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Tag: kwankwaso

  • I will never reconcile with Kwankwaso – Ganduje

    Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State on Wednesday ruled out the possibility of settling the rift between him and his predecessor, Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso.

    Ganduje said at a function in Kano that he was completely disillusioned by the attacks against his leadership at the inception of his government.

    He said, “We have had enough of such a vendetta, which had been raging with no end in sight. We have parted ways with Kwankwasiyya forever.

    “They have erroneously believed and have been telling people that we are on the road to losing our seat in the 2019 general election. I find such a permutation laughable and a mere ranting of a wounded lion.”

    He urged members of the All Progressives Congress in the state to work towards the victory of the party during the 2019 general elections.

    Recall that the former governor was scheduled to visit the state last two weeks but shelved the visit over rising tension and a possible clash between supporters of the two politicians.

  • Presidency wades into Ganduje, Kwankwaso face-off

    Ahead of the controversial visit to Kano by Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso on Tuesday, the Presidency on Monday summoned Governor Abdullahi Ganduje and the senator to avert breakdown of law and order in Kano State.

    The governor, accompanied by two serving senators and two members of the House of Representatives from the state, met with the Chief of Staff to the President, Abba Kyari at the Presidential Villa.

    Mr. Ganduje, however, declined to speak to State House correspondents after the closed-door meeting.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Senator Kwankwaso is also expected to meet with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the presidential villa, today, over the matter.

    The Kano State Police Command had advised Mr. Kwankwaso against embarking on the visit due to the tension it has generated.

    The police fear it might lead to breakdown of law and order.

    The State Police Commissioner, Rabiu Yusuf, had on January 27 advised Mr. Kwankwaso to shelve the visit, saying security report indicated that controversial visit might lead to political unrest.

    Mr. Yusuf also warned that the law would be allowed to take its full course in the event the controversial visit result in violent clash in the state.

    However, Mr. Kwankwaso, who spoke through his spokesperson, Binta Sipikin, vowed to go ahead with the visit in spite of police advice

    She said: “We are coming to visit friends, families and other relatives that for a long time, we have not seen. We have coordinated this visit with seven camera drones and other apparatus that would make it a hitch free home coming.’’

  • Kwankwaso suspends planned visit to Kano amidst security concerns

    Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso has suspended his planned visit to Kano earlier scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 30.

    The Chairman of Kwankwaso Visit Reception Committee, Dr Rabi’u Bichi, announced the suspension while addressing newsmen in Kano on Monday.

    He said the decision followed the intervention of some well-meaning Nigerians who called from home and abroad.

    “This standoff has attracted the attention of well-meaning Nigerians at home and abroad.

    ‘’They have called to give advice that mostly borders on the preservation of lives and property of our supporters and admirers.

    “In view of the above and after lengthy consultations with well-meaning Nigerians, we painfully have decided to shelve the visit at the moment,“ he said.

    Bichi, therefore, thanked all those leaders and supporters who advised and showed concern as well as put in a lot of time, energy and resources to make the visit successful.

    “It is important to state that Kwankwaso’s visit will never be a reason to deliberately inconvenience any citizen, small or big let alone spill a drop of blood.

    “We, therefore, appeal for peace, calm and call on our supporters to disregard any provocative statement,” Bichi said.

    The state police Commissioner, Mr Rabi’u Yusuf, had on Friday advised against the planned visit for security reasons.

     

  • Homecoming: You can’t stop me from going to Kano — Kwankwaso tells Police

    Former Governor of Kano State Rabiu Kwankwaso has said no one including the police can stop him from travelling to his home state.

    Kwankwaso, now a Senator is scheduled to visit the state on January 30.

    However, the Kano State Police Command had advised Mr. Kwankwaso on Friday to shelve the visit, warning that it may lead to chaos.

    It also said the law would be allowed to take its full course in the event of a breakdown of !aw and order as a result of the controversial visit.

    The proposed visit by the lawmaker, who is a known critic of the state governor, Umar Ganduje, has generated controversy in the state with accusations and counter-allegations emanating from the different political divides.

    The State Police Commissioner, Rabiu Yusuf, said the police would not allow a breakdown of law and order due to tension over the visit.

    But the Senator said he will go there peacefully to see his constituents.

    Kwankwaso, who spoke through his spokesperson, Binta Sipikin, in Kano, said he will go to the state with ”seven camera drones”, three international media outfits and, ”a host of other top national and international friends of his.”

    Mr. Kwankwaso said his visit is a well-planned one that will be peaceful.

    “We are coming to visit friends, families and other relatives that for a long time, we have not seen. We have coordinated this visit with seven camera drones and other apparatus that would make it a hitch free home coming,” he said.

     

  • Avoid going to Kano for now, Police advice Kwankwaso

    The Kano State Police Command has advised Sen. Rabi’u Kwankwaso to suspend his proposed visit to Kano State on January 30.

