By Kazeem Akintunde
Abdullahi Ganduje, the National Chairman of the ruling All
Progressives Congress (APC), is presently battling one of the toughest
battles in his political career. The two-time Governor of Kano State is
facing political challenges from three different angles. One, from the
incumbent Governor of the state, Abba Yusuf, who will stop at
nothing in ensuring that he accounts for his eight-year stewardship
while in office. Secondly, from his home front, where one of his
children would be happy if he is disgraced, and lastly, from members
of his political family, the APC, starting with those at his ward, who
are hell-bent on seeing his exit from the party. Whether he would
survive the three-pronged attack is still unclear.
The current occupier of the seat of government in Kano, Abba Yusuf,
is currently examining what Ganduje did and did not do while in
power for eight years. Already, the state has filed criminal charges
against Ganduje over $413,000 and N1.38 billion bribery allegations.
The state has also assembled 15 witnesses that are ready and willing
to testify against Ganduje.
Joined as co-defendants are Ganduje’s wife, Hafsat, and his son,
Umar. Yusuf has also urged the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission (EFCC) to release the result of it’s probe into the alleged
dollar bribery video involving Ganduje while he was Governor.
A two-minute video had gone viral in 2017 in which Ganduje was
seen collecting dollars before rolling them into his white Babanriga in
what was clearly a bribe paid to him from a foreign contractor. In the
video, the then Governor, now APC National Chairman, appeared to
have received a $230,000 bribe. Although he denied the bribery
allegation then, the EFCC launched a probe. Till date, the report of the
probe has however not been made public, but Yusuf is bent on
unearthing what went down during the period.
The Kano State anti-corruption Agency has filed a lawsuit against
Ganduje’s dollar bribe in court. As if that was not enough, one of his
children, Abdulazeez Ganduje, has visited the office of the anti-graft
agency in the state to lend his support.
Abdulazeez, last week, paid a solidarity visit to the Chairman of the
Kano State Public Complaints and Anti-corruption Commission,
Muhyi Rimindago in his office. He also expressed his endorsement of
the charges brought against his father, mother, and brother by the
Commission. Abdulazeez became embittered with his dad when he
was allegedly removed as a Director of one of the companies
undergoing trial alongside his father. He had in September 2021,
shortly after his removal, lodged a petition with the EFCC against his
mother, Hafsat Ganduje, accusing her of corruption. This is a clear
case of a not-too-cordial home front.
Then, some APC executives in Ganduje ward of Dawakin Tofa Local
Government Area of Kano State on April 16, suspended him over
corruption allegations levelled against him by the state government.
The party’s legal adviser in the ward, Haladu Maigwanjo, who
announced the suspension in Kano said that Ganduje was suspended
from the party to allow him to clear his name over allegations of
corruption levelled against him by the Kano State Government. “The
members decided to suspend the National Chairman’s membership
after a vote of no confidence was passed on him due to his inability to
clear his name from various allegations of corruption leveled against
him, which range from the circulated dollar video, where he was
allegedly collecting bribe from contractors”, Maigwanjo said.
In a swift response, the State Working Committee of the APC
sanctioned the Ganduje ward executives hours after the suspension
was announced. The State Chairman of the party, Abdullahi Abbas,
announced the suspension of the Ganduje ward executives for six
months for anti-party activities. “We have evidence of meetings
between the State Government officials and those that suspended the
National Chairman, and the state working committee has agreed to
sanction them for six months and they stand suspended”, Mr Abbas
said.
He added that the suspension announced by the ward executives was
invalid, null and void and urged concerned parties not to bother about
it. But some members of the executives at Ganduje’s ward proceeded
to a Kano High Court for legal backing of the suspension. The Court,
presided over by Justice Usman Malam Na’ abba affirmed the
suspension following an ex-parte motion filed by Dr. Ibrahim Sa’ad
on behalf of two executive members of the Ganduje ward of the APC.
The Assistant Secretary, Laminu Sani and the Legal Adviser, Haladu
Gwanjo were plaintiffs in the case. Subsequently, the court ordered
that henceforth, Ganduje should desist from presiding over the affairs
of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the APC. To show that
they really meant business, members of the APC from Kano went to
the National Headquarters of the party in Abuja to remove Ganduje’s
banner from the office without anybody questioning them. The video
was uploaded on social media last week.
Ganduje has, however, proceeded to another court to secure an
injunction against members of the APC from his ward from
suspending him. Justice Abdullahi Liman of the Kano Federal High
Court granted an interim order directing all respondents from
implementing or giving effect to the suspension of Ganduje pending
the hearing and determination of fundamental right of fair hearing
filed by the APC National Chairman before the court.
