Zulyadaini Karaye, the Senior Special Assistant to Kano State governor on Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs, has faulted President Muhammadu Buhari’s comments on the governor, saying the remarks were unstatesmanlike.
In a radio interview at the weekend, Mr Karaye said the president’s critique of Mr Ganduje’s bribe-taking videos was unbecoming of a leader.
“What President Muhammadu Buhari said was unstatesmanlike, unbecoming of a leader of his age. I am ashamed of his action.
“His comment on Ganduje is corruption too. The videos are mere allegations, and they’re being investigated. The president should have waited for the outcome of the investigation not arriving at a conclusion based on hearsay.
“With this, I believe the president is not a leader who can protect the image of his country and its people,” he added.
He also said the president was not fair to Mr Ganduje despite his loyalty to the president, just as he criticised the president for abandoning Kano people.
On November 12 in Paris, the president broke his silence on the videos, saying action would be taken on the matter.
The president’s response on the Ganduje videos followed a remark by a Kano student in France, who lauded the achievements of the governor, especially on scholarship, and advised federal government to emulate the governor.
But the president snapped, asking the student if he had watched the governor’s videos receiving bribe in dollars.
“That aside, haven’t you watched the videos of the governor stuffing dollars under his gown?” one of the participants quoted the president as asking rhetorically while demonstrating how the governor was stuffing the bundles of dollars under his babbarriga.
“We gave the videos to security agencies for vetting. And we will surely take action on the matter if he is found guilty.”
But the president’s response did not go down well with a member representing Nassarawa Constituency, Nassir Ali-Ahmed and personal assistant to the president on Broadcast Media, Sha’aban Sharada, who pleaded with journalists to remove the portion where the president made remark on the governor.
