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Tag: Ganduje

  • ‘Election riggers’: Oshiomhole, Ganduje, Yahaya Bello on US Visa ban list

    ‘Election riggers’: Oshiomhole, Ganduje, Yahaya Bello on US Visa ban list

    The United States Government has slammed visa ban on Adams Oshiomhole, a former governor of Edo State and ex-National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Nigeria’s ruling party.

    A report published by SaharaReporters indicates that apart from Oshiomhole, Kano State governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, and Kogi governor, Yahaya Bello, are also among those affected by the latest US sanction, a statement issued on Monday by the spokesperson for the Department of State, Morgan Ortagus, said.

    On the other hand, Governor Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna state,northern Nigeria, had his own visa ban extended. El-rufai has been banned from entering the US since 2010 over a graft case.

    According to US officials, more Nigerian politicians may be included on the US Visa Ban List after the Edo governorship election slacted for September 19 if they are involved in electoral malpractice. It was gathered that those affected by the latest visa ban have received notification by email and or text messages.

    The statement by the spokesperson for the Department of State said those issued visa bans received the sanction for undermining democracy in Nigeria.

    It reads, “In July 2019, we announced the imposition of visa restrictions on Nigerians who undermined the February and March 2019 elections. Today, the Secretary of State is imposing additional visa restrictions on individuals for their actions surrounding the November 2019 Kogi and Bayelsa states elections and in the run-up to the September and October 2020 Edo and Ondo states elections.

    “These individuals have so far operated with impunity at the expense of the Nigerian people and have undermined democratic principles.

    “The Department of State emphasises that the actions announced today are specific to certain individuals and not directed at the Nigerian people. This decision reflects the Department of State’s commitment to working with the Nigerian Government to realise its expressed commitment to end corruption and strengthen democracy, accountability, and respect for human rights,” the statement added.

  • Blasphemy: Kano musician appeals death sentence; sues Ganduje

    Blasphemy: Kano musician appeals death sentence; sues Ganduje

    Yahaya Shariff-Aminu, who was sentenced to death for blaspheming Prophet Mohammed, has filed a notice of appeal.

    Shariff-Aminu was sentenced to death by an Upper Sharia Court on August 10, 2020.

    He was given 30 days to file an appeal and Governor Abdullahi Ganduje expressed readiness to sign his death warrant once timeline lapses.

    However, in the notice of appeal marked CR/43/2020 and filed by his lawyer, Kola Alapinni, before a Kano State High Court, the convict sued the Attorney-General of the state and Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje.

    He based his appeal on one ground which is that Sharia law which formed the basis of his conviction was illegal and unconstitutional.

    It read in part, “The appellant’s trial, conviction, and sentencing by the Upper Sharia Court of Kano State pursuant to the Kano State Penal Code Law 2000 were unconstitutional, null, void having grossly violated and conflicted with the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999) as amended and having violated the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights respectively.

    “The Penal Sharia Code Law is only applicable and permissible in Islamic theocracies or countries whose constitution allows for such whereas Nigeria is a secular state with constitutional democracy and the constitution being the supreme law.”

    The convict said the state was quick to charge and convict.

    READ ALSO Falana receives Kano death sentence case details

    He noted that he was denied legal representation even though there is an existing framework for legal aid in Kano State.

    He said the trial was a secret one and was a breach of his right to a fair hearing.

    The appeal further read, “The Kano State Government as a party and prosecutor to the complaint is was a complicit party when it failed to provide adequate security and equal enforcement of secular laws and good order for all citizens/residents regardless of ethnicity or religious affiliations and thereby encourages religious fundamentalism, vigilante activities, insecurity, lawlessness, mob actions, all of which blasphemy law or provisions seek to justify unlawfully in order to placate Muslims.”

    He said the entity called Kano State is a creation of the constitution and thus cannot operate outside the constitution.

    The musician, therefore, prayed the court to set aside the trial, conviction, and sentencing handed down by the Sharia Court and entering a judgment in his favour.

