Kano anti-corruption agency slams fresh charges against Ganduje

The Kano State Anti-Corruption and Public Complaints Commission has filed a fresh corruption charges against former Governor of Kano Abdullahi Ganduje.

The commission’s chairman, Muhuyi Magaji disclosed this in an interview on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme on Tuesday.

According to Magaji, investigations uncovered the diversion of N51.3 billion from local government funds to unauthorized individuals during Ganduje’s tenure.

Magaji alleged that the Ganduje administration withdrew N1 billion monthly from state coffers before its tenure ended in May 2023, purportedly for road renovation, but diverted to Bureau de Change operators instead.

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He also cited a case involving N4 billion transferred to an agricultural company from Kano’s consolidated revenue account.

“What is happening now is a tip of the iceberg. As I am talking to you, we are investigating a case whereby N51.3bn local government funds were directly taken from the government coffers (and) sent to other individuals, and we traced it to people.

“We have filed a series of cases. We have a case whereby N1bn 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 and sent to Bureau de Change.

“We have a case of N4bn whereby it was sent from the consolidated revenue account of Kano State to an agricultural company. All these cases are before the court,” he said.

Recall that the state government has said it will arraign Ganduje, alongside his wife and son, for money laundering, later this week.

Kano anti-corruption agency slams fresh charges against Ganduje

Ooni of Ife dismisses agitators of Yoruba nation

The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, on Tuesday, urged Nigerians to ignore the Yoruba nation agitators, who invaded the Oyo State government secretariat last week, describing them as attention seekers.

Jubilation as FG begins disbursement of N200bn palliative loans

The Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment says it has begun disbursement of the Presidential Conditional Grant Scheme to verified applicants after an exhaustive selection process.

The government, through the Bank of Industry, had said it would be disbursing three categories of funding totalling N200bn to support manufacturers and businesses across the country.

In a progress report posted on the trade minister’s official X (formerly Twitter) handle on Tuesday, Doris Aniete stated that an unspecified number of beneficiaries have received their grants, adding that by Friday, April 19, another significant disbursement will be made to a substantial number of verified applicants.

She said, “We are pleased to inform you that the disbursement process for the Presidential Conditional Grant Programme has officially commenced. Some beneficiaries have already received their grants, marking the beginning of our phased disbursement strategy.”

“By Friday, 19th April 2024, a significant disbursement will be made to a substantial number of verified applicants. It is essential to understand that disbursements are ongoing, and not all applicants will receive their grants on this initial date. However, rest assured that all verified applicants will eventually receive their grants in subsequent phases.”

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This is coming more than eight months after President Bola Tinubu announced the grant for manufacturers and small businesses and two weeks after applicants were directed to submit their National Identification Numbers as part of the requirements to obtain the grant earmarked to cushion the effect that recent economic reforms have had on businesses in the country.

In the address, the president said he was determined to strengthen the manufacturing sector, increase its capacity to expand, and create good-paying jobs.

“We are going to spend N75bn between July 2023 and March 2024. Our objective is to fund 75 enterprises with great potential to kick-start sustainable economic growth, accelerate structural transformation, and improve productivity.

‘’Each of the 75 manufacturing enterprises will be able to access N1bn credit at 9 per cent per annum with a maximum of 60 months repayment for long-term loans and 12 months for working capital,” Tinubu said.

The programme, riddled with multiple delays and a complex registration process, had received several criticisms from prospective beneficiaries.

The President of the Association of Small Business Owners, Femi Egbesola, had decried the slow pace of data collation by the supervising agencies, alleging that genuine businesses were being deliberately discouraged from accessing the loans.

Jubilation as FG begins disbursement of N200bn palliative loans