Kano State Governor, Abba Yusuf, has lamented the severe impact of corruption on the state, stating that Kano has suffered the worst form of corruption compared to other states in the region.
He made this assertion on Saturday during a capacity-building workshop for state civil servants holding the rank of director, focused on anti-corruption principles.
Speaking at the event held in Dawakin Kudu Local Government, the governor, represented by his deputy, Aminu Gwarzo, highlighted the extensive damage caused by corruption during the administration of Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, who governed the state from 2015 to 2023.
“Kano State in particular has suffered and experienced one of the major grand corruptions, perhaps above any other state in this region over the past eight years,” Governor Yusuf remarked.
He further elaborated on the fraudulent sale of the state’s investments and assets, stating that these were orchestrated by those who both initiated and executed the corrupt schemes.
“Our investment and state assets, as the region’s center of commerce, were hopelessly and fraudulently sold, and those who acquired them are initiators and executors of the whole process,” he added.
The governor expressed his dismay over the mismanagement of these investments, managed by Kano State Investment and Properties, noting that both the proceeds and properties have reverted to the same individuals who facilitated the transactions.
Governor Yusuf also pointed to the neglect of the state’s infrastructure, which he attributed to the multifaceted problems inherited from the previous administration.
He emphasized that the state’s revenue generation efforts were marred by leakages, benefiting a few at the expense of the collective interest of the people.
In a particularly troubling revelation, the governor disclosed that the state’s water resources sector was left in a state of decay due to heavy corruption during the Ganduje administration. Despite a loan of six million Euros purportedly spent on the sector, the people of Kano continue to face significant hardships related to water access.
Governor Yusuf’s remarks underscore the challenges facing his administration as it works to address the consequences of what he described as “grand corruption” and restore the state’s infrastructure and economic vitality.
