Kano State Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje has denied reports that he is no longer on good terms with his predecessor, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso.
In an interview with reporters in Abuja, Ganduje stated that some people keen on achieving their selfish desires were responsible for spreading false reports about the relationship between him and Kwankwaso.
Ganduje, who served as Kwankwaso’s deputy for eight years, however admitted that his strategy of governance in Kano is different from when Kwankwaso was in power due to the present economic condition in the country.
According to him: “Definitely I have good rapport with the former governor. We met 30 years ago and it wasn’t only in governance that we met, we met outside the corridors of power. I was his deputy for eight years. There are two things that are really important, firstly know the role of sycophants; from his side and my side that will like to benefit if we have problems, but we have been talking.
“Secondly no two individuals are the same, even identical twins have differences in their emotions, philosophy, and the way they interrelate with others.
“This is a natural thing. The style may not be the same but the objective may be the same, and to some, a change of style may be a challenge, not agreeing with the former system. But that is not to say we are at loggerheads. I assure you we are together, we are still building what we had before.
“If I criticise him that means I am criticising myself but that doesn’t mean that if I fine-tune what we started, that doesn’t mean the other man was wrong. If I consolidate that doesn’t mean the other man is wrong. The economy has changed, the cost of petrol has dropped and income to the state has dropped drastically. Do you think business as usual can continue? When circumstances change definitely there must be a change in the management of public affairs.”
Continuing, he added: “When we were in government together we had a lot of money and we started a lot of mega projects that couldn’t be completed. We had a lot of debt but having a debt is not a crime because whatever we expended is in public interest and it is my responsibility to complete all the abandoned projects.
“There are some projects abandoned during the administration before Kwankwaso. When I came in, there were two mega hospitals abandoned for over 10 years and now we have started to ensure completion of those projects.”