  • Kano elders petition Buhari, rejects Ganduje’s move to obtain N300bn China loan

    Kano elders petition Buhari, rejects Ganduje’s move to obtain N300bn China loan

    Elders in Kano State under the aegis of Kano Unity Forum (KUF) have asked President Muhammadu Buhari, the National Assembly and Federal Ministry of Finance, to stop Governor Abdullahi Ganduje from taking a N300 billion loan from China.

    This was contained in a petition on Thursday to the president, signed by the leader of the Forum, Bashir Tofa, a former Presidential candidate of the defunct National Republican Convention (NRC).

    The group expressed grave concern on the insistence of the governor to obtain the loan from the China Development Bank.

    The loan, when obtained by the Ganduje administration, will be used to construct the Phase I component of the Light Mono Rail project in Kano metropolis, it was learnt.

    “But for a few in official circles, nobody else knows the terms and conditions of the loan agreement. The exact amount being borrowed is shrouded in secrecy.

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  • Ganduje vows to step up fight against corruption in Kano

    Ganduje vows to step up fight against corruption in Kano

    Gov. Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State has urged the state’s Public Complaint and Anti Corruption Commission not to compromise in the fight against corruption no matter who is involved.

    Mr Ganduje said this while on a visit to the commission’s office in Kano on Saturday.

    According to him, the Federal Government cannot fight corruption alone, hence the replication of the anti-graft agency at the state and local government levels.

    He said: “Whosoever falls into the commission’s trap should face the consequence. I will have nothing to do with it. I will not interfere with any case whosoever might be involved.

    “With the way corruption is fighting back and the fight against corruption being an agenda of President Muhammad Buhari, the federal government cannot fight it alone.

    “It needs domestication in the states and the local governments to succeed,” the governor said.

    In his address of welcome, the Chairman of the commission, Muhyi Magaji, commended Mr Ganduje’s determination to fight corruption in the state.

    “It is your will and support that has made this anti-graft agency among the best in the country.

    “We have set benchmarks in the country and are being emulated by other states,” he said.

    The commission recently recovered N310,000 meant for Imams that participated in a special prayer against COVID-19 and insecurity, from an aide to the governor.

    In 2018, Mr Ganduje was seen in a video, collecting cash in dollars from a contractor in the state.

    The Kano governor later secured a court injunction to stop the probe.

    Mr Ganduje, who as governor enjoys immunity from prosecution, won a re-election last year despite the bribery scandal

  • Edo 2020: We’ll not allow ‘Gandollar’ happen in Edo, PDP replies Ganduje

    Edo 2020: We’ll not allow ‘Gandollar’ happen in Edo, PDP replies Ganduje

    Sequel to the outburst of the Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Campaign Council for the Edo governorship election, Governor Abdullahi Ganduje that the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) was after the treasury of Edo State hence their adoption of Governor Godwin Obaseki as governorship candidate, the party (PDP) in a swift response described the Kano governor as a barefaced treasury looter, who has no moral rectitude to speak on corruption.

    The party in a statement on Monday night by its publicity secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan said unlike the practice in All Progressives Congress (APC) states, the treasury of all PDP states belong to the people and not a few cabal.

    See full statement below:

    “You are A Barefaced Treasury Looter”, PDP Replies Ganduje

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has described the Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Campaign Council for the Edo governorship election, Governor Abdullahi Ganduje, as a barefaced treasury looter, who has no moral rectitude to speak on corruption.

    The PDP described as a huge irony that Governor Ganduje, who has become a butt of national shame after being seen on viral video stuffing his robe with gratification in foreign currency, to accuse the PDP of corruption intentions in the Edo state governorship election.

    It is a paradox that an individual who has earned himself the disgraceful public sobriquet of “gandollar”, after being caught collecting gratification, would attempt to accuse others of having intention of looting the treasury of a state.

    The PDP points out that it is only in a party like the APC, under a Buhari Presidency, that such a tarnished individual can be selected to speak in public, let alone lead a governorship election campaign.