The big questions are, who are those behind Ganduje’s ordeal? Why
are they bent on humiliating the Kano State-born politician just eight
months after becoming the National Chairman of the APC? If the 74
year-old politician did not know where his present political ordeal
emanated from, then, he could still be regarded as a learner in
Nigerian politics. Those that made him the National Chairman of
APC are no longer comfortable with him occupying that position and
are bent on seeing his back at the party headquarters. To be fair to the
power brokers within the party, Ganduje’s proclivity for corrupt
tendencies was known to them but his yeoman efforts during the 2023
general elections and his unbending loyalty to Bola Tinubu before he
became president was enough to win him the coveted seat.
However, recent events upon his assumption of office has left a sore
taste in the mouth of many, hence the decision to ‘take him out’
politically. One of his ‘sins’ was the way and manner he went about
the conduct of the Bayelsa and Imo States’ Governorship elections
last year. Being the first major elections after the 2023 general poll,
the party felt that the APC must not lose Imo state to another political
party while Bayelsa State could also be won easily if all hands were
on deck for the task. Although Hope Uzodimma won a second term in
Imo State, the APC primaries was seen as a sham by many. The
Bayelsa State election was lost to the incumbent, Douye Diri due to
the series of court cases in the APC which led to the disqualification
of Timpre Sylva as the APC Gubernatorial candidate before he was
later reinstated by the Court of Appeal. All of these counted against
Ganduje. There were allegations too, that he collected money from
some of the aspirants before the primaries.
Again, the 2027 general elections may still be far away in the
reckoning of most Nigerians, but the truth of the matter is that
permutations and realignment of forces have started in earnest. There
are indications that President Bola Tinubu may no longer be
comfortable with Ganduje being the Chairman of the party and that
what he is experiencing now may be a prelude to easing him out of
office. It is no longer news that Tinubu was not happy with the loss of
Lagos and Kano to rival opposition parties during the 2023
presidential election, and has started perfecting strategies on how to
reverse the loss.
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In Lagos State, he has directed one of his staunch supporters, James
Faleke, to take over and reinvigorate a political tendency within the
APC – The Justice Forum – from old leaders whom he felt betrayed
him by not doing what was expected to win the presidential election
in the state. There were allegations that money meant for APC
campaign coordinators and polling agents were diverted to private
pockets. With Faleke on board, young and grassroot politicians are tobe mobilised across the 20 local governments and 37 local
development areas to take charge of the presidential election in 2027.
In Kano State, there could be the possibility of a sort of alliance
between Tinubu and the leader of the Kwankwasiyya Movement,
Rabiu Kwankwaso. Already, there are underground discussions
between Tinubu and Kwankwaso on the duo reaching some sort of
alliance ahead of the polls. It is either the NNPP dissolves into the
APC, or for the party to work with the APC during the presidential
election. If such an alliance is in the offing, it is certain that
Kwankwaso will demand the removal of his enemy, Ganduje, from
the APC National office. And Tinubu, a master political strategist,
will do anything possible to get re-elected come 2027. So, in essence,
Ganduje may become a sacrificial lamb for Tinubu’s 2027 political
permutations. An inkling of what is expected to come very soon
emerged from a powerful press statement issued by Minister of State
for Defence, Bello Matawalle, when he called on Northern politicians
working with the Tinubu administration to either identify with him by
making their stand known, or take a walk from his government.
Matawalle’s statement was in response to a press release signed by the
Northern Elders Forum where the group stated that it regretted it’s
decision to support Tinubu during the 2023 presidential election as he
has not done anything for the region. Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed issued
a statement perceived to be in support of the NEF before Matawalle
came out hard on his colleague. “It is pertinent to state that every
appointee of President Tinubu, including Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed,
owes the government a copious duty to promote, elucidate and
advance the good works and commendable efforts of the government
across all sectors. This is not the time to keep quiet in the face of
intimidation and misrepresentation of the efforts and achievements of
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR. We must stand up to be
counted for being on the part of government or take our exit,” he said.
For now, I hope that Ganduje will survive the forces against him and
the APC National Chairmanship Chair. If he does not, he should take
it calmly as a man and quietly retire from politics to enjoy his wealth.
At almost 75, there should be time to quit the stage and allow younger
element to take charge of the direction of things in the country. He
could also look at it from the brighter side that his friend and
colleague played a deft political game against him in order to
guarantee his own survival. 2027 is like tomorrow to Nigerian
politicians, and it is clear that they have started their permutations in
earnest.
See you next week.
