By Ismail Auwal
Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, who’s infamous for his dollar-stuffing videos, has been caught again in another financial scandal involving his eldest son Abdulaziz Umar.
The governor was said to have awarded an unregistered brief case company, which his first son Abdulaziz Umar Ganduje serves as the Managing Director, a shady contract worth N189,913,590.54 in clear contravention of Code of Conduct and Public Procurement laws.
The contract according to DAILY NIGERIAN was for a conversion of Mariri rehabilitation center to IDP Girls Science and Technical College.
Just like the award of the contract that was done without public tender and due process, delivery by the contractor remains controversial with allegations of shady execution.
DAILY NIGERIAN reported that Ganduje approved the said contract to Global Firm Nigeria Limited, a company his first son Abdulaziz Umar Ganduje remains the managing director.
On May 7, 2021, the company was reportedly given N94,556,795.27 as a referral payment from the state Ministry of Local Government, representing 50% of the contract sum, leaving the remaining 50% unpaid.
Records obtained by SAHELIAN TIMES from the Corporate Affairs Commission showed the company is not even legally registered in Nigeria.
Little is also known about Abdulaziz’s company as online searches and findings in Kano could not provide any useful clue as the company has no website or any social media presence.
Abdulaziz had threatened legal action against the government of his father for failure to pay the sum of N82 million to his company.
He cried foul about how his father refused to approve the final payment of N82,662,464.04, despite allegedly executing the project, writing to the ministries concerned and involvement of some associates of the governor.
Insiders also told DAILY NIGERIAN that the governor’s refusal to approve the payment might not be unconnected with Abdulazeez’s September 2021 petition to the EFCC against his mother, Hafsat Ganduje, in a bungled multi-million naira land deal he (Abdulaziz) facilitated.
Abdulaziz had earlier told Daily Nigeria that he was being persecuted by his dad because of his refusal to pay kickbacks from the contract to Ganduje Foundation.