    Apparently, Governor Ganduje and other APC leaders are so used to looting public treasuries that such is his first mental direction after his inauguration to lead the Edo governorship campaign.

    Governor Ganduje has further confirmed the real intention of the APC, which is to use their morally embattled candidate, Osagie Ize-Iyamu (of course, birds of the same feathers flock together) for their desperate effort to regain access to Edo state treasury, after Governor Godwin Obaseki liberated the state from the stranglehold of APC treasury-looting godfathers.

    Our party invites Governor Ganduje to note that there is no free dollars for him and other APC leaders to loot in Edo state.

    Under the PDP, the resources of Edo state, and indeed other PDP states, belong to the people and not to any political cabal and their godfathers.

    Of course, this is why the people of Edo state are solidly behind Governor Obaseki for firmly resisting APC looters.

    Moreover, Governor Ganduje, with his infamous “gandollar” video, is no match to the Chairman of the PDP National Campaign Council for the Edo election, Governor Nyesom Wike.

    Whereas Governor Wike is a highly respected, upright, honest, transparent, people-based and development-driven leader, who is firmly in touch with the people of Edo state and enjoys their confidence and trust, Governor Ganduje, on the other hand, represent a leadership that is fraught with dishonesty, corruption, non-performance and public shame.

    The PDP therefore counsels Governor Ganduje and the APC to quietly perish the thoughts of looting Edo state treasury like they are doing in APC controlled states, as the people of Edo state will humiliate them in the September 19 election.

  • Edo 2020: Obaseki will be defeated come September 19 – Ganduje

    Edo 2020: Obaseki will be defeated come September 19 – Ganduje

    The Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) National Campaign Council for Edo State Governorship Election and Governor of Kano State, Alhaji Abdullahi Umar Gabduje said the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is only interested in Edo State treasury, hence the support for Godwin Obaseki.

    He promised that come September 19, “Governor Obaseki will be humiliated and Governor Wike isolated”.

    Ganduje who spoke with newsmen shortly after his 49-membet campaign council was inaugurated by the National Chairman of the Caretaker/Extra-Ordinary National Convention Planning Committee (CEONCPC) Governor Mai Mala Buni at the National Secretariat of the party in Abuja, vowed to secure victory for APC at the poll.

    Details shortly…

  • Ganduje boasts: We are winning war against COVID-19 in Kano

    Ganduje boasts: We are winning war against COVID-19 in Kano

    Gov. Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State says the state is recording successes in the COVID-19 response aimed at stemming further spread of the pandemic.

    Mr Abba Anwar, the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, quoted Ganduje as saying this in a statement on Saturday in Kano.

    The statement said that the governor made the declaration at a news conference of the state’s Task Force on COVID-19.

    Ganduje said that the feat was achieved due to his unrelenting commitment and political will in leading the response against COVID-19 pandemic.

    He noted that the COVID-19 samples collected in the state surpassed the benchmark set out by Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).

    The governor said: “While NCDC sets 100 benchmark of sample collection per state, Kano State’s sample collection goes up to hundreds.

    “Strengthening and stabilising the position which also led to drastic drop of the pandemic in the state.

    “With the trend of samples collected, tested and the results that came out of them, we are really winning the war against COVID-19 in Kano State.”

    The statement also quoted Dr Tijjani Hussaini, the state’s Technical Coordinator Task Force on COVID-19, as saying that the state had five molecular testing centres to enhance detection and effective response to the pandemic.

    “Because of the fact that the size of samples collected in the state outstripped what NCDC recommended, that is 100 per state, while we collect in thousands.

    “And with the five testing centres in the state, we still take some of our samples to Abuja for testing.”

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the state Ministry of Health announced that the state had so far conducted 13,727 COVID-19 sample tests, since the outbreak of the pandemic.

    The ministry announced via its verified Twitter handle @KNSMOH, that the samples were tested as at Friday, July 3.

    It said that five new cases of the virus were confirmed of the 809 samples tested on Friday, while 26 more COVID-19 patients discharged.

    The ministry disclosed that the state recorded a total of 1,262 confirmed cases of the disease; of which 207 were active cases, 1,003 discharged and 52 deaths.

