Kwankwaso Denies Being Investigated for Fraud

Dike Onwuamaeze

The former minister of Defence, Dr. Musa Kwankwaso, yesterday denied being investigated for fraud by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
He spoke through his Principal Private Secretary, Mr. Muhammad Ali, who described the allegation that Kwankwaso and his former aides at the Ministry of Defence are being investigated for fraudulent contract awards as mischievous and untrue.

Kwankwaso’s aides allegedly named in the probe include the incumbent Governor of Kano State, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, and one Mr. Abba Yusuf.
Ali said Ganduje and Yusuf were alleged to have collected bribes of N50 million and N30 million respectively.

Ali in a statement issued yesterday said: “We wish to put the record straight and draw the attention of the general public that during the said period, which the alleged fraudulent contracts took place i.e. 2007, that Sen. Kwankwaso was not the Minister of Defence. He resigned from that position in November 2006 to free himself to contest for the governorship ticket of the PDP in Kano State.”

Ali said the only position Kwankwaso was holding at that time was representing the North-west region on the Board of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). He added that Kwankwaso voluntarily resigned from this position in 2010 because of his disagreement with the obvious corrupt practices in the way the commission was being administered.
He added that during the same period, Ganduje was in Ndjamena as Executive Secretary, Lake Chad Basin Commission.

“Therefore, there was no way either Senator Kwankwaso or any of his aides at that material time could have been involved in the alleged defence contract scam,” Ali said.
He, therefore, urged media organisations, particularly the print media, to desist from publishing such unsubstantiated stories, which would not only tarnish the image of reputable individuals but also the image of the media outlets themselves.
Ali said ordinarily Kwankwaso would not have bothered to react to the allegation, “but seeing the same report being carried by some media outlets that are ordinarily reputable, we are compelled to respond.”