Headlines
Fresh political feud erupts between Kwankwaso and Ganduje
Nasiru Yusuf
A fresh political feud was erupted between governor of Kano state Abdullahi Umar Ganduje and his former boss Rabiu Kwankwaso.
KANO FOCUS reports that the new crisis started on Sunday when Kwankwaso said Ganduje lost his reelection bid in 2019 but powerful forces imposed him on the state.
In an interview with The PUNCH, Kwankwaso described the alleged imposition on Kano residents as the “worst crime in a democracy”.
The former governor said many have realised their mistake and are ready for real change in the state in 2023.
“This country is fully aware that Ganduje lost the election in 2019 in Kano, but the powers that be ensured that they imposed him on the majority,” he said.
“They imposed the will of the minority on the majority which is the worst crime in a democracy. I think everybody is paying the price now. I think some of them are trying to correct their mistakes now after the maximum damage made to the state. It is very unfortunate that many people could not see what the masses were seeing.
“There were reasons he would not have been allowed to contest in 2019, but the powers that be at the time insisted that he should continue. The masses decided to do what the leaders couldn’t do. They still came out to use power at that time and those of us who believe in peace didn’t want to start a crisis in Kano.”
The former minister said there are many young people joining the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ahead of the 2023 polls.
“Instead of us being weak, they are the ones getting weaker. Every day, we have people, the masses crossing to our side. Many of them who were below 18 years of age during the last elections, but are now of age, are coming to register with us,” he said.
Kwankwaso said direct primary mode is more democratic but governors do not want it because their power will be curtailed.
“After practicing the indirect primary, I can easily compare and say the direct one is more democratic and better than the indirect,” he said.
“One thing that I believe is that the governors and other powerful people will never want to approve a direct primary because the power will get out of the government houses and land in the hands of the voters and members of the party.
“So, they will never want it.”
Ganduje fires back
In a swift reaction, the Kano State government has dismissed a claim by the former governor that Ganduje did not win the 2019 gubernatorial election but imposed on the people by powerful forces.
The Commissioner for Information, Kano State, Muhammad Garba, in a statement on Sunday titled, ‘Ganduje won election not imposed, KNSG dares Kwankwaso,’ refuted the claim, saying that Kwankwaso managed “a well-organised election rigging network, particularly in the metropolitan local governments, where youth, mostly without even voters’ card were engaged to perpetrate the act.”
According to Garba, “It was vividly clear that barely hours into the voting, most of the ballot boxes were said to have been stuffed, only for the Independent National Electoral Commission to discover that either card readers were not used or the voters are not captured in its data and therefore had to cancel the results from many centres and declared the election inconclusive.”
He noted that it was unfortunate that as a leader who was severally involved in the election process, Kwankwaso is still contesting the result of an election conducted by a statutory body and upheld by courts of law.
The commissioner said, recently, Kwankwaso was in the media cautioning his followers against unguarded utterances but ended up making incendiary rhetoric unbecoming a person of his calibre.
He said the interview Kwankwaso granted Sunday PUNCH in which he “attempted to rubbish the Ganduje administration” has done him more harm than good which completely negates the spirit of genuine peace and reconciliation he preached to his followers in the last few days to avoid derailing.
Garba stated that Kwankwaso should have thanked Ganduje for completing many of the projects he abandoned, saying that the people of Kano are paying the price for the unparalleled policy of continuity that saw the completion of many projects in the last six years in the state.
He enumerated the projects to include “Aminu Dantata Flyover, Yahaya Gusau Road and Prince Audu Underpass, Five-kilometre roads in Dawakin Tofa, Ungogo, Warawa, Rano and Tofa local governments; Mahmoud Salga Road, Jaba-Rimin Kebe Road, Independent Power Project at Tiga and Challawa Dams, among many others.”
On education, which was the centrepiece of the Kwankwaso administration, the commissioner noted that as far as education is concerned, the Ganduje administration has done more, including payment of burden of over N15bn backlog scholarships to needy students overseas left by the Kwankwaso administration.
He said that N3.5bn had been paid for students in Sudan; N4.5bn for Cyprus; N384m for those in France, while it is paying students in Egypt and India.
Garba said, in addition to implementing the Free and Compulsory Basic and Secondary Education, the Ganduje administration has carried out massive infrastructure development in all its tertiary institutions and accreditation of many courses they offer.
He, therefore, assured Nigerians that despite the agitation for reconciliation that is ongoing among party leaders, the Ganduje administration would accordingly react to any attempt to downplay “the achievements it has recorded and will not be distracted from carrying on with the responsibility for which it was elected into office.”
Headlines
Abdulaziz unveils project inspection initiative, trains APC social media inflluencers at Arewa media summit
Nasiru Yusuf Ibrahim
The Senior Special Assistant to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Media and Public Enlightenment, Abdulaziz Abdulaziz, has unveiled a regional project inspection initiative aimed at showcasing key development projects in Northern Nigeria, while urging journalists and social media influencers to uphold ethical communication and combat misinformation.
Speaking on Monday at the maiden Arewa Media Summit in Kano, organised by his office, Abdulaziz said the gathering was conceived to strengthen dialogue between government, citizens and the media through accountability, responsibility and ethical communication.
He said effective governance depends on transparency, responsible civic engagement and a professional media that serves as a bridge between leaders and the people through factual and balanced reporting.
