‘It was a plot to stop my election victory’ — Ganduje revisits dollar videos

Abdullahi Ganduje, governor of Kano, has again dismissed videos where he was allegedly receiving kickbacks from contractors.

A series of the secretly recorded videos in 2018 had shown a figure believed to be Ganduje pocketing wads of dollars allegedly taken as kickbacks. 

The governor had denied the videos, saying they were doctored. He blamed it on mischief makers who were bent on tarnishing his reputation.

He had also gone to the court all in the attempt to clear his name. 

While fielding questions on a BBC Hausa programme on Friday, the governor said those behind the videos had plotted to stop him from winning the governorship election. 

Ganduje was reelected in 2019, a year after the videos had made the rounds. 

“It is a lie and nothing of that nature ever happened. It was just a set up plan to stop me from contesting the election and I have contested, they wanted to stop me from winning the election and I have won. But that is not the big issue, the big one is we will deal with them,” he said. 

“Even your picture can be tempered with to show you doing something with your hand or head and you know it’s possible. People always tend to believe falsehood. 

“We will deal with those behind the fake videos aimed at tarnishing my image. No doubt the video is fake and we are on an underground plan and investigation which we will not reveal. But I assure you the video is fake and those behind it will be put to shame.” 

The governor also said his administration has undertaken projects that will be remembered for more than 100 years.

Some of the projects he cited were the bridges he built in Kano, and the Muhammadu Buhari Hospital, which he said was equipped with state-of-the-art medical equipment.

According to him, the hospitals built by his government would reduce the number of people going abroad for treatment.

The state house of assembly had opened an investigation into the viral video, but it was suspended after a court ruled that it had no powers to investigate such matter.

A federal high court in Kano had also dismissed a suit seeking the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to investigate Ganduje for bribery.

Obiora Egwuatu, the presiding judge, had struck out the suit, citing lack of evidence.