Rabiu Kwankwaso, the presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), met with President Bola Tinubu in Aso Rock on Friday.
After the meeting, Kwankwaso told State House Correspondents that Tinubu had invited him and the ex-governor of Kano State, Abdullahi Ganduje, to discuss the ongoing demolition in the state.
He accused Ganduje of chasing him out of Kano State for three and a half years while he was in power.
According to Kwankwaso, the Ganduje administration illegally acquired the majority of the buildings demolished in the state.
He also stated that when he briefed President Tinubu on the true picture of what led to the current demolition, he was shocked.
When asked if he is pleased with Tinubu’s intervention, he said;
The President was shocked. Are you not shocked that somebody will sell University? Are you not shocked that he demolished the only university? Daula Hotel, for those of you who are in Kano, you know the old Daula, demolished to zero and that is a faculty under the University of Science and Technology. He demolished that one. Are you not shocked?
The President was shocked. He didn’t know. He even mentioned that he talked to somebody to go and find out for him. But when I told him, I said you are a Muslim, very soon you are going for Sallah. How can you go under that circumstance and pray in that place? And even the Triumph place he is talking about, you are journalists. You should be angry because that’s your constituency, he demolished completely and put shops everywhere.
According to Kwankwaso, his party under Governor Abba Yusuf, was only fulfilling the campaign promises to demolish such structures.
He said;
You see the governor is doing what we campaigned with. I wanted to be president, I campaigned also. And I went to Kano and told them that these places, schools, in fact, most of our schools in Kano were being encroached on. And it is our policy to make sure that the encroached areas are returned to them.
In response to reports that he would join Tinubu’s cabinet, Kwankwaso stated that discussions were ongoing.
However, he denied rumors of a defection to the ruling party, stating that Tinubu was more concerned with forming a government of national unity.
He described Ganduje as a stooge whom he appointed as Special Adviser and also as his deputy while he was governor.
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