The presidential aide also cautioned social media influencers, who command large online audiences, to verify information before publication and avoid content capable of creating division, particularly as the country approaches the 2027 general elections.
According to him, more than 100 All Progressives Congress (APC) social media communicators were trained ahead of the summit to enhance their capacity to communicate government policies, programmes and achievements effectively.
Abdulaziz also unveiled the Gani Ya Kori initiative, a regional project inspection tour designed to spotlight landmark projects executed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Northern state governors that have received limited public attention.
“The initiative will help ensure that citizens are adequately informed about development projects and government interventions across the region,” he said.
The summit also featured a keynote address by the Minister of Information and National Reorientation, Mohammed Idris, who urged journalists and social media influencers to deny bandits and terrorists the publicity they seek.
“The media has an indispensable role in denying violent extremists the publicity they seek while promoting unity, resilience and hope,” the minister said.
He stressed that democracy flourishes when government remains transparent, citizens participate responsibly and the media performs its constitutional role with professionalism, fairness and integrity.
Idris observed that while the digital revolution has transformed communication by making every smartphone a broadcasting platform, it has also accelerated the spread of fake news and disinformation capable of undermining national unity and public confidence.
Declaring the summit open, Kano State Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf called on other states to emulate Kano’s Special Reporters Initiative, through which more than 150 young people have been deployed to ministries, departments, agencies and the state’s 44 local government areas to strengthen government communication and public enlightenment.
KANO FOCUS reports that the summit attracted journalists, broadcasters, filmmakers, digital content creators, academics, policymakers and communication professionals from across Northern Nigeria to deliberate on the theme, “Government, Citizens: Accountability, Responsibility and Ethical Media Practice.”
Nasiru Yusuf Ibrahim
The Kano State Government says it has executed 1,508 development projects worth more than N928 billion across the state’s 44 local government areas since Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf assumed office, with about 80 per cent of constituency projects awarded between 2023 and 2025 already completed.
KANO FOCUS reports that the Commissioner for Public Procurement, Projects Monitoring and Evaluation, Comrade Nura Iro Ma’aji Sumaila, disclosed this during an international press briefing on the administration’s infrastructure development programme.
According to Comrade Sumaila, the projects cover critical sectors including roads, urban renewal, education, healthcare, security and other social infrastructure.
He said 799 of the projects have been completed, while 709 are at various stages of execution. He added that the state is also implementing 619 constituency projects through members of the Kano State House of Assembly.
The commissioner noted that about 80 per cent of the constituency projects have been completed. However, he said some projects remain unfinished because of rising construction costs caused by inflation.
He said the government has submitted a request to Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf for an upward review of contract sums to enable contractors complete the affected projects.
Breakdown of projects
Comrade Sumaila said the administration spent over N169 billion on urban renewal projects, including road rehabilitation, drainage construction and other metropolitan infrastructure.
He said another N118 billion was committed to constructing five-kilometre roads in 38 local government areas to improve connectivity across the state.
According to him, the government also awarded contracts worth over N6.8 billion for the construction of Kano State Neighbourhood Watch security divisions in 36 local government areas.
He added that rural infrastructure projects covering education, healthcare and other social interventions across the 44 local government areas account for contracts valued at more than N397 billion, while other ongoing projects have a combined value of about N255 billion.
Commitment to transparency
The commissioner said the Ministry of Public Procurement, Projects Monitoring and Evaluation would continue to ensure compliance with due process and technical standards in the execution of government projects.
He said the ministry’s mandate includes monitoring projects to ensure value for money and prudent utilisation of public resources.
According to him, the administration’s investments in infrastructure are intended to improve mobility, strengthen security, expand access to education and healthcare, improve water supply and stimulate economic growth across the state.
Nasiru Yusuf Ibrahim
Kano State has emerged as the highest-ranked sub-national government in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) for education spending, according to the latest Sub-National Education Spending Index developed by the University of Paris.
KANO FOCUS reports that the ranking places Kano State first among 209 first-level sub-national governments across 15 ECOWAS member countries, underscoring the state’s growing reputation for prioritising investment in education.
According to the published index, Kano topped the rankings with an overall S-WAESI score of 87.21, outperforming other leading regions, including Dakar and Saint-Louis in Senegal. Lagos State was the second Nigerian state on the list, ranking 16th overall.
The assessment evaluated states and regions using the S-WAESI (Sub-National Weighted Aggregate Education Spending Index) methodology, which measures government commitment to education through indicators such as actual education expenditure, spending per student, budget execution, education priority, transparency and evidence-based reporting.
The methodology assigns 35 points to actual education spending, 25 points to spending per student, 20 points to budget execution, 10 points to education priority and 10 points to transparency.
The report indicated that Kano excelled largely due to its strong actual education spending and budget execution, making it the best-performing sub-national government in the region.
The ranking covered states, regions, districts and municipalities across Nigeria, Senegal, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Togo, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau and Cabo Verde.
Kano State Accountability Forum on Education (K-SAFE) said the recognition reflects Kano State Government’s sustained investment in expanding access to education, improving school infrastructure and strengthening educational planning and budget implementation.
KANO FOCUS reports that the achievement is expected to further boost the state’s profile as a leader in education reform within West Africa and provide additional momentum for ongoing efforts to improve learning outcomes across the state.
The latest ranking comes amid renewed attention on education financing across ECOWAS, with experts increasingly emphasising transparent budgeting, efficient resource utilisation and sustained public investment as critical drivers of quality education.
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