The Kano state governor-elect, Abba Kabir Yusuf Gubernatorial Transition Committee (GTC) has alleged that the outgoing government of Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje is undermining and sabotaging the transition process.
Abdullahi Baffa, the chairman of the governor-elect, while addressing a press conference on Friday, said the government’s insistence that it must nominate three members to join the 17-member government transition committee was “tantamount to insisting that we must have a joint transition committee even though we belong to separate political parties.”
He said: “Insistence that the right thing must be done, Governor Ganduje is doing everything possible to undermine and sabotage the transition process: He is yet to inaugurate the government team even after announcing its formation almost four weeks ago (sadly, the government team say they cannot hold any meeting with us until they are inaugurated by the governor)”.
Baffa further alleged that Ganduje has “mischievously transferred all permanent secretaries and most of the directors within the service to undermine the preparation of the hand-over”, adding that the governor “has surreptitiously embarked on massive recruitment of workers (in his final few days) on a scale that he has not done in the last seven years and 10 months with the sole intention of over-bloating the service, undermining the incoming administration, and creating confusion.”
He said all these were manifestation of bad faith and total lack of statesmanship in the conduct of the governor.
Baffa said to ensure the transition process is smoothly concluded before the May 29 handover, the GTC would be having interaction with all permanent secretaries, heads of agencies and Director of Personnel Management of all local government areas from May 2.
Reacting to the allegations by the GTC, the state Commissioner of Information and Internal Affairs, Muhammad Garba, who is also a member of the government’s transition committee, told Daily Trust that there was no truth in what the GTC alleged.
Meanwhile, the Kano state government said the allegation was unfounded, claiming that the GTC had refused to submit the names of its three nominees to the government’s transition committee, adding that despite this, all ministries, parastatals and agencies of the government have been carrying on with the handing over process.