Ganduje Video: Group Condemns Scandal, Says it Was Orchestrated

Udora Orizu in Abuja

A civil society organisation and socio-political group, Nigerian Alliance for Justice and Good Governance (NAJGG) which is aimed at promoting good governance and accountability in Nigeria, has condemned the viral video of Kano State Governor, Alhaji Abdullahi Ganduje, allegedly receiving bribe from contractors.

Speaking at the press briefing in Abuja, National Coordinator of NAJGG, Cyril Obande, stated that the originator of the report is a propagandist.

According to him, “If truly the alleged report is genuine, Jaafar Jaafar, should be bold to come out and provide the names of the contractors who gave the kick-back, the names of the contracts for which the alleged kick-back was taken, and he should tell the world the total worth of that contract”.

“When he is able to furnish the people with some of these facts, then Nigerians will have reasons to believe his report. We have seen investigative reports both local and international with facts and figures but he only mentioned the amount of the alleged bribe given, he did not mention the names of the companies, the worth of the contracts and the persons who were awarded the contracts”. Obande said.

He further said the purported video being circulated on the social media, from their preliminary checks, showed clearly that it’s a cloned video.

“We question the rationale behind the release of this purported video at this very time when the world knows that one of the former governors of Kano State declared a political war against the governor. It has become very clear that this so called investigative video clip is cloned to deceive the Kano people who believe so much in the good governance of Alhaji Ganduje”.

The group condemned the allegations leveled against the governor that he collected a kick-back for contracts awarded, adding that it’s an orchestrated attempt by some opposing politicians to dent the credibility of the governor and prevent him from going for second term in office.

Obande however, said in as much as the group doesn’t condone corruption, they also do not support the propagation of fake news.

“We support investigative journalism but it must be objective, unbiased, and without an ulterior motive, thereby we implore the Kano State House of Assembly to carry out a holistic investigation into the allegation and to engage the services of experts to review the authenticity of that video clip while making sure that justice is done at the end of their probe”. He said.