  • JUST IN: Ganduje lifts lockdown in Kano

    JUST IN: Ganduje lifts lockdown in Kano

    Governor Umar Ganduje of Kano State has lifted the lockdown imposed on the state as part of measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

    The state’s Director-General, Media and Communications, Salihu Yakasai, made this known on Thursday.

    He said the government, however, maintained that the nationwide 10pm to 4am curfew imposed by the Federal Government remained in place in the state.

    “H.E @GovUmarGanduje removes the lockdown in Kano State which was imposed due to the coronavirus. However, a curfew is still in place from 10pm to 4am daily. This means people can go about their business from 4am to 10pm,” Yakasai wrote on Twitter.

  • Ganduje defends APC on Obaseki’s disqualification

    Ganduje defends APC on Obaseki’s disqualification

    Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje has declared his support for the decision of All Progressive Congress to disqualify Godwin Obaseki, governor of Edo, from the party’s governorship primary.

    Recall that the APC screening committee on Friday disqualified Obaseki from the June 22 governorship primary election, over alleged “defective certificate”.

    Osagie Ize-Iyanmu, who is said to be backed by Adams Oshiomhole, the national chairman of the party, was cleared.

    The national chairman has been having a running battle Obaseki, whom he supported in 2016.

    Speaking with reporters on Monday, Ganduje said what matters at the moment is the legal implications of the likely outcome of the exercise.

    Using Bayelsa as an example, the governor said the ruling party won a clean election in the state but lost to the opposition on point of legality at the court.

    He said the outcome is “still fresh on the memory”, adding that the party should not consciously walk into the same tight situation.

    “As far as Edo is concerned, we are worried about the legality of our action. We believe the national headquarters of our party is doing all it takes to stay in the right course,” he said.

    “We are conscious of legal implications, we don’t want to overlook anything that will turn to be our albatross, the issue of Bayelsa state where we won an election and taken away is still fresh in our memory. ”

    Ganduje expressed optimism that no matter what happened, the APC would emerge victorious in the forthcoming gubernatorial election in Edo.

    There are indications that Obaseki, who said he would not appeal his disqualification, defect to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

  • Photos: Ganduje launches first RUGA settlement in Kano, begs FG to ban foreign herders

    Photos: Ganduje launches first RUGA settlement in Kano, begs FG to ban foreign herders

    Governor Umar Ganduje, on Saturday, launched the first Ruga settlement in Kano.

    The ruga settlement is situated at the Yanshoshi forest in Kiru Local Government Area of the state.

    The settlement will be a total of 200 units of houses, schools, hospital, police station, earth dam for cattle rearing among others.

    However, during the commissioning of the RUGA settlement, Ganduje said “This is the first batch of the housing units of 25 out of 200 units earmarked for construction.”

    He called on the federal government to put a halt to the movement of herdsmen from other African countries to the country.

    According to him, the call was necessary in order to “successfully and effectively prevent the coming of herdsmen from other African countries, because they come to this country with guns and other weapons which flame the clash between herders and farmers. As they come with such weapons, they take crimes and criminalities to the country. That movement is what brings to us all sorts of clashes between herders and other communities, apart from the farmers.”

    The governor added that the Yanshoshi ruga settlement would serve as the nucleus of the RUGA settlement project in the state.

    He explained that “We engage in this project for three fundamental reasons, first and foremost is to avoid clashes between farmers and herders, secondly to avoid movement of herders which is the source of conflict and to avoid cattle rustling.”

    He added that “It is absolutely necessary to improve and modernize the breeding system for Fulani cattle. As it clear that a gallon of milk is more expensive than one gallon of petrol, it is, therefore, necessary for us to utilize this great opportunity.

    He noted that “the second RUGA project will be in Falgore forest where we have recently inaugurated military training ground.”

    Governor Ganduje invited Fulanis across the country to come to Kano RUGA settlement, assuring that, “other units of the housing will continue as we are receiving more Fulanis from other places.”