The Kano State Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission (PCACC) has invited former governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, to appear before it over alleged dollar bribe videos.
But the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state has told the former governor not to honour the invitation, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.
It adds that the move by the new administration was part of a sinister ploy to dent the image of Ganduje, and put a wedge between him and President Bola Tinubu.
Two years ago, during a BBC Hausa programme, Ganduje said the video was manipulated, adding that “those behind it would be brought to shame soon”.
“The video is fake, and we are preparing to prove that. But I cannot preempt what we are doing concerning that. I am assuring you this video is fake, and all those that are behind it would be put to shame,” he added.
The serially published videos by online newspaper Daily Nigerian in 2018 were recorded in 2017.
The governor described the video as ‘cloned’ and sued the newspaper’s publisher, Jafar Jafar.
The newspaper alleged that the dollars were part of a $5 million the governor received from a contractor.
The chairman of the state anti-corruption commission, Mr Muhuyi Rimingado, told newsmen in Kano on Thursday that the commission was expecting Ganduje to appear before it next week to have the opportunity to clear his name in the ongoing investigation.
“I have signed a letter to invite him for questioning at the commission next week, because this is what the law says and we will provide ample opportunity for him to defend himself.
“There is what the law provides; the law is coercive in nature, it compels obedience. The law doesn’t lobby you to come and do certain things.
“There are procedures and we will follow all the necessary steps to do what is needful,” he assured.
The PCACC chairman also reacted to an allegation by the Coalition for Northern Civil Society Groups that the commission started the investigation so as to ridicule the former governor and stop him from getting federal appointment.
He simply said that the “fact speaks for itself”.
Rimingado said that since the video came out in 2018, the commission had indicated its intention to investigate, but since the governor then enjoyed immunity, there was a limit to what the law allowed the commission to do in that regard.
However, in a statement jointly signed by the state Chairman and Secretary of the APC, Alhaji Abdullahi Abbas and Alhaji Zakari Sarina, respectively, the former ruling party said it has realised that the reenactment of the politically motivated issue of the Dollar video by the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), which is before a court of law, was part of a sinister ploy to dent the image of the former governor.
It further explained that similar scenario was played to scuttle the former governor’s chance of securing ticket for the party’s gubernatorial election in 2019.
The statement added that this time, the detractors are engaged in this campaign of calumny to draw a wedge between President Bola Tinubu and Ganduje, one of the president’s strongest allies in the North.
The APC stated that while Ganduje’s contributions to the Tinubu political project right from the conduct of the primary election, is widely appreciated, his relationship with the President remains cordial.