Eniola Akinkuotu  and Oladimeji Ramon

Anti-corruption group, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to order the probe of Kano State Governor, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje, following some video clips on the Internet showing the governor allegedly collecting kickbacks from contractors.

The group, in an open letter to the President on Sunday, urged Buhari to use his good offices to direct either the Attorney General of the Federation or anti-graft agencies to probe the bribery allegations against Ganduje.

It argued that though the alleged bribery directly concerned Kano State, the Federal Government could not afford to look away.

The anti-corruption advocacy group added that “any allegations of bribery and abuse of power in any state of Nigeria is of concern to every Nigerian, and should, therefore, be of concern to your (Buhari) government”.

It urged the President to oblige its request to order Ganduje’s probe within 14 days, saying it would not hesitate to go to court should its request be ignored.

SERAP said it would like Ganduje prosecuted on the expiration of his tenure should the bribery allegations be established.

The group also charged the Federal Government to ensure the protection of Mr Jaafar Jaafar, the journalist who filmed Ganduje allegedly collecting bribe.

In the open letter signed by its Senior Legal Adviser, Ms Bamisope Adeyanju, SERAP said, “The obligations of your (Buhari’s) government to combat corruption in Nigeria extend to all the three tiers of government, namely: the Federal Government, state government and local government.

“Although, primarily a matter of concern for Kano State, the allegations of bribery against Mr Ganduje have assumed such a proportion as to become a matter of concern to the federation as a whole, and, therefore, to your government.”

The Presidency, however, said on Sunday that the alleged bribery case was a state government issue.

The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, said this during an interview on ‘Politics Today’, a live programme on Channels Television.

Adesina said, “That is a Kano State matter and it is being investigated by the Kano State House of Assembly. What then concerns the President at this point? Why must the President dabble into it at this point?”