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From Desmond Mgboh, Kano
The hardship protest in Kano State has come and gone, but the whirling dusts it stirred up have refused to rest. Evidence that such dusts are yet to abate is the scandal rocking the state over an alleged diversion of Federal Government’s palliatives by a top state government official.
The disturbing drama occurred after some protesters reportedly broke into a building at Gandun Albasa, Kano Municipality Local Government and chart away bags of rice found in the structure. The said building purportedly belonged to the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Shehu Shagagi.
State chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Abbas Abdullahi, accused some officials of the ruling New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) of diverting and rebranding palliatives. He called for an independent investigation and prosecution of the culprits, failure of which he would take legal action:
“Failure of the state government to take necessary action against these officials as its inaction may be interpreted as a tacit support of the alleged act.” He alleged that bags of rice labelled “Federal Government Food Security Programme” were discovered at a private school, Wada Sagagi Islamic School, allegedly owned by Shagagi.
Abbas insisted that this was not the only incident that touched on diversion by government officials. He stated that in December 2023, a Senior Special Assistant (SSA) was arrested over alleged diversion of palliatives. He alleged that the suspect was found repackaging the rice and maize at a warehouse in Sharada and was subsequently arrested with a promise to drag him to court:
“The state government is in the habit of rebranding and repackaging some parts of the grains they want to distribute, mostly to their members with the picture of the governor and logo of the NNPP.
“It is, therefore, very important that the Kano state government should not stop at suspension or investigation. All actions taken should be concluded by prosecuting all those found to have been involved in these scandals to serve as deterrent.
“Recently, the Tinubu administration sent 70 trucks of fertilizer, seedlings and other inputs for free distribution to farmers in Kano. But the state government claimed the credit as if it procured the products
“At different times, the Federal Government donated truckloads of grains to the Kano State Government for distribution to the needy. But apart from symbolic official launch, these interventions have not been felt in the larger society.”
Shagagi described the accusation levelled against him by Abbas as baseless, misleading, and politically motivated. He said it was a “desperate attempt to tarnish my image in the eyes of right thinking Nigerians and a calculated attempt to discredit the NNPP government’s efforts in supporting the people.
“My office has never been involved in palliatives distribution and no one has ever allocated the palliatives to me for onward distribution to state, local governments or ward levels.
“The NNPP government has been transparent in its distribution of palliatives to the masses, with clear records of beneficiaries and distribution channels. Therefore, there is no truth to the APC’s claims of diversion or rebranding.
“The NNPP government has made significant strides in supporting the people, from food distribution to infrastructure development. We therefore viewed recent media onslaught as orchestrated attempt to undermine these achievements.
“Our actions are guided by the principles of transparency and accountability. We challenge APC to provide proof of their allegations or retract their statement.
“The Abbas-led APC’s stock in trade is diversionary, designed to set the people of Kano who are the ultimate beneficiaries of the palliatives against the government with ultimate target to create unnecessary tension and confusion.
“Our government remains committed to the welfare of the people. We will not be deterred by the APC’s baseless accusations. They will not succeed. We will continue to work tirelessly to support our citizens.
“Kano State Government would not be surprised over the frustration of APC chairman to resort to blackmailing and attempt to misrepresenting fact in order to score cheap publicity. I will urge the public to see through their desperate attempts to discredit the NNPP government and focus on the facts.”
Chairman, Kano State Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission, Muhuyi Rimin-Gado, said: “Part of our investigation revealed that it is not a boarding Islamiyya School.
“But rather the students are fed with food prepared in the school with breakfast and lunch daily. Hence this formed part of the consideration for the school to qualify to benefit from the palliative rice.
“Some other Islamiyya schools similarly benefited from the government gesture, considering the fact that the school is free as the students don’t pay any fee and writing materials are also provided free.”
Director of the school, Mukhtar Darma, said the structure was not a warehouse but an Islamiyya school for the benefit of the people in the community.
He added that the food looted by the protesters was for the students who were fed freely both morning and afternoon, while condemning the act and the media reports:
“The youths broke our school doors, windows, destroyed our fans and took away forty bags of rice, contrary to what people are saying that hundreds of bags of rice were kept there.
“I was very shocked and disappointed because, apart from two square meals given to students, everything in the school is free, including uniforms, books and pens. And I swear to God, the food stolen was meant to feed the students, not kept for any other reason.”
A group of youths within the state APC petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) demanding that the law should take its cause.
The petition titled, “Complaint Against Kano State Chief of Staff Over Alleged Diversion off Federal Government Rice Palliative,” was submitted to EFCCs headquarters in Abuja on August 12, 2024 and was acknowledged the same day by EFCC’s receiving officer.
