- By Halimah Olamide
The allegation of bribery that had hanged on the neck of former Governor of Kano state, Umaru Ganduje, was brought to the fore again on Thursday as the opposition Peoples Democratic Party said his emergence as the new National Chairman of the ruling All Progressive Congress shows the APC as home to corruption.
NPO Reports that Ganduje was sworn in today in Abuja as the new National Chairman of the party at the National Executive Committee meeting held in Abuja.
Reacting to the development, Debo Ologunagba, PDP’s National Publicity Secretary, said in a statement that the ruling party is a party of corrupt people.
“The choice of Dr. Ganduje by the APC as its National Chairman, in spite of the stinking corruption and bribery allegations against him in the public domain, further confirms that the APC is a cesspit of corruption and a haven for thieves, bribe takers and treasury looters,” the PDP stated
It said by appointing Ganduje, “notoriously referred to as “Gandola” by Nigerians over the infamous video of him barefacedly stuffing his gown with US Dollar notes as bribe allegedly from a contractor, while serving as Governor of Kano State, further validates that the APC is a putrid Party of embezzlers and charlatans.”
The party said the development underscores APC’s impunity and insensitivity to the demands of honesty, integrity and moral rectitude required of public office holders.
“The PDP invites Nigerians to note that only last month, a forensic analysis by the Kano State Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission (PCACC) confirmed that the content of the 2017 “Gandollar” viral video was not doctored. It speaks volume of the APC under Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu that Ganduje, who should ordinarily be under prosecution by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for alleged bribery is rather crowned and rewarded with the position of the APC National Chairman. Such can only happen in a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) like the APC which, according to the former Director General of Progressive Governors’ Forum, is replete with “political bandits”.
“In any case, the PDP describes the assertion by the embattled APC National Chairman that he will “hit the ground running” to ensure the victory of his fizzling Party and disillusioned members in the forthcoming governorship elections in Kogi, Imo and Bayelsa as a pathetic day-dreaming. The PDP reminds Ganduje of how he was humiliated by Nigerians and failed woefully as Co-Chairman of APC National Campaign Council for the July 2022 Osun State Governorship election, which was overwhelmingly won by the PDP. Indeed, a worse crushing defeat awaits Ganduje and his Party, the APC, in the November 11, 2023 Governorship elections in Bayelsa, Kogi and Imo States.
“Moreover, the mortifying trouncing of the APC in Kano State under his watch as Governor in the 2023 general elections shows that Ganduje has no political value and cannot earn any victory in any electoral contest in the country. If Ganduje is desirous to “hit the ground running” as he asserted, he should run to the EFCC for investigation and prosecution for cases of alleged bribery and corruption hanging around his neck.”
A news publication National Daily had published a story in 2018 with a video which showed the former governor collecting some wads of Dollar from a man and stuffing it into his pocket.
The video, which had gone viral, had remained a major moral question for Ganduje.