The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Abdullahi Ganduje, has been suspended from the party.
Members of his ward suspended Ganduje, the Ganduje Ward in the Dawakin Tofa Local Government Area of Kano State on Monday.
The announcement was made by the ward’s legal adviser, Halliru Gwanzo, who addressed journalists in Kano on Monday.
Gwanzo cited allegations of bribery against Ganduje by the Kano State Government as the reason for the suspension.
“We decided to suspend Dr. Ganduje from the party due to the seriousness of the allegations against him,” Gwanzo stated.
His suspension followed alleged corruption charges levelled against him by the state government.
He said the suspension subsists until he clears himself from the allegations.
Recall that the Kano High Court had said Ganduje will, on April 17, 2024, be arraigned on charges bothering on allegations of bribery, diversion, and misappropriation of funds, including the purported acceptance of $413,000 and N1.38bn in bribes.
The Kano State Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice, Haruna Dederi, who confirmed the development, said Ganduje would be arraigned alongside his wife and six others.
The accused individuals, as listed in the writ of summon, include Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, Hafsat Umar, Abubakar Bawuro, Umar Abdullahi Umar, Jibrilla Muhammad, Lamash Properties Ltd, Safari Textiles Ltd, and Lesage General Enterprises.
The Kano State Government, which initiated the criminal suit against the eight respondents, declared its readiness to present 15 witnesses to testify before Justice Usman Na’aba of State High Court number four.
“It is very true. We have filed the case and it’s going to hold on the 17th of April, 2024. What I cannot confirm is whether he is served or not, but he will definitely be served,” he said.
Dederi further highlighted the significance of accountability in governance, remarking, “What he (Ganduje) doesn’t understand is that you cannot run away from the evil day, it will definitely come to you, and this will even serve as a deterrence to all of us that are also in government now.”
The commissioner also addressed the jurisdictional aspect of the case, asserting, “He was saying that we can’t prosecute him, forgetting that the offence also falls under the category of the state offences,” he said.
“It’s not totally a federal affair and we have even appealed to Justice Liman ruling on that.”
