August 10, (THEWILL) – The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kano State has expressed concern over the recurring incidents of allegations of diversion of the Federal Government’s palliatives by officials of the Kano State Government.
The party, in a statement issued on Saturday, by its Chairman, Abdullahi Abbas, called for an independent investigation and prosecution of the culprits or else it will take legal action.
Abbas warned that the government’s failure to take necessary action against its officials found to be involved in the diversion of the palliatives “may be interpreted as acts being perpetrated with its tacit support”.
He said it was unfortunate that last week, hundreds of bags of rice labelled “Federal Government Food Security Programme” were discovered at a private school known as “Wada Sagagi Islamic School” owned by the Chief Staff, Government House, Kano, Shehu Wada Sagagi.
He insisted that no convincing argument was put forward by Sagagi as to how the bags of rice, which formed part of the grains donated to the State Government to cushion the effects of fuel subsidy removal among the poor and vulnerable residents, were found in his private residence turned Islamiyya school.
The Chairman recalled that in December 2023, one Tasiu Al’amin-Roba, allegedly working for the Secretary to the State Government, Baffa Abdullahi Bichi, who was identified as a Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to Cabinet office, was arrested over alleged diversion of the state’s palliatives.
He said that the suspect was found repackaging the rice and maize at a warehouse located at Sharada, and was subsequently arrested with a promise to drag him to court.
He also alleged that the State Government was in the habit of “rebranding and repackaging some parts of the grains they wanted to distribute, mostly to their members, with the picture of the Governor and logo of the NNPP”.
The Chairman also recalled that in September 2023, the Managing Director of the State Agricultural Supply Company (KASCO), Dr. Tukur Dayyabu Minjibir, was suspended for alleged involvement in the inappropriate sale of grains belonging to the State Government.
“It is, therefore, very important that the Kano State Government should not stop at suspension or investigation. All actions taken should be concluded by prosecuting all those found to have been involved in these scandals to serve as a deterrent,” he said.
He also said that recently, the Tinubu administration sent 70 trucks of fertiliser, seedlings and other inputs for free distribution to farmers in Kano State, alleging that the State Government claimed the credit “as if it procured the products and was said to have been sold to farmers at N5,000 per bag”.
He described the actions of the NNPP government as a deliberate attempt to rubbish the effort of the administration of President Bola Tinubu to support the people during this trying period.
“At different times, the Federal Government donated truckloads of grains to the Kano State Government for distribution to the needy, but apart from symbolic official launch, these interventions have not been felt in the larger society.
“To our knowledge, Kano State Government received 100 trucks of rice, 44 trucks of sorghum, and four trucks of maize. It was also apportioned 969 metric tons of maize, 1,320 metric tons of sorghum, and 417 metric tons of millet, to be distributed equitably across all local government areas. Just recently, 20 trucks of rice were also given to Kano state,” Abbas said.
He said it was unfortunate that the people of the state had yet to feel the impact of these efforts by the President Tinubu administration as evidenced by the level of frustration and anger recently expressed against the Federal Government.
Abdullahi Yusuf is a seasoned journalist, communicator and was previously the Deputy Editor-In-Chief and Zonal Manager, News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, Jos, where he retired on December 15, 2021
