In 2018, former Kano Governor Abdullahi Ganduje was caught in video clips stuffing bundles of dollars into his pockets. Daily Nigerian claimed that the $230,000 was part of a series of cash payments given to the governor in a total bribery deal of $5 million. This resulted in a series of court cases that have yet to be concluded, with the case scheduled to be heard again by the Kano State High Court on February 13, 2025.
Despite these allegations and video evidence, Ganduje was appointed Chairperson of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2023, the party to which Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu belongs.
On April 4, 2024, Ganduje faced a series of attacks from the Kano State government in a fresh suit filed against him, his wife Hafsat Umar, and six others before a state high court. The suit contained eight counts of charges concerning dollar bribery allegations, misappropriation, and diversion of funds running into billions of naira.
Amidst these ongoing corruption cases, Ganduje continues to scale up through several leadership positions, evidently with his recent appointment as the Board Chairperson of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) by President Tinubu on January 24, 2025.
Several Nigerians have, however, condemned this appointment because of his ongoing court ordeal.
What Does the Law Say
“Public accountability and transparency require people with unquestionable character to occupy public positions and contribute their quota to the country’s development,” said David Isaac, a lawyer who commented on Ganduje’s appointment.
According to him, the appointment of people with questionable character not only affects credibility but also creates attitudes among the citizenry, particularly regarding patriotism and the concept of nationalism.
However, with Ganduje yet to be convicted by the court, Isaac noted that his appointment is valid.
He emphasised that as amended, section 35 of the 1999 constitution provides for the presumption of innocence of every individual except for those who a court of competent jurisdiction has convicted.
“What that intends to amplify is that a person is being arraigned facing trials or being in a corruption case does not in any way prevent him from occupying any public office, more so that a court of competent jurisdiction has not determined such a person’s delay of judgment or guilt,” he said.
He explained that sections 35 and 36 of the 1999 constitution have made it abundantly clear that an accused person, a person alleged to have committed an offence, is presumed innocent until convicted.
Adding that “1999 constitution section 1 subsection 3 provides for the supremacy of the constitution and it goes by to provide that every other law, the constitution is superior to every other law in Nigeria.”
Isaac noted that despite the president’s appointment of Ganduje, which can affect public transparency and credibility, no existing law, legally speaking, around the positions of the constitution appointing an individual facing corruption charges.
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