Tukur Muntari
16 June 2021
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KANO State Governor Abdullahi Ganduje has blamed the nonchalant attitude of some of his fellow northern state governors for the influx of Almajiri children into the state.
Ganduje said this in an interview with journalists as part of activities to commemorate Democracy Day, at the Government House, Kano.
He explained that while his administration was doing its best to control the situation, he was being frustrated by the nonchalance of some of his colleagues.
The governor said, “Unfortunately, most of the northern governors have not enacted any legislation on the Almajiri issue, which is actually causing a lot of setbacks in actualizing our dreams of addressing the challenge.”
He said Kano’s position as the commercial hub of the north, was attracting this and other categories of persons from across the region as well as neighbouring countries on a daily basis.
Ganduje also used the occasion to dispel claims that he inherited N9 billion pension and gratuity funds from the Ibrahim Shekarau-led administration.
According to him, rather than a surplus, he inherited liabilities of N4 billion unpaid pension and gratuity funds left by the administration of his immediate predecessor, Rabiu Kwankwaso.
Ganduje said, “I met an arrangement with pensioners’ money being used to build houses at Kwankwasiyya and Amana Cities.
“Because of this problem today, we cannot settle the liabilities incurred from the housing scheme, nor can we settle pension and gratuity because of the financial difficulties we found ourselves in.”