    The State Commissioner of Police, Mr Rabiu Yusuf, gave the advice while briefing newsmen in Kano, on Friday.

    He said the advice was necessary in view of the tension generated among the people of the state by the planned visit.

    According to Yusuf, “There is no doubt, the Senator as a citizen of this country has the constitutional right of association, assembly, and above all, movement.

    “However, credible information at the disposal of the command reveals that the proposed visit has generated palpable fears in the minds of the people of Kano State’’, he said.

    He said, there was apprehension among the general populace, including the tendency to hijack the visit by some disgruntled elements and miscreants.

    He hinted on the urgent need by the police command to ensure that peace prevailed in the state.

    “Therefore, any action or inaction by any person or group of persons that may jeopardize the relative peace the state is currently enjoying must be averted.

    “It is the advice of the command that such a visit should be shelved by Sen Rabi’u Kwankwaso until the tension generated by the planned visit is doused,’’ he reiterated.

    He assured that the command would provide a level playing ground for all politicians, to carry out their political activities, without fear of molestation or intimidation.

  • 2019: Buhari has no hands in Kwankwaso, Ganduje feud – Presidency

    The presidency on Sunday said President Muhammadu Buhari was not involved in the crisis rocking the Kano chapter of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) as well political battle between former governor of the state, Rabiu Kwankwaso and his successor, Abdullahi Ganduje.

    The presidency also cleared the air that President Buhari played no role in the removal of Umar Doguwa as chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Kano State.

    Doguwa, believed to be a loyalist of a former governor of the state, Rabiu Kwankwaso, was removed as APC chairman and replaced with Abdullahi Abbas, a loyalist of the current governor, Abdullahi Ganduje.

    Kwankwaso and Ganduje are involved in a political feud for the control of the party in the state. Efforts by the APC and President Muhammadu Buhari to resolve the crisis have failed.

    The feud is also believed to have been responsible for Mr. Abbas’ resignation as chairman on Thursday, after he which he was appointed commissioner by the governor.

    The presidency’s statement on the controversy is contained in a statement on Sunday by presidential spokes person, Garba Shehu.

    Shehu said the reaction was in response to claims by a group, Concerned Members of the APC in Kano State, believed to be loyal to Kwankwaso.

    “The Presidency wishes to refute a false accusation that President Muhammadu Buhari was behind the removal of the erstwhile Kano All Progressives Congress, APC chapter chairman Hon Umar Haruna Doguwa,” Mr. Shehu said.

    “Let me assure all our party members and the general public alike at no time did the President involve himself in the internal conflict of any APC chapter in the country, and would never do so.”

    Mr. Shehu said, “President Buhari would not risk his integrity to support one side against the other in the affairs the APC or any other political party anywhere in the country.

    Anybody who knows the president’s principles would not believe any allegations linking Buhari to interference in the election or removal of party leaders across the country.”

    The spokesperson made reference to the president’s neutral role in the election that brought Bukola Saraki as the senate president contrary to the stance of the party.

    “In fact, it is an irony that President Buhari, who was accused in the past of not taking control of the National Assembly by imposing in the President of the Senate and Speaker, two critical institutions in the running of our democracy, will now be accused of abandoning those principles to order the removal of the chairman of the Kano APC party chapter.

    “I am 100 percent convinced that this group, which is being associated with the respected senator representing Kano, Dr Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso did not seek his permission or clear their script with him before they dragged the name of the President into this matter. Governor Kwankwaso knows President Buhari too well to reduce him to this level.

    “This group is hereby advised to stop belittling the person and office of the President by dragging his name into their local party quarrels. It is unfair to attack President Buhari over an issue he knew nothing about,” Mr. Shehu said.

     

  • I didn’t endorsed Kwankwaso for 2019 presidential election – Jigawa Governor

    Governor Muhammadu Badaru of Jigawa State, has dismissed speculations that he is backing former Kano governor, Rabiu Kwankwaso, for president in 2019.

    The speculations followed the inauguration of a presidential campaign office for Kwankwaso in Dutse, the Jigawa State capital last week. The event was said to have been attended by some aides of Badaru.

    However, reacting to the speculations through his spokesperson, Bello Zaki, Badaru said it was “baseless and unfounded” the speculations that he had dumped President Muhammadu Buhari to back the ambition of Kwankwaso.

    According to Zaki, the inauguration of the presidential campaign office of Kwankwaso was like any other political activity in the state that the state government has no power to stop.

    The inauguration was coordinated by a loyalist of Badaru who is also the Managing Director of the state owned Jigawa Television (JTV), Ishaq Hadejia.

    At the event, Hadejia was assigned by the Kwankwasiya Movement, the group that opened the office, to lead in spreading the ideology and campaign of Kwankwaso across the 27 local government areas of the state.

    The movement said its mission was to sensitise residents of Jigawa on the need to embrace Kwankwaso to ensure that the north completes a presidential term.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that Kwankwaso, who is a serving senator, was the runner-up in the All Progressives Congress presidential primary that nominated Mr. Buhari in 2014.

