The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kano State has alleged a plan by the New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP) to usurp the functions of local government councils and misappropriate their funds, amounting to over N8 billion.
The party claims that this move is motivated by uncertainty surrounding the Supreme Court judgement on the disputed governorship election in Kano.
The Supreme Court recently reserved judgement in the Kano governorship election dispute between Governor Abba Yusuf of NNPP and Nasiru Gawuna of APC.
In a statement released to journalists on Tuesday in Abuja, Alhaji Abdullahi Abbas, the Chairman of the party, cautioned local government councils and commercial banks to halt the process of clearing the release of funds due to the NNPP’s perceived unreliability during this crucial period.
Abbas disclosed that the APC in Kano obtained a copy of the approval letter from the Ministry for Local Government, instructing the 44 local councils to release the sums of N101,655,000.38 million and N3,607,370,858.00 million respectively for the construction of Dan’Agundi and Tal’udu Interchanges.
The Chairman highlighted that this approval letter, forwarded to all council chairpersons and copied to the Auditor-General, local government audit, and all zonal inspectors of the ministry, demanded contributions from the councils for these projects.
Abbas also noted the recent replacement of Directors of Personnel Management (DPMs) and treasurers by the government to ensure smooth implementation of the alleged embezzlement scheme targeting local council funds.
He criticised the decision to undertake such projects at this juncture, asserting opposition even from within the NNPP’s ranks. Abbas urged the government to reconsider its actions in the interest of Kano State’s development.
