Immediate past governor of Kano State, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje, has refuted media report making the rounds that he obtained a N10 billion loan for the installation of Close Circuit Television Camera (CCTV) project in the metropolitan area of the state.
Rebutting the said report credited to a civil society organisation, Ganduje described the story as misleading and untrue, even as he said the CSO does not exist.
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Speaking through the former commissioner for information and internal affairs in his administration, Malam Muhammad Garba, the former governor said the coalition of Political Analysis Forum and Governance was hired to discredit his administration by ignorantly calling for a probe of why the money was not spent on the project.
In a statement issued yesterday, Garba said, “To further confirm that they are fake, the so-called organisation knew nothing about the project and the hastiness with which their pay masters want them to be in the media exposes clearly their intent. We, therefore, challenge them to provide evidence for the N10 billion Naira loan.
“For record purposes when the last administration conceived the project, the State Executive Council and the Assembly formally granted approval bearing in mind the importance of the project in enhancing security in the state. Unfortunately, a Federal High Court in Kano, on July 1, 2022 granted an injunction restraining the government from obtaining the loan.”
Ganduje recalled that on July 19, the same court presided over by Justice Abdullahi Muhammad Liman had said it was misled in the case by one Yusuf Isyaku Rabi’u, proprietor of another non-existing CSO by the name Kano First Forum, and discharged the restraining order accordingly.
He said the case, according to the court, lacks locus standi to be continued and transferred it to a vacation judge in Abuja to continue with an interlocutory order before the court on the same case.
The former commissioner noted “that the said loan, for the CCTV camera project, despite its importance in fighting crime and effort to expand security infrastructure, the government decided to expand the project and unfortunately up to the end of its tenure the facility has not been secured and therefore the project could not be executed.”
He said the Ganduje administration intended to carry out the project in appreciation of its importance and considering that there is even a bill before the National Assembly, which at that time had passed through second reading, that seeks to compel compulsory installation of CCTV cameras in private buildings and offices.