My Deputy Resigned for Fear of Impeachment, Says Ganduje

Ibrahim Shuaibu in Kano

The Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, has reacted to last Sunday’s resignation of his deputy, Prof. Hafiz Abubakar, saying he resigned for fear of ominous impeachment process by the the state House of Assembly.

A statement signed by the state Commissioner for Information, Malam Muhammad Garba and made available to journalists yesterday, also stated that the state government did not at anytime withhold Hafiz’s entitlement, adding that he was giving free hand to manage his office and that of the Ministry of Education.

The statement noted that based on available records, in 2017 alone, the sum of over N120, 000, 000.00 was paid to the former deputy governor as traveling allowance both within and outside the country, while in 2018, over N30, 000, 000.00 million was paid to him for various traveling allowances.

The statement further noted that in July this year, the sum of N7, 409, 575.00 was released to him to travel to the United Kingdom to receive an Honorary Degree from the University of Reading.

“The sum of N7, 800, 000.00 was also said to have been paid the deputy governor, who doubles as Commissioner for Education, Science, Technology and Innovation as his travelling allowance to Khartoum, Sudan, for the convocation ceremony of the University of Africa.

“Also, for a trip to the United Kingdom for the World Education Forum, the sum of N8, 509, 000.00 was paid to him; while his trip to Saudi Arabia for his daughters’ graduation was also sponsored by the state government, among other privileges extended to him.

The state government also challenged the former deputy governor on allegations that the state government has committed resources to sponsor rally in support of his removal from office, pointing out that, the gravity of the allegation may prompt the government to take appropriate action.“The former deputy governor ought to have landed safely and quietly instead of making unsubstantiated allegations just to draw attention,” the statement noted.