Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje has finally let out details of how and why he parted ways with his immediate predecessor, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso under whom he served as deputy governor.
Ganduje noted that Kwankwaso allegedly left a debt profile of over N300billion before vacating office in May 2015.
The governor said such a huge debt made it almost impossible for him to carry out projects in the state.
Ganduje, while addressing newsmen in Kano on Tuesday, said: “It is on record that the same transition committee that the former governor and I appointed under my deputy governor, Prof. Hafiz Abubakar, uncovered N300 billion liabilities even while Kwankwaso insisted that he did not leave any debt for me.
“But because I felt then that debt, loan or liabilities were normal thing, I didn’t even bother to talk about it, but this really provoked Kwankwaso and he started making frantic moves against my government.”
“Even when it was clear when we came into office that there was nothing in the coffers for me to pay salaries and that prompted us to seek loans so that we can start on a good note.”
According to Ganduje, Kwankwaso told the public that he never borrowed a single kobo and that, “I was trying to push Kano into debt, a move that was clearly aimed at instigating the people against me.
“But the government under Kwankwaso left behind a huge debt while contractors were also not paid even as we were looking for money to complete many uncompleted projects; what do we do, we had to borrow to clear the mess left behind.”
TheNewsGuru.com reports that another reason the former governor was at war with him was because he removed Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in the state.
In his words: “We removed Doguwa for anti-party activity and the national headquarters accepted our position that it has followed due process, but Kwankwaso was adamant, insisting on Doguwa while the chairman recognised by the APC was Abbas.”