Falana: No state in Nigeria fighting corruption… only Kano has anti-graft commission

Femi Falana, human rights lawyer, says no state in Nigeria is fighting corruption while noting that it is only Kano that has an anti-corruption commission.

The senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN) said this on Thursday when he was featured on a show on Arise Television.

While commenting on Nigeria’s anti-corruption effort in 2018, Falana said the fight cannot be limited to the federal government alone.

“In line with section 15, subsection 5 of the constitution, the provision says the Nigerian state shall abolish corrupt practices and abuse of office,” he said.

“That does not mean the federal government. The Nigerian state, including the federal government, state government and local government. But apart from the federal government, no state in Nigeria is fighting corruption.

“That’s why some of the state governments are saying they cannot pay minimum wage because they are not blocking the leakages going on. Kano state is the only state, this may interest you, has an anti-corruption commission. No other state in Nigeria.

“In fact, access to information is denied by all state governments in Nigeria apart from Ekiti state. Only Ekiti state government, under Fayemi, has adopted the freedom of information act.

“So, it’s difficult in any state to ask for information with respect to public affairs. So, you can’t just single out the federal government fighting corruption in a country where majority of state governments are not bothered.

“So, it will not be fair to limit the fight against corruption to the federal government. As a country, Nigeria has not decided to fight corruption.”

The Kano State Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission was established in 2005 to monitor and investigate all forms of corrupt practices in the state.

Meanwhile, in a video published October 2018 by Daily Nigerian, an online newspaper, Abdullahi Ganduje, Kano governor, was shown receiving bundles of dollars, alleged to be kickbacks from contractors.

Ganduje denied the allegation, saying his political opponents were behind it.