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From Agaju Madugba, Katsina
Katsina was agog at the weekend as reports filtered in that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) was set to deploy a huge amount of money running into billions of naira from the state’s security fund allocation towards financing the forthcoming presidential and governorship polls.
Senator Ahmad Babba Kaita (PDP Katsina North) who blew the whistle at the party’s governorship campaign rally in Daura alleged that the APC will share certain percentage of the money among the Local Government Areas to enable it win the governorship election.
Kaita specifically identified 11 frontline areas with festering security issues due to activities of bandits as decoy to siphon public funds.
Apparently feasting on the alleged plot as weapon of campaign, the PDP governorship candidate, Senator Yakubu Lado, told his supporters across the state that he would probe the APC administration if he is elected governor.
According to Lado, “I have enormous respect for Governor Aminu Bello Masari and that is why I urge him to immediately order the abortion of this process of diverting government funds for elections.
“Any civil servants found to have been used to siphon state government funds will be made to refund the money and face the consequences if PDP is given the mandate during the forthcoming general elections.
“Anyone who stole public funds, irrespective of his age, will not go scot-free as we will carry out investigations and ensure that culprits get the due punishment.”
But in its reaction, the APC leadership failed to make a definitive pronouncement on the allegation arguing that Kaita who defected from the APC rode to the National Assembly on the back of the party.
The APC Vice Chairman, Alhaji Bala Musawa, who spoke with reporters on the matter accused Kaita of biting the finger that fed him by dumping the APC for the PDP after winning an election.
Musawa said, “I was among those who made sure that Kaita got the APC Senatorial ticket then, and you should ask him how much he had when he was doing his campaign.
“We are still giving him the opportunity to return to the APC because he made a mistake leaving the party in the first place.
“Since he wants to start exposing things, I want you people to ask him how much he had when he contested the National Assembly election and which money he used to secure the ticket.”
Meanwhile, Chairman of the Katsina PDP Presidential and Gubernatorial Campaign Council, Senator Ibrahim Umar Tsauri, told the governorship rally in Mashi that the party decided on the choice of Lado for Governor because “we have a firm conviction that he possess the capacity and commitment to better the lot of the state and its people.”
Tsauri who was a PDP National Secretary urged the Katsina people to vote Lado as well as all the other candidates of the party “because the ruling All Progressive Congress has failed to fulfill its promises.”
