CSO Petitions Kano Assembly to Probe Ex-Deputy Governor Gwarzo Over Alleged ₦308 Million Diversion

A Kano-based civil society organisation, One Kano Agenda (OKA), has petitioned the Speaker of the Kano State House of Assembly, calling for a legislative investigation into allegations that the former Deputy Governor of Kano State, Comrade Aminu Abdussalam Gwarzo, diverted ₦308 million allegedly earmarked for special prayer programmes across the state.

The petition, signed by the organisation’s Director-General, Ambassador Abbas Abdullahi Yakasai, stated that the request followed allegations made by the Special Adviser to the Kano State Governor on Tsangaya Education, Sheikh Musa Falaki. According to the petition, Falaki alleged that more than ₦300 million released for clerics to conduct special prayer sessions over a seven-month period was diverted.

According to the petition, each of Kano State’s 44 local government councils allegedly contributed funds monthly to finance the prayer programme, which was to be coordinated by Sheikh Musa Falaki and Sheikh Ibrahim Sheshi Maihula. However, the organisation claimed that the clerics later stated they neither received the funds nor conducted the prayer sessions for which the money was reportedly approved.

The petition further alleged that a total of ₦308 million may have been disbursed for the programme without the knowledge or participation of the clerics in whose names it was organised. It also claimed that the matter forms part of a broader investigation into the management of local government funds, with additional sums allegedly involved.

Describing the allegations as a matter of significant public interest, OKA urged the Kano State House of Assembly to exercise its constitutional oversight responsibility by conducting a thorough and independent investigation.

Specifically, the organisation requested the Assembly to investigate the alleged diversion of funds meant for the prayer programme, invite all relevant parties—including former Deputy Governor Aminu Abdussalam Gwarzo, officials of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), Sheikh Musa Falaki, Sheikh Ibrahim Sheshi Maihula, and representatives of the Kano State Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission—to provide clarification on the allegations.

The group also asked the lawmakers to establish the actual amount of public funds involved, determine whether due process was followed in the approval, disbursement and utilisation of the funds, recommend appropriate legal or administrative action where wrongdoing is established, and ensure the recovery of any public funds found to have been misappropriated.

OKA emphasised that its petition was not intended to prejudge any individual or institution but rather to promote transparency, accountability and due process in the management of public resources.

The petition was made public through a statement signed by the organisation’s Publicity Secretary, Munnir Ibrahim.

As of the time of filing this report, former Deputy Governor Aminu Abdussalam Gwarzo had not publicly responded to the allegations contained in the petition. The allegations remain unproven, and no findings have been made by any investigative authority.