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We are not threatened by defections – Kwankwasiyya
The Kwankwasiyya political movement says it is not threatened by the exodus of major stakeholders from its fold.
Spokesperson of the movement Sanusi Surajo Kwankwaso told KANO TODAY in an exclusive interview that the defectors are “celebrity political prostitutes” without grassroot support.
It could be recalled that on Thursday former Kano state deputy governor, Hafizu Abubakar, former Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority Aminu Dabo, former APC national treasurer Bala Gwagwarwa, Former Kwankwaso Commissioner Idris Dambazau, as well as former Special Assistant to president Goodluck Jonathan, Muazu Magaji have rejoined the APC after forsaking Kwankwasiyya.
Sanusi Kwankwaso who is the acting Kano state organizing secretary of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) said the party is sure to win the 2019 elections in the state due its wide support among ordinary voters.
He said when three people defect to the ruling All Peoples’ Congress (APC), thousands more are trooping to join the PDP.

He added that even though former governor Ibrahim Shekarau has left the PDP to APC his grassroots mobilisers such as Salisu Gwangwazo ‘Alhajin Baba’, Ali Datti Yako, Dankaka bebeji, Surajo Dala, Tukur Fagge, and Garba Umar Fammar are still in the party.
“The difference is that Ganduje is using money and positions to woo politicians while ordinary voters are joining Kwankwasiyya due to the legacies of the Rabiu Kwankwaso government in Kano,” he said.
“Ganduje has cancelled free education and school feeding initiated by the Kwankwaso administration and diverted the money to fund his 2019 campaign election,” he alleged.
Sanusi Kwankwaso said that the so-called political bigwigs were in the fold of Kwankwasiyya when the movement lost elections in 2003 and 2007, adding that the secret to winning elections is acceptance among voters rather than the allegiance of top shots.
He cited the cases of Danbatta and Nassarawa constitutencies were Kwankwasiyya lost elections even though Aminu Dabo and Bala Gwagwarwa were there.
Kwankwaso was fair
He also debunked the claim made by the defectors that they left Kwankwasiyya due to unfair practices in the process of selecting a selecting the Kano state gubernatorial candidate of the PDP.
“Kwankwaso called all major Kwankwasiyya stakeholders and asked them to nominate a candidate but they refused and told him that they were willing to abide by his decision,” he said.
He added that had former deputy governor Hafizu Abubakar agreed to contest for Kano central senatorial zone, Abba Kabir Yusuf wouldn’t have emerged as the gubernatorial candidate since they are from the same local government area.
Sanusi Surajo Kwankwaso said Kano citizens are the final arbiters and will show their support by casting their ballots for PDP candidates in the 2019 elections.

Headlines
Kano Governor-elect pledges to reintroduce Kwankwasiyya free education, healthcare schemes

Aminu Abdullahi
The Kano State Governor-elect, Engr. Abba Kabir Yusuf, has reaffirmed his government’s readiness to fix quickly the problems with the provision of potable water, basic education and good healthcare which are fundamental duties of a responsive government.
KANO FOCUS reports that the Spokesperson to the Governor-elect, Sanusi Bature Dawakin-Tofa revealed this in a statement issued on Friday.
Dawakintofa said, “despite huge tax payers’ money the outgoing administration claimed to have committed to the provision of basic water, Kano households strive in the twenty-first century to access safe drinking water in the State endowed with functional dams and resources to provide basic amenities.”
In his acceptance speech, the Governor-elect reassured Kano people that beyond fixing basic water supply, the incoming government will uphold the Kwankwasiyya philosophy with a wider scope of free education at primary and secondary levels involving provision of school uniform, learning materials, meals, conducive environment, paying SSCE fees for the students, training and motivation for the teachers to impart good quality education.

The incoming administration, which he said will be an off-shot of Kwankwaso administration, will be committed to free maternal and child healthcare programmes just as plans are underway for the upgrading of local health facilities across the 44 Local Government Areas of Kano State.
To bridge the human capital gap in the various public institutions, Engr. Abba administration will rebirth Kwankwasiyya scholarship scheme for tertiary education and terminal degrees in special areas such as medicine, science and engineering in foreign countries.
It is a resolution that the incoming government will complete abandoned projects and continue with laudable populist policies of Kwankwasiyya administrations just as youth empowerment and enabling environment for MSMES and entrepreneurship to flourish will be provided as enshrined in the Campaign Blueprint.

