAMAC, Zubair Abdurra’uf Idiris bemoaned the high level of corruption that has taken over all facets of the economy, stressing that there should be a pragmatic approach to tackling it before it becomes unmanageable.

In the communique at the end of the Town Hall meeting, Idiris commended the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC for its efforts at tackling the corruption menace in Nigeria, urging the Federal government to stop the unilateral State Pardons for those accused of corrupt practices.

Idiris described as a welcome development the landmark judgement on the Kano State pensioners’ housing estates illegally built with pension funds which were now confiscated.

The meeting recognized the enormous tasks of fighting corruption and called on the citizens to join the efforts to curtail the menace of corruption.

The Executive Director said, the meeting resolved, that, community should rise up and expose corrupt practices in their domain through awareness in rural and urban communities to inculcate ‘virtues of societal norms and values’ in the administration of local governments funds in Kano state.

Participants x-rayed monumental corruption as a Global phenomenon and frowns at corruption in Nigeria despite laws and agencies fighting corruption due to inability to implement laws and policies.

The meeting urged Community Based Organizations (CBO’s), Journalists and the society to report alleged corrupt persons to anti-corruption agencies anonymous channels, ‘The Eagle eye app’ of the EFCC among others.