The National Chairman, All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje has been challenged to clear his name on alleged financial inducement perpetrated prior to ascension of Muhmmadu Sanusi II to the throne as 14th Emir of Kano.
The challenge was thrown at Ganduje by a Kano based political critic Bashir Hayatu popularly called ‘Gentile’
The ex-Governor was equally asked to prove otherwise, recent comments made by Alhaji Danjuma Hamza Darma, a Kano APC stalwart who accused Ganduje of collecting unspecified amount of money from Sanusi to facilitate his appointment.
Darma, who made the revelations in an interview with local radio station alleged that Ganduje, then a deputy Governor to Dr. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, demanded and subsequently received a huge amount of money from the former Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to facilitate his consideration.
In the interview, Darma claimed that Ganduje was solely responsible for the choice of Sanusi II during the selection process after he (Ganduje) exposed the medical report of late emir, Ado Bayero, to Sanusi and advised him to contribute to Kwankwaso’s presidential ambition in 2019 as a means of gaining support of Kwankwaso.
According to Darma “It is God Almighty that made Sanusi Lamido the Emir and it was through APC that he did it. The first link to his becoming emir was Ganduje, if not for Ganduje, he wouldn’t have become an emir. If you need and explanation, I will give you.
“When the news came that the late Emir of Kano Ado Bayero was sick, and that he could hardly recover, Ganduje was the one that took that report to Sanusi Lamido. He told him, here is a report about the emir.
“He advised Sanusi to give some money as his contribution to Kwankwaso’s presidential ambition. Sanusi Lamido did not argue then and he gave something very big in bribe. I cannot exactly say how much it was. But it is for him to be made the emir”, Darma alleged in the interview.
Reacting to Darma’s outburst, Gentile insisted that until Ganduje responds to the weighty allegations raised by Darma, the National Chairman of APC would continue to carry the moral burden of betrayal of public trust.
In a comment posted on his verified social media handle, Gentile however queried Darma’s position where he (Darma) insinuated an exchange of certain amount of money between Ganduje and the then CBN Governor, threatening to take legal action against him if he fails to back his submission with verifiable fact.
Gentile said “Although your claims are all fake, I will still call on you to produce evidence if you have any against Emir Sanusi. You have lied against Emir Sanusi II and until you produce evidence to back the exchange of money between the emir and Ganduje, I will not take it easy.
“If he (Darma) failed to prove the said huge amount of money collected by Ganduje from Emir Sanusi and given to Kwankwaso for the purpose of selecting him as 14th emir of Kano, we are going to sue him.
“Darma also said Ganduje was said to have leaked a report on the health of late Ado Bayero to Sanusi where he believed the life of late Bayero had come to an end. If the allegation against Ganduje is true, then Ganduje would have betrayed the government for revealing official secret.
“I call on Ganduje, to ensure he takes action against Darma’s comments to disabuse the minds of the public against the allegations. If not, the situation might be worse than the claim of inciting crises among Islamic scholars in Kano”, Gentile challenged Ganduje.
