With the recent Economic and Financial Crimes Commission [EFCC] visit to the Kano State legislators against what many political observers believe was a politically motivated witch hunt, the presidency has begun its readjustments towards its approach to the political imbroglio unfolding at the Kano political theater. Information available to 247ureports.com obtained through sources close to the activities at the Abuja power corridors indicate that the presidency has opted to go after the political upheaval in Kano in a different manner. As gathered, the presidency has decided to go after the personal business interests of the governor of Kano, Malam Kwankwaso.
Available information reveals that the recent sweep of the Kano lawmakers did not yield expected political dividends – particularly with the political backlash that followed the surprise arrests. A source who told 247ureports.com that the arrest of the Kano legislators was targeted to achieve a pre-determined objective.
The objective was for the lawmakers to begin impeachment moves against the governor. But the lawmakers were said to not be as easily forthcoming or cooperative with the EFCC’s move to harass them into accepting a move against Kwankwaso.
The governor of Kano State is reported to own a healthy amount of landed properties inside the federal capital territory dating from his days before he became the federal minister of defense during the Obasanjo regime. He is said to have amassed impressive eye-popping real estate in Abuja and in many parts of northern Nigeria. And the associates of the President are said to be aware of the landed properties – and has decided to go after them. Our source indicates that the president’s men who had publicly acknowledged being aware that some of the properties may have been acquired legitimately – remain steel-faced at revoking the ownership of the said properties. “He can go to court”, said the source who continued to add that the minister of the federal capital territory had acted in October 2013 to revoke some of the properties belonging to Kwankwaso located in Abuja.
The presidency, according to a competent source, has traced a commercial property located in Gwarimpa district of Abuja to Governor Kwankwaso. The property was reported to have been purchased by Kwankwaso for use to build a university. The vast space of yet to be developed land, the source says, may be revoked as the political mechanizations of 2015 ripen. The source pointed to one of President Jonathan advisers as one of disciples determined to revoke the said properties – and render Kwankwaso political handicapped. “If the aide gets his way, Kwankwaso is finished”, the source cautioned as he added that Kwankwaso appears the major political concern within the northern region for the Jonathan presidency beyond 2015.
In addition, the Jonathan presidency, according to the source, intends to exploit the latent divide within the APC in Kano between the Shekarau led APC and the Buhari/Kwankwaso led APC. Both groups have been at loggerheads over the control of the APC party – Shekarau had joined the APC through the All Nigerian Peoples Party [ANPP] as the leader of the party while Kwankwaso joined the APC as a defector from the PDP. Buhari had fought with Shekarau for the leadership of the ANPP and failed before abandoning the ANPP for the Congress for Progressive Change [CPC].
The president’s men are said to be more comfortable with the emergence of Shekarau as the leader of the APC in northern Nigeria rather than the Buhari/Kwankwaso duo – who are considered too combative to the Jonathan led administration. An aide to the President who sources point to as the principal person hell-bent at stopping the Kwankwaso political machinery against 2015 – is said to have initiated moves to reach out to the Shekarau camp of the APC to aide subdue the Buhari/Kwankwaso emergence.
It can be recalled the Kano State governor recently defected from the ruling party, the PDP, for the new opposition party, the APC. His defection gave the APC the required lift it needed to pose a significant threat to the ruling party.
