Former governor of Kano State, Rabiu Kwankwaso, on Friday, said that he and the immediate past Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, were summoned by President Bola Tinubu over the ongoing demolition in the State.
Kwankwaso, who was the Presidential candidate of the New Nigeria People’s Party, NNPP, said that Ganduje as a governor chased him out of Kano State for three and half years.
Fielding questions from State House correspondents, he claimed that most of the buildings demolished were illegally acquired by the Ganduje administration and that President Tinubu was shocked when he briefed him on the true picture of what led to the present demolition.
Asked if he was satisfied with the president’s intervention, he said: “The President was shocked. Are you not shocked that somebody will sell University? Are you not shocked that he demolished the only university? Daula Hotel, for those of you who are in Kano, you know the old Daula, demolished to zero and that is a faculty under the University of Science and Technology. He demolished that one. Are you not shocked?
“The President was shocked. He didn’t know. He even mentioned that he talked to somebody to go and find out for him. But when I told him, I said you are a Muslim, very soon you are going for Sallah. How can you go under that circumstance and pray in that place? And even the Triumph place he is talking about, you are journalists. You should be angry because that’s your constituency, he demolished completely and put shops everywhere.”
According to Kwankwaso, his party under Governor Abba Yusuf, was only fulfilling the campaign promises to demolish such structures.
“You see the governor is doing what we campaigned with. I wanted to be president, I campaigned also. And I went to Kano and told them that these places, schools, in fact most of our schools in Kano were being encroached on. And it is our policy to make sure that the encroached areas are returned to them.”
Regarding speculations of accepting a ministerial position from the Tinubu administration, Kwankwaso revealed that talks were ongoing about the possibility.
However, he dismissed rumours of defecting to the ruling party, emphasising that Tinubu was more focused on a government of national unity.
He described Ganduje as a stooge he made his Special Adviser and also his deputy while he held sway as governor.
*(Courtesy: Vanguard)
