The Kano state anti-corruption and public complaints commission says it has brought fresh charges against Abdullahi Ganduje, national chair of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Appearing on Sunrise Daily, a Channels Television programme, on Tuesday, Muhuyi Magaji, chair of the anti-graft agency, said the commission is investigating a case where N51 billion was allegedly diverted by the Ganduje administration.

Ganduje was governor of Kano from 2015 to 2023.

Magaji said during the twilight of the Ganduje administration, N1 billion was withdrawn from the state’s accounts for rehabilitation of roads, but that the sum was allegedly diverted.

“What is happening now is a tip of the iceberg,” he said.

“As I am talking to you, we are investigating a case whereby N51.3 billion local government funds were directly taken from the government coffers (and) sent to other individuals, and we traced it to people.

“We have piled a series of cases. We have a case whereby N1 billion in April last year (2023) was removed from government coffers under the allocation of renovating 30 roads in the metropolis and it was taken away, sent to Bureau de Change.

“We have a case of N4 billion whereby it was sent from the consolidated revenue account of Kano state to an agricultural company. All these cases are before the court.”

The chair said the commission is not driven by politics and is dedicated to the fight against corruption.

“Incidentally, His Excellency, the former governor, was the one that appointed me in 2015 to head the agency and I was re-appointed in 2020 for another five-year term,” he said.

“Basically, we have an institution in the Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission (PCACC) that is devoid of political activities and dedicated to fight corruption, check maladministration and fight injustice.”

It was learnt that a formal invitation will be extended to the former governor.

When TheCable contacted Edwin Olofu, Ganduje’s spokesperson, he said his principal had no comment on the development.

On Monday, executives in Ganduje’s APC ward in Kano suspended the former governor from the party over corruption allegations.

Soon after, however, the APC in Kano nullified the suspension and handed the executives behind the move a six-month suspension from the party.

A scuffle erupted in Georgia’s assembly on Monday as two members of parliament engaged in fisticuffs over a controversial law that has sparked debate in the country.

After widespread protest and international criticisms last year, Georgia’s ruling party withdrew what many called the “Russian-style” draft law.

However, earlier this month, the government announced it would reintroduce the legislation, renaming it a bill on the “transparency of foreign influence”.

The bill would require non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and media outlets that receive more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad, to register as an “organisation serving the interests of a foreign power”, or face possible fines.

Irakli Kobakhidze, prime minister, said the proposed law was needed to ensure the financial transparency of grant recipients.

However, critics argue that the bill is inspired by authoritarian laws neighbouring Russia uses to crush dissent and is an attempt to sabotage the country’s chances of joining the European Union (EU).

The Georgian government has rejected any comparison to the Russian legislation.

The parliamentary session turned chaotic when opposition MPs, concerned about the bill’s potential impact on Georgian sovereignty, clashed with supporters of the legislation.

“I agree that no Russian laws should be adopted in Georgia,” Mamuka Mdinaradze, parliamentary leader of Georgian Dream, the ruling party, said during the debate.

Shortly afterwards, Aleko Elisashvili, opposition MP, charged at Mdinaradze and punched him in the face, triggering a brawl in parliament.

The scuffle came as thousands of people demonstrated in Tbilisi, the Georgian capital, demanding the withdrawal of the bill.

Nyesom Wike, minister of the federal capital territory (FCT), has handed over 100 motorcycles to security agencies and the six area councils in Abuja to boost the fight against crime in the nation’s capital.

Wike presented the motorcycles in Abuja on Monday during a brief ceremony attended by the area council chairmen and heads of the security agencies.

The minister said each of the six area councils will get 10 motorcycles, which they will issue to their vigilante outfits, while the police will get 30.

He added that the Department of State Security (DSS) and the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) will get five motorcycles each.

“Remember that security agencies requested special motorcycles for use, particularly in the rural areas. This is not enough. But, we will continue to provide more,” Wike said.

“For vehicles, we believe that in the next two weeks, they will be ready to be given out to the security agencies. Anything we can do to protect lives and property, we are going to do it.

“I don’t want to hear stories tomorrow that these motorcycles are nowhere to be found again. I don’t want to hear such stories because sometimes when you give out vehicles before you know it, the vehicles are no longer there. Please utilize these motorcycles to fight crime in the areas you have identified.

“So, I urge you to use it well and take it not for commercial purposes. I don’t want to see the motorcycles in the city here. It should be used in the rural areas.

“So, please let it be taken to the rural areas. All the security outposts, you give it to them so that we don’t continue to hear excuses that the terrain is so bad, they require this and that.”

Christopher Maikalangu, chairman of the Abuja municipal area council (AMAC), thanked the minister on behalf of his colleagues for the support.

The area council chairman assured Wike that they would use the motorcycles for the purposes meant for.

Bennet Igwe, commissioner of police in the FCT, said the motorcycles would be distributed to the outposts in rural areas.

Umar Bakori, a retired navy captain and commandant-general of the Vigilance Group of Nigeria (VGN), said the motorcycles will “improve security in rural communities considerably”.