Leaked audio: Tinubu, Ganduje, Masari enemies at work, says Kano govt
By Emma Ogbuehi
The Kano State Government has described as mischievous, attempts by social media and online publications in the country to lift a story from a phone conversation between Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje and Ibrahim Kabiru Masari.
The government blamed political opponents of Tinubu, Ganduje and Masari for the publicity behind the audio leakage.
In the conversation, Ganduje was heard complaining to Masari, the man who stood as vice presidential placeholder for the All Progressives Congress (APC) before Kashim Shettima was finally chosen, that the meeting between the President-elect, Bola Tinubu, and presidential candidate of the New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP), Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, his political rival, was a betrayal.
Ganduje, one of the forceful supporters of Tinubu, felt he was left in the cold after Tinubu met Kwankwaso, his political foe, to discuss possible alliance ahead of the formation of a new government on May 29.
The meeting which lasted for four hours in France centred among other things on the possibility of the NNPP Presidential Candidate joining the incoming cabinet.
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In leaked audio, Ganduje protests Tinubu’s alliance with Kwankwaso
But a statement by the Kano State Commissioner for Information and Internal Affairs, Mallam Muhammad Garba, on Saturday, stated that “the exaggerated publicity on the purported audio clip was the handiwork of paid agents with a view to causing disaffection between the two political gladiators.”
He explained that from all indications, some people who are not comfortable with the long cordiality between Tinubu, Ganduje and Masari “are bent on exploiting the situation to their advantage.”
Garba also maintained that the governor and the President-elect have since realised that “this is a mischievous attempt to cause disaffection between them, and would not allow this sound working relationship which has been waxing stronger, particularly at this critical time to be destroyed by some self-centred individuals.”
The Commissioner called on members of the All Progressives Congress and the public to disregard such attempts and remain calm and loyal to the party to ensure the successful inauguration of the President-elect.
Below is the complete transcript of the conversation as reported by Daily Trust newspaper:
Ganduje: Hello
Masari: Your Excellency
Ganduje: How is work and everything? How is Abuja?
Masari: Glory be to God, I just came into Abuja
Ganduje: Kano is all over with noise.
Masari: Your Excellency, I told you what is going on, but you denied it. What should I say? I told you what’s happening, but you denied it and expressed surprise over it. How would this be happening, and so on?
Ganduje: Even if I heard it, there is nothing I can do about it. Isn’t it?
Masari: But you can speak to him at that time, you can call him and talk to him.
Ganduje: To tell him what? I can’t do anything since Kwankwaso has become an alternative to us. There is no problem.
Masari: It hasn’t reached that stage. That’s impossible
Ganduje: Because we don’t have government?
Masari: Are you coming on Thursday?
Ganduje: It’s because of him that we lost reelection.
Masari: You should be patient. Even your enemies know that he wasn’t fair to you.
Ganduje: The right thing is that even if he will grant Kwankwaso audience, it should be in our presence. We should be invited. Did you understand? Even if it is symbolically.
Masari: Your Excellency, you should be patient. I wish you safe journey
Ganduje: Everything is in the hands of God
Masari: You’re right
Ganduje: All these calculations
Masari: They are very wrong. Everybody will be scared to work with him
Ganduje: This man did not end well with Jonathan. He gave him work but ended up painting the government as corrupt.
Masari: Yes, you’re right
Ganduje: Because he wasn’t allowed to partake in corruption, it’s not a matter that he was clean.
Masari: What brought the issue of he is clean? The truth of the matter is that they weren’t fair to you. You should just be patient but leave it until you arrive.
We’ve started the discussion, he called me and I told him that Mr. President, you’re wrong. He said, “What have I done again?” He started explaining it to me that it was SLS and Chagaury that led them and so on. I asked him whether he had spoken to you, and he said no. Is he seeing these things? Leave it until you come, you know this conversation on the phone is unsafe.
I wish you a safe journey. You should just keep mute as you did, maintain your maturity by not speaking on the matter.
Ganduje: What intelligence told me is that they want his intervention to scuttle the case at the tribunal.
Masari: There is that game plan. It’s not his right. You have that right, Excellency.
Ganduje: He’s not showing interest over the matter.
Masari: Excellency, you should let this matter go, I don’t like these conversations on the phone. Allow it when you come tomorrow or next tomorrow, then we sit down and discuss. If the need arises we can call him.
Ganduje: When is he coming back?
Masari: Wallahi, I don’t know, we have spoken, not that good, and I even showed him my anger.