The Kano State Government is opening a seeming can of worms on the sale of a state-owned cotton factory located at Challawa Industrial area to a privately owned company linked to the family of former governor, Alhaji Umar Ganduje.
The report by an online news platform Daily Nigerian, disclosed that Mr Ganduje sold, the property, valued at about N750 million at a much discounted rate of N320 million and failed to remit the proceeds to government accounts.
The property was reportedly sold to Lesage General Enterprise Ltd, a company wholly owned and maintained by Mr Ganduje’s immediate family the newspaper reported, citing court documents.
Recently, Mr. Ganduje, the national chairman of the ruling APC, along with his wife, son, and five other individuals, faced legal action from the Kano state Government.
The allegations labeled against them include official corruption, conspiracy, and criminal breach of trust, among others.
READ ALSO: Kano government charges Ganduje, wife, and associates with bribery
The charge sheet and accompanying exhibits accused Mr Ganduje of short-changing the state and robbing it of the property valued at N750 million but sold at a discounted rate of N320 million.
All the four directors and the company secretary are Mr Ganduje’s children, according to the report.
The prosecution also relied on a letter from the Kano Investment Company dated September 29, 2017 in which Mr Ganduje approved the sale of the property to his family’s company without disclosure or recurse to due process.
Daily Nigerian, citing an inside source reports that even the estimated value of N750 million settled at by the prosecution was the amount claimed by a former managing director of a state-owned company managing the properties and investments of the state, Jibrilla Muhammed.
Mr Muhammed is the 5th defendant in the case.
The source disclosed that the actual value the property was between N1.5billion and N2billion.
The Kano State Government claimed that Mr Ganduje’s action contravened the provision of Section 311 read together with Section 79, and punishable under Section 315 of the Penal Code as amended.
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