Former Kano State Governor, Rabiu Kwankwaso, has accused the Federal Government of excluding Kano State from the recent distribution of rice palliatives, while delivering the relief packages to 36 other states through their governors.
He expressed his disappointment, claiming that Kano’s share was instead allocated to members of the All Progressives Congress (APC), which he described as a clear act of political bias.
Kwankwaso voiced his concerns in a post on the X platform (formerly Twitter) via his handle @KwankwasoRM on Monday, calling on President Bola Tinubu to intervene in what he called a “blatant act of partisanship.”
He stated, “For the last one week, I have been in Kano, and sadly, I noted with great disappointment the Federal Government’s distribution of rice palliatives to 35 states through their Governors, except Kano State. Kano’s share was handed over to APC stalwarts to handle. This is a gross insult to our constitutional democracy and is driving partisanship too far. I call on Mr. President to immediately halt this naked derailment of democracy.”
Kwankwaso’s criticism didn’t stop at the rice palliative distribution. He also raised concerns about the frequent reshuffling of security officials in Kano, particularly within the Department of State Services (DSS).
“I have also noted with great concern that within a span of just two weeks, three different State Directors of DSS were posted and reposted out of Kano, and we are still counting. Without a doubt, this is negatively affecting the security of Kano State,” Kwankwaso said, stressing the impact of the abrupt changes on the state’s stability.
Meanwhile, on Sunday, September 8, Deputy Senate President Senator Barau Jibrin provided clarification on the Federal Government’s palliative distribution strategy.
He explained that President Bola Tinubu was dissatisfied with the previous methods of distributing palliatives, which aimed to ease the hardships facing Nigerians.
According to Jibrin, this dissatisfaction prompted the President to reconstitute a committee tasked with ensuring that future distributions reach the intended recipients more effectively.
Jibrin made these remarks while launching the Federal Government’s palliative distribution for the North West geopolitical zone in Kano, urging citizens to support President Tinubu’s efforts to steer the country toward recovery.
“The President is working round the clock to enunciate policies that will revamp the economy and bring relief to the people. This is not the time to apportion blame but rather a time to rally behind the President as he seeks to fix the country,” Jibrin said.