Headlines
TMG, CISLAC, CSOs dismiss report calling for review of Kano Governorship Election

Aminu Abdullahi
The Transition Monitoring Group, TMG, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Center, CISLAC and the Kano Civil Society Elections Situation Room have distanced themselves from call seeking for the review of the Kano Gubernatorial Election.

KANO FOCUS reports that Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, Chairman TMG on Saturday told journalists at a news conference in Kano the group which identified itself as Accredited INEC Elections Observers are “fake, faceless and politically sponsored”.
Rafsanjani who was flanked by the Convener, Kano Civil Society Elections Situation Room, Ambassador Ibrahim Waiya lamented that the spread of the fictitious and malicious group at a time when Nigeria is having it’s political space heated up is not only worrisome, but also has the potential to further over heat the polity.
Mr. Rafsanjani, warned that “as genuine Transition Monitoring Group and Civil Society Groups are left without options but to take necessary legal actions against these faceless Group using their names to championed a Criminal minded, Politically Motivated and sponsored missions.”
Rafsanjani, warned that, “as Champions of Democracy, we will not allow smear-campaigners and people with politically motivated reasons drag credible Civil Society Organizations in Kano State and indeed in Nigeria at large into political wars with political parties”.
The CISLAC boss said “TMG, CISLAC and the Kano Civil Society Forum have done incredible Work towards electoral reforms in Nigeria, since 1998, TMG has Championed the Democratic path in Nigeria as the foremost elections Observation group with the widest membership across the Nation”.
He noted, “we will never interfere with the conduct of elections or seek to interfere with the Judicial processes leading up to a Redress of grievances resulting from the elections”.
For that the TMG called on public to disregard in totality the reports making round and using the names of credible organizations and called for the review of Governorship Elections in Kano.

Ambassador Ibrahim Waiya
Also in his speech, the Convener, Kano Civil Society Elections Situation Room, Ambassador Ibrahim Waiya, urged the Media to filter credible Civil Society Groups from faceless, politically motivated sponsored groups who hide under the names of credible organizations to concoct fake stories that suits their narratives.

Headlines
Nigeria recorded 3.9m cyberattacks before, during, after governorship elections

Mukhtar Yahaya Usman
The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Professor Isa Ali Ibrahim aww Pantami has drawn the attention of the digital economy stakeholders and the general public to the ministry’s activities before, during, and after the 2023 gubernatorial and states’ houses of assembly elections.
KANO FOCUS reports that Pantami said the committee, which he inaugurated to monitor Nigeria’s cyberspace, recorded a total of 3,834,244 attacks, originating from both within and outside Nigeria, before, during and after the gubernatorial and State Houses of Assembly elections across the country.
According to a statement released yesterday by the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy and signed by the Senior Technical Assistant (Research and Development) to the Minister, Dr. Femi Adelusi, the daily breakdown of the attacks showed that on Friday 17th March, 2023, there were 1,046,896 cyberattacks; On Saturday 18th March, 2023, there were 1,481,847 Cyberattacks; On Sunday 19th March, 2023, there were 327,718 Cyberattacks and on Monday 20th March, 2023, there were 977,783 Cyberattacks.
The statement further stated that activities on the Nigerian cyberspace during the Gubernatorial and State Assembly elections, we’re much lower than those during the Presidential and National Assembly elections.

“This is neither surprising nor unexpected as, Nigeria being Africa’s largest democracy, the Presidential and National Assembly elections are bound to attract much attention of everyone, including cyberthreat actors than during the Gubernatorial and State Assembly elections.
“The Minister is confident that the implementation of some recommendations as well as measures taken to fortify our cyber defence mechanisms might have helped in this,” the statement further said.
Pantami reiterated that the attainments would not have been possible without the continued support of President Muhammadu Buhari, in particular, and the administration in general, towards ensuring Nigeria’s successful transition into the digital economy.
“The digital economy sector has enjoyed Mr President’s unprecedented support and it is highly appreciated,” Pantami said.
Based on the Minister’s directives, the committee provided close oversight on the activities of the cybersecurity Centres, from Friday 17th March, 2023 to Monday 20th March, 2023.
During this period and as previously reported, a series of hacking attempts were recorded, including Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS), email and Internet Protocol Spoofing (IPS) attacks, SSH Login Attempts, Brute force Injection attempts, Path Traversal, Detection Evasion, and Forceful Browsing, the statement further explained.
