Kano State is tension soaked with less than 48hours before the presidential election as Kano state Governor Abdullahi Ganduje has blasted members of the Kwankwasiyya group of the People’s Democratic Party following the attack on a group of All Progressive Congress (APC) supporters.
Ganduje called on security agents to fish out perpetrators of the attack, which left at least five persons dead and other seriously wounded.
He said: “The Kwankwassiyya group has continued to brazenly attack members and supporters of the All Progressive Congress (APC).
“The latest just happened on Thursday when they attacked our members while on a special prayer session in Bebeji local government area which was organised for peaceful conduct of the forthcoming general elections in the country, leaving some party members dead and others with injuries.”
In a statement by the Commissioner for Information, Youth and Culture, Malam Muhammad Garba, Ganduje accused the Kwankwasiyya PDP thugs of being behind the attack.
“They attacked our peaceful supporters under the watchful eyes of their leader, Rabi’u Kwankwaso, who was on a campaign rally in the area, brandishing all sorts of deadly weapons, attacked the prayer session, which is being organised by member representing Kiru/Bebeji constituency, Hon. Abdulmumini Jibrin Kofa for meanness free polls,” he said.
The attack, the statement, he lamented: “is the latest in series by the Kwankwasiyya ruffians in an apparent attempt to put a clog in the wheel of progress toward ensuring free and peaceful election in the state.”
The Governor lamented: “The group is superficially venting its anger on members and supporters of the APC, having gotten a sign of defeat at the polls, as part of a calculated attempt to scamper peaceful 2019 elections.”
He prayed for the departed souls and condoled with the bereaved families, just as he also prayed for the quick recovery of those injured during the heinous attack.
Ganduje also directed security agencies “to fish out perpetrators of the monstrous blitzkrieg with a view to ensuring that they are dealt with accordingly.”
Ganduje was appointed chairman of the Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti in 2008 and was later appointed as the executive secretary of the Lake Chad Basin Commission at Ndjamena, Republic of Chad. He participated in the 2006 Nigerian Political Reforms Conference.
Ganduje was a Deputy Governor of Kano State Governor Kwankwaso between 1999 and 2003, under the flag of the PDP. They lost re-election to Malam Ibrahim Shekarau. They were re-elected on 27 April 2011 and sworn in on 29 May 2011 for a second term in office.
Ganduje was conferred the national honour of the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR) in September 2012 by Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan. He was also conferred with the honour of Fellow National Association of Educational Administration and Planning (FNAEAP) on 13 October 2016 in Bayero University, Kano.
He was selected as the consensus candidate to succeed Kwankwaso as Governor of Kano State on 28 November 2014 among the All Progressive Congress APC Candidate are Usman Alhaji, Kawu Sumaila, Ibrahim Muhammad Kankarofi, Malam Ibrahim Khalil, Col. Lawal Jafaru Isa. He went on to defeat the opposition candidate, Malam Salihu Takai, with 1,546,434 votes against Takai’s 509,726 votes in the 11 April 2015 gubernatorial elections. He was sworn into office on 29 May 2015.
In October 2018, video clips reportedly recorded by spy camera were published by an online medium Daily Nigerian showing the governor receiving wards of dollar notes in what appears apparently as bribe payments from contractors.
The governor, through his commissioner for information, however denied the allegations and claimed the video clips were doctored to blackmail him and threatened legal suit to the publisher of Daily Nigerian, the journalist who released the video clips.
Should Abdullahi Ganduje deserve re-election as Kano state Governor?