I Won’t Honour Any Loan Given to Ganduje after March 18, Says Kano Governor-Elect Yusuf

The Kano State governor-elect, Abba Kabir Yusuf, popularly known as Abba Gida-Gida, has warned all subsisting and prospective lenders to the state government to desist from giving the Governor Abdullahi Ganduje-led administration loans, saying his government won’t honour or pay back any loans given to the state government after the March 18 elections.
The governor-elect also urged the people of the state to stay off public buildings and to avoid constructing anything on government lands, schools, and other public places.

But in a swift reaction, Ganduje reminded the governor-elect that he was still in charge of the state.
Yusuf also said all existing loan facilities taken by the Ganduje administration shall be renegotiated by the new administration and guided by the utilisation audit/review of each loan facility.
The governor-elect’s stand was contained in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Sanusi Dawakin-Tofa, and made available to journalists on Saturday.
According to the statement, “the Governor-elect of Kano State, Abba Yusuf, has directed that this public advisory be issued to all subsisting and prospective lenders to the Kano State Government viz: ‘Effective from March 18 to May 29, no lender (domestic or international) shall approve and issue any loan facility to Kano State Government without the express consent of the incoming administration.

‘Any such loan facility approved and issued to the Kano State Government between the date of election and the date of swearing-in without explicit knowledge and consent of the incoming administration will not be honoured by the new administration;
“All subsisting lenders to the Kano State Government shall take notice that all terms and conditions for all existing loan facilities shall be renegotiated by the new administration guided by the utilisation audit/review of each loan facility.
“This advisory is made in the public interest, please,” the statement added.
However, Governor Ganduje warned Yusuf that he was still in charge of the state.
Speaking through the Commissioner for Information and Internal Affairs, Malam Muhammad Garba, Ganduje asked Yusuf to desist from making official pronouncements to avoid confusion.

He said: “The action of the governor-elect amounts to jumping the gun by issuing a directive on a matter affecting the government’s laid down policy, while the incumbent is yet to run his full term.”
Ganduje added that he remains the governor with executive powers until May 29 and reserves the right to carry out his functions in the public interest, even on the eve of his exit.
“Until he subscribes to the Oath of Office as governor on May 29, he remains what he is, a governor-elect, and does not have the powers of the governor. All he can do is reverse some of the actions taken by his predecessor when he assumes office if there is a valid reason to do so. No governor-elect has the constitutional or legal powers to determine the direction of a state until he is sworn in,” the statement added.

Ganduje stated that as governor, he wields enormous powers to allocate plots of land, emphasising that every government had undertaken such exercise, including the previous administration which the governor-elect served under.
He also stated that based on available records, the previous administration had made land allocations in some of the public places the governor-elect categorically mentioned.

Ganduje identified such places to include the City Wall, with the allocation of land from Kofar Nassarawa to Kofar Mata; shops at the Kofar Mata Eid Prayer Ground facing the Orion Cinema and from Kofar Mata to ‘Yan Yashi opposite the Eid Ground; and from Kofar Kabuga to Kofar Famfo facing the old Campus of Bayero University.

But hours after the governor’s response, Yusuf issued another public advisory, stating that: “I wish to issue this public advisory to prospective and subsisting lenders (domestic and foreign) that effective from 18th March to 19th May 2023, approval of loan facilities to KNSG should be with the consent of our incoming government.”

Ibrahim Shuaibu in Kano

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