    But Zaki insisted that the presence of Hadejia at the opening of the campaign office in Jigawa has nothing to do with Governor Badaru.

    “Anybody in this cabinet of ours is not restricted to what only Governor Badaru wants. He is entitled to his right of loyalty and support’” he said of Mr. Hadejia.

    “We are not aware of Kwankwaso presidential campaign and the inauguration of his office. We are not a party to it,” Zaki said.

     

  • Quit notice: Call for arrest of Arewa youths unpatriotic – Kwankwaso

    Former governor of Kano State, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, has advised against call for the arrest of leaders of Arewa youth groups who have given the Igbo a three-month ultimatum to quit the northern part of the country by October 1, 2017.

    Describing the call even from some governors of the North as unpatriotic and capable of causing national insecurity, Kwankwaso urged the governors and other leaders in the North to dialogue with the youths, instead of resorting to their arrests.

    Kwankwaso, who currently represents Kano Central senatorial district in the National Assembly, made the statement while addressing journalists said arresting members of the groups would rather aggravate the already tensed atmosphere.

    Describing the people of Igbo extraction as bona fide citizens of the country, who were free to live in any part of the country, Kwankwaso noted that true dialogue would enable the youths, who are leaders of tomorrow, better appreciate the nation’s unity in diversity.

    “The general belief in the North is that we are better together as a country. The unity and development of the country should be of paramount concern of every Nigerian,” he said.

    Kwankwaso blamed the tension over the pronouncement of the youths and the counter call by another group in the South on the weakness in the nation’s political order, accusing the elders of failing to call the youths to order.

    “Many people are afraid to call the youths to order. If they are wrong, they are wrong,” he said. He, however, commended the steps taken so far by the Federal Government, particularly Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo, who had been holding series of meetings with leaders of thoughts from various parts of the country.

    The former governor contended that the agitation of the Igbo which borders on the need for better representation at the centre and the need for even development of their zone, could be addressed without resorting to threat of secession.

     

  • Raid: Impunity now the order of the day in Buhari’s government – Kwankwaso

    Raid: Impunity now the order of the day in Buhari’s government – Kwankwaso

    Former Governor of Kano State, Engr. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso had said the recent raid on his brother’s house and several others that happened in recent times is a confirmation of the impunity that is now the hallmark of the incumbent administration that he (Kwankwaso) work so hard to install.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that Police detectives, believed to be from Force Headquarters, Abuja, on Wednesday night, raided the Sharada residence of Mr. Lawan Musa Kwankwaso.

    The police reportedly raided the apartment in search of huge cash, arms and documents relating to the former governor.

    However, Kwankwaso, now a Senator (representing Kano Central Senatorial District) told the Hausa Service of the BBC that he was shocked over the development.

    His words: “We woke up with a distressing situation that some people besieged the house of my brother in Kano for hours; on the allegation that cash and weapons were ferried to the building.

    “They bundled the guardsman, threatening him to show them the vehicles and other valuables that were allegedly concealed in a garage within the house.

    “The guardsman told them only rabbits were kept there but they forced their way in and that was it, only the rabbits were seen joyfully feasting on spinach.

    “Not satisfied, the police ransacked everywhere, including the vehicles in the compound but could not trace anything incriminating. This is very sad and a serious setback for our democracy,” Kwankwaso said.

    “We’re very disappointed that impunity is now the order of the day in a country we invested a lot to bring change; this is not the change we bargained for because we’re now in a helpless situation.

    “If it were the previous government that’s doing this, we would not complain. Alas! this is being orchestrated by a government we worked to entrench.

    “I’m one person that never allowed my immediate or extended family to be part of government while I was a governor; my brother is a retired teacher but look at what they did to him,” Kwankwaso said.

    Asked if he regretted joining the APC, he said, “I would say my mind at the appropriate time but government must be mindful of its actions.”

  • We found some incriminating items in Kwankwaso brothers’ house – Police

    The Nigeria Police Force on Thursday confirmed that its operatives found some “incriminating items” in the residence of Lawan Kwankwaso, a younger brother to the immediate past Kano State governor, Rabiu Kwankwaso, in Kano State.

    “The Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Jimoh Moshood, said that the police acted on a search warrant from court and the search did not have anything to do with the personality of the former governor.” The Punch reports.

    He said, “The police have the right to search, after having obtained a search warrant from a competent court of law. We have the constitutional powers to search the house of any individual, not minding his affiliation or person.

    “And so the search was conducted and it was also in the presence of the owner of the house. We were there to look for items, which could serve as evidence in an ongoing investigation, and that was what we did. It did not matter whether the policemen came from Abuja or from the state command. The police are one.

    “In the end, we found some incriminating items but I cannot tell you what the items are, because that is also part of investigation. The search did not have anything to do with the former governor. It was based on a search warrant from court.”