Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has been urged to respond to allegations regarding financial inducements connected to the appointment of Muhammadu Sanusi II as the 14th Emir of Kano.

The call came from Kano-based political commentator Bashir Hayatu, also known as ‘Gentile,’ following recent statements by Alhaji Danjuma Hamza Darma, a prominent APC figure in Kano.
Darma alleged that Ganduje received an unspecified sum from Sanusi during the period leading up to his installation as Emir.

Darma claimed in an interview with a local radio station that Ganduje, who was deputy governor to Dr. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso at the time, solicited and accepted a substantial payment from Sanusi, then Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), to support his appointment.
Darma further asserted that Ganduje played a central role in the selection process by sharing the medical report of the late Emir Ado Bayero with Sanusi and advising him to financially back Kwankwaso’s 2019 presidential campaign as a means of securing support.

“It is God Almighty that made Sanusi Lamido the Emir, and it was through APC that he did it. The first link to his becoming emir was Ganduje, if not for Ganduje, he wouldn’t have become an emir. If you need an explanation, I will give you,” Darma said.

“When the news came that the late Emir of Kano, Ado Bayero, was sick, and that he could hardly recover, Ganduje was the one who took that report to Sanusi Lamido. He told him, Here is a report about the emir. He advised Sanusi to give some money as his contribution to Kwankwaso’s presidential ambition. Sanusi Lamido did not argue then, and he gave something very big in bribe. I cannot exactly say how much it was. But it is for him to be made the emir.”

In response to Darma’s claims, Gentile insisted that Ganduje must address the allegations to avoid carrying the burden of public mistrust. Writing on his verified social media account, Gentile questioned the validity of Darma’s claims about a financial exchange involving Ganduje and Sanusi and warned of legal action if no evidence is provided.

“Although your claims are all fake, I will still call on you to produce evidence if you have any against Emir Sanusi. You have lied against Emir Sanusi II, and until you produce evidence to back the exchange of money between the emir and Ganduje, I will not take it easy,” Gentile said.

“If he (Darma) fails to prove the said huge amount of money collected by Ganduje from Emir Sanusi and given to Kwankwaso for the purpose of selecting him as 14th emir of Kano, we are going to sue him.”

Gentile also highlighted the seriousness of Darma’s claim that Ganduje leaked the late Emir Ado Bayero’s medical report to Sanusi, noting that such an act would constitute a breach of official confidentiality.

“I call on Ganduje to ensure he takes action against Darma’s comments to disabuse the minds of the public against the allegations. If not, the situation might be worse than the claim of inciting crises among Islamic scholars in Kano,” Gentile said, urging a formal response from the APC chairman.