Barely one month after operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, arrested Governor Abdullahi Ganduje’s Commissioner for Special Duties, Mukhtar Ishaq for alleged N86 million fraud, 11 other aides of the governor have also been involved in assets declaration mess.
A painstaking investigation by PRNigeria revealed that huge sums of money in local and foreign currency accounts, as well as physical assets by Governor Ganduje’s aides, were not properly declared to the statutory body, apart from defaulting and non-compliance with the statutes of the Code of Conduct Bureau.
In a document sighted by PRNigeria, the Director-General, Media to Governor Ganduje, Salihu Tanko Yakasai is number one on the list of non-compliance in the list in the whole of Kano State Cabinet Office.
Other non-complying aides to Governor Ganduje include Uba Tanko Mijinyawa, Special Assistant on New Media in the cabinet office; Engr. Mansur Ahmed, Special Assistant on Critical Infrastructure; Tanko Indi Sarki who is the Special Assistant on Intelligence; Ado Abba T/Wada, the Director-General in charge of Youth, and Kabiru Baita, the Special Assistant Sports.
The information further revealed that four of Ganduje’s aides allegedly refused to comply with the Assets Declaration processes and they include Habibu Saleh, Special Assistant on Revenue; Saleh Shehu K, Special Assistant on IGR; Zulyadawi Sidi Mustapha, Senior Special Assistant on SDGs and Haruna D. Zago Special Assistant on Food Security.
Meanwhile, PRNigeria gathered that top officials of State government are mounting serious pressure on the Code of Conduct Bureau not to submit the list of the defaulters to the Code of Conduct Tribunal, CCT, a development that would ensure a safe landing for the alleged corrupt officials.
But sources within the CCB said that the document has already been prepared for despatch to CCT, stressing that any document in the hands of the CCT is as good as in the hands of the no-nonsense chairman of the tribunal, Justice Danladi Umar.
The Code of Conduct Bureau, CCB, is the first anti-corruption agency that was set up in Nigeria to battle corruption in the Nigerian public service.
It was established alongside the Code of Conduct Tribunal which serves as a special court to prosecute public servants that are found guilty of public funds embezzlement among other crimes.