TheCable

An All Progressives Congress (APC) ward in Dawakin Tofa LGA of Kano has suspended Abdullahi Ganduje, national chair of the party, over corruption allegations.

The suspension was announced by Halliru Gwanzo, legal adviser of the ward, during a briefing with journalists in Kano on Monday.

Gwanzo cited allegations of bribery against Ganduje by the Kano state government as reason for the suspension.

“We decided to suspend Dr. Ganduje from the party due to the seriousness of the allegations against him,” Gwanzo said.

He added that the suspension will subsist until Ganduje is cleared of the charges.

Last week, the Kano high court had stated that Ganduje will be arraigned on April 17 on charges bordering on bribery, diversion, and misappropriation of public funds.

In a court summon, it was stated that the former governor of Kano will be arraigned alongside his wife and son.

The other defendants in the case are Abubakar Bawuro, Jibrilla Muhammad, Lamash Properties Limited, Safari Textiles Limited, and Lesaga General Enterprises.

In a charge sheet seen by TheCable, the state government said the offences contravened the Kano State Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission Law 2008.

BACKGROUND

In 2018, Daily Nigerian, an online newspaper, published a video of Ganduje allegedly receiving bundles of dollars from contractors, which he stuffed into his “babanriga”, a traditional outfit.

The APC national chairman was the governor of Kano from 2015 to 2023.

The newspaper said Ganduje requested $5 million as bribe from the contractors who recorded the video.

In 2023, the Kano state Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission (PCACC) invited Ganduje for questioning over the video.

The former governor did not honour the invitation and instead instituted a suit against the agency.

In March, a federal high court in Kano stopped the agency from inviting or questioning Ganduje over the bribery allegations.

The court ruled that the agency lacks the power to invite or investigate Ganduje over the allegations.

Abdullahi Liman, the presiding judge, said the alleged infraction is a federal offence that cannot be prosecuted by the state anti-graft agency.