Investigation into the bribery allegation against former Governor Abdullahi Ganduje will be reopened, says Muhuyi Rimingado, the reinstated chair of the Kano State Public Complaints and Anti Corruption Commission (PCACC).
The Kano anti-commission boss was suspended from office by Mr Ganduje.
Mr Rimingado vowed to continue the probe into the viral video footage showing Mr Ganduje allegedly collecting bribes from a contractor. Mr Rimingado said this on Wednesday in an interview with DCL Hausa, shortly after he was returned to his position by Governor Abba Yusuf following a court order nullifying his suspension.
Daily Nigerian had in 2018 published a series of videos exposing the then-Kano governor collecting kickbacks from contractors, triggering public criticism and calls for further investigations into the exposé. For his role in the scandalous scenes, Mr Ganduje has since been dubbed ‘Gandollar’, a social media jibe coined from the meshing of his last name and dollar. Mr Ganduje denied the allegations and had constitutional immunity from criminal prosecution.
But now Mr Rimingado said he was determined to continue the probe into the allegation against the ex-governor.
“As I said before my suspension, we are investigating the video, and when my reinstatement was announced, I also declared that we will continue from where we stopped,” said the head of the Kano anti-commission. “All the cases that people thought would be swept under the carpet will be revisited by God’s grace.”
He reiterated his determination declaring that “nothing will hinder the fight against corruption.”
“We’ll build on the success recorded before my suspension because there are a lot of expectations on us, and we can’t afford to disappoint. And in the past, we didn’t prosecute people much because we adopted the carrot-and-stick approach,” the Kano anti-corruption agency head stated.
“But I have learnt some experience during my suspension, and we will make some changes,” he added. “So, I won’t relent until we get rid of corruption in the system.”
