The All Progressives Congress (APC) and the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) are engaged in a war of words over an alleged plot by the Kano State government to prosecute the forthcoming local government election with funds diverted from the local councils.
The Kano State local government election is scheduled for October 26, 2024.
APC Chairman in Kano State, Alhaji Abdullahi Abbas, made the allegation in a statement on September 26, 2024, noting that the NNPP government in the state has perfected plans to sponsor candidates it selected to participate in the election with funds meant for the local government councils.
However, NNPP chairman in Kano State, Hashimu Sulaiman Dungurawa, denied the allegation in an interview with NewsNGR.
The NNPP chairman described the APC as the ‘common enemy’ of the people of Kano State.
The APC, which has vowed to unseat the NNPP as the ruling party in Kano, has asked the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, to stop the Kano government from actualizing the alleged plot to use LGA funds to finance the campaigns of its candidates for the council poll.
The party specifically urged the anti-graft agencies to beam their searchlight on the financial transactions of the Kano State Ministry for Local Government Affairs.
NewsNGR reports that Kano State governor Kabir Abba Yusuf recently dissolved the caretaker local government chairmen in the state and directed them to hand over to the Directors of Personnel Management (DPMs) in their respective councils.
The APC alleged that the government intends to use the DPMs to divert public funds to finance NNPP candidates in the local government election.
“The Ministry for Local Government wants to use the Directors of Personnel Management (DPMs), who are civil servants and accounting officers, to allegedly use public funds to finance the election machine.
“The EFCC and ICPC should carry out a forensic audit of the 44 local government councils in Kano State in a bid to determine whether the funds have been tampered with,” the APC said.
The party urged the anti-graft agencies to invite the dissolved caretaker chairmen and the DPMs to show records of their recent expenditures.
The APC further alleged that NNPP leader, former Kano State governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, had, during the 2015 presidential election, diverted N30.8 billion from the 44 local governments in the state to finance his campaign.
The APC raised the alarm that the Kano NNPP government intends to replicate Kwankwaso’s alleged diversion of local government funds to finance the party’s election campaigns.
However, responding to the APC’s claims in a chat with NewsNGR on Saturday, September 29, 2024, Kano NNPP chairman Dungurawa said the allegation is baseless.
The NNPP chairman said, “It is just a baseless allegation because we are transparent in our governance and everybody knows that. That is why when we were coming up, we didn’t have a councillor but we threw them (APC) out of the government and we are now in charge
“We don’t need to look for funds or any resources to win election in Kano State because the people of the state have confidence in us and they believe what we are doing is in their interest.
“The APC is the common enemy of Kano State, and even Nigeria by extension, because they have done nothing, and they are doing nothing and they have nothing to do again, but the NNPP is here to rescue the situation and put things in place. That’s why you see Governor Kabir Abba Yusuf building schools, sending students outside the country to study, to obtain certain vocational degrees.
“We are very serious people and we are focused on developing the state to make sure things are better for our people.”
The APC had declared that it will win the Kano local government poll if it there is a level playing field.
The NNPP chairman dismissed the APC’s boast.
“How can APC win? Where were they when they were on the seat and we took over the state? People were tired of them. They were there for eight years with nothing to show for it, and that was why the people of Kano decided on that election day and victory was given to us.
“We thank the people of Kano and that is why we are working for them.”