FROM JULIANA TAIWO-OBALONYE, ABUJA
GOVERNOR Abdullahi Umar Ganduje of Kano State has said he and his predecessor Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso are political brothers who were working hard to end their differences for the good of the state.
The governor who said he was in the State House to brief President Muhammadu Buhari on a number of issues affecting the state including security, cattle rustling, agriculture among others, noted that Kano recorded 100 per cent vote for the All Progressives Congress (APC) during the last presidential elections, hence they will do all to maintain peace in the state.
Both Ganduje and Kwankwaso, it will be recalled had taken their political rivalry to another dimension with the former threatening to expose the latter.
The duo have been at loggerheads, with Kwankwaso being accused of inciting violence at the burial of Ganduje’s mother, in the presence of members of the APC. Ganduje, who served as deputy governor under Kwankwaso for eight years, had threatened to expose illicit deals carried out by his former boss.
The Governor who assured that he will continue to wear the red cap made popular by his former boss when asked to speak on the row between him and Kwankwaso said, “ The situation is under control, it is an in-house problem which is under control. We are talking about it.
“Yes, reconciliation is ongoing and it will work. We have been together for long, we are politically brothers and friends. Therefore, we will make sure that we don’t allow things to continue to fall apart.
“Kano is the most populous state in the country. Kano was the one that provided the highest number of votes for the President. Kano is the state that has 100 percent APC in which ever elected posts you can think of. We shall put heads together to make sure that there is peace and stability in the state”.
On his discussion with the President, Ganduje said, “ I briefed the President about the security situation in Kano, in particular cattle rustling and kidnapping which is under control. We talked about the amnesty package extended to those that have decided to be born again and the empowerment programme for them and how we are helping the police in order to arrest the situation.
“We talked about irrigation, especially the production of wheat with dry farming. Now, we are getting ready for the production of rice. So Kano State is providing an enabling environment for farmers, cutting off the middlemen, the farmers are getting the best out of it”.