Gov Yusuf’s aide takes on Kwankwaso’s camp as rift deepens

Senior Special Assistant to the Kano State Governor on Social Media, Salisu Yahaya Hotoro, has challenged the camp of Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso to clarify who is handling key government programmes and contracts.

This comes amid claims that Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf has been ungrateful to the former governor.

Hotoro posed the questions in an interview with an online platform, Arewa Updates, while reacting to comments credited to the recently sacked Special Adviser to the governor on political matters, Sunusi Surajo Kwankwaso.

Surajo claimed that Governor Yusuf did not award contracts or extend any form of government patronage to Kwankwaso since its inception.

Describing the claim as false and misleading, Hotoro said available facts showed that Kwankwaso and his associates continued to benefit from the Yusuf administration in critical areas, including Hajj operations, foreign scholarships and major contracts.

“I don’t think Jagora Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso told Sunusi Surajo Kwankwaso that he is benefiting from this government,” Hotoro said, urging him to ask questions about those currently handling the affairs of Hajj at the Kano State Pilgrims Welfare Board.

He alleged that about 30 Hajj seats were allocated annually to Kwankwaso since the beginning of the Yusuf administration, questioning who the beneficiaries were and how the slots were being utilized.

Hotoro also raised concerns over the foreign scholarship scheme under the Ministry of Higher Education, asking who oversees the selection and sponsorship of students abroad and how many students are taken out of the approved 1,001 slots.

According to him, the state government provided the funds, but the contractor sourced the schools, processed visas and air tickets, and catered for the students overseas.

The governor’s aide further queried contracts under the Ministry of Water Resources, including those for the supply of diesel, procurement of heavy equipment worth billions of naira that are yet to be installed, and the purchase of alum and other chemicals used for water treatment.

“Who handles the contracts for diesel supply? Who procured the machines and brought the contractors that are executing these jobs?” he asked.

Hotoro insisted that claims suggesting Kwankwaso had not benefited from the Yusuf administration were attempts to mislead the public and gain sympathy.

He warned that if those making the allegations failed to provide answers to the questions raised, they should remain silent, adding that the government was in possession of facts and evidence to counter what he described as misinformation.

“There are many issues we would prefer not to put in the public domain, but if they continue with falsehood, we will be forced to come out with details and evidence for the public to know what has been happening,” he said.

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