-Says Kwankwaso’ll get zero votes
Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje of Kano state has said with the state having the highest number of delegates in the All Progressives Congress (APC), it would determine who gets the presidential ticket of the party in the 2019 general elections.
The governor and his estranged former boss are daggers drawn over who controls the state chapter of the party, and who gets what within the government. The governor is, however, ascertaining himself, insisting that he would not be remotely controlled by his predecessor.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with Blueprint in Abuja, Ganduje said all the 342 delegates in the state would vote for President Muhamadu Buhari “if he decides to run for a second term in office.” Ganduje said it would be a great mistake if his predecessor, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, ran against the president for the APC ticket like he did in 2015, saying the lawmaker would get no vote from the state.
“Kano state has a total of 342 delegates. We have the highest number of delegates in Nigeria in APC. No state is up to 300 delegates, and I can assure you if Kwankwaso contests against Buhari in APC, he will get zero votes from Kano,” he said. Ganduje also spoke on the financial status of the state, saying the Internally Generated Revenue had been improved from the N1 billion monthly by the previous administrations, to N4 billion monthly. He said the state government “pays salaries and entitlements of workers and pensioners as and when due,” adding that contractors handling projects in the state, were also being paid their dues.
“When we came, we had to reform the old system. I had to request all the staff of the State Board of Internal Revenue to go back to the Office of the Head of Civil Service. We employed a consultant, advertised, and then we took the best brains, some of them not 2019: All 342 APC delegates in Kano for Buhari – Ganduje even from the state.
“When we took over, we were getting less than N1 billion a month, but because of our reforms and interventions, we now get over N4 billion every month. It is not up to what we are expecting because up till now, those that are supposed to be paying tax are yet to be fully captured in our revenue net.
“You know some people don’t want to pay tax. So, we are deploying a lot of advocacy to capture them on our revenue net. The reason people don’t want to pay taxes is that they assumed their money is being embezzled. “Yes, the increase in our IGR made it possible for us to embark on a lot of capital projects.
We virtually use what we are getting from Abuja to pay salaries. So, all our capital projects in Kano state are being funded from the revenue generated from taxes, and that is why we label each project thus: ‘this project is being funded with tax payers’ money.’ This of course is encouraging people to pay taxes.”
On absence of insurgency, others in Kano
Speaking on the relative peace enjoyed in the state amidst pockets of conflicts across the country, Governor Ganduje said this was as a result of government’s policy of inclusiveness and proactive approach to security issues. The state government, he said, has a robust system of engaging all the ethnic groups and religious bodies on the importance of living together.
He said: “In Kano state, we were able to make effective and community security programme, in addition to what the president has done. We were able to provide effective communications equipment, some logistics and frequent meetings and also established synergy with local communities so that we can get some security information. I think that assisted us in curtailing insurgency situation in the state.
“Many Boko Haram commanders have been arrested in Kano, that also is as a result of efficiency of the security agencies and also, of course, the gadgets that we provided. “Another issue that has contributed to peace and stability in Kano state is the constant dialogue with all the stakeholders.
Few weeks ago, we had an Interfaith Summit and we invited Christians and Muslims leaders, and other relevant stakeholders. “We met for one week and came up with a communiqué. We also set up an Interfaith Committee to be meeting from time to time, and that is why we have been able to reach understanding among the religious leaders.”
The governor also spoke on the indigene and settler issue that had been a source of conflicts in some parts of the country, saying there was the urgent need to remove indigeneship in the country’s constitution. “In this country, we are having a lot of problems, religious, tribal, herdsmen and farmers’ clashes, etc. All these have to do with relationships and, of course, the current economic realities. But, the constitution we borrowed from the United States of America should be applied fully, even though we are in a different zone and culture.
“In order to get very serious national integration, the parameters of national indigeneship should not be based on tribe, religion or place of birth. It should be based on where you are staying and what you do. Are you paying your taxes? Are you contributing to the overall development of where you are since you are benefiting from the services there? You are benefiting from the security that is been provided, are you contributing your own quota to the development of that environment?
“If you are already paying your taxes, I think you are already an indigene of that place, not just because you are the son of the soil, but because you are contributing to the economic development of the state, employing people and doing great and positive things. “In Kano, we are doing our part to ensure that that dichotomy is removed, because in some states where we have some problems, it is basically because of this indigeneship issue.
So, our belief is that to have national integration, we should remove indigeneship issue. So, I think it is a constitutional issue which the national and state assemblies should deal with,” he said.
