Members of the National Assembly from Kano State, including Senator Barau Jibril, representing Kano North senatorial district, House of Representatives member, Hon. Shaaban Sharada and others were conspicuously absent during Saturday’s concluded local government election in Kano State.
Reports had it that both Senator Jibrin and House of Representatives members, Sha’aban Ibrahim Sharada of Kano municipal constituency and Abdulkadir Jobe, representing Dawakin Tofa/Tofa, shunned the election over an alleged misunderstanding with Governor Umar Abdullahi Ganduje, who was said to be against their reelection bids.
It will be recalled that the Kano State Independent Electoral Commission, KANSIEC had organized the local government election across the 44 local councils in the state on Saturday, January 16.
However, Barau and other National Assembly members were conspicuously absent throughout the day in what appeared to be a protest against the selection of those contesting in their local government areas. Reports indicated that the senator was in Abuja during the election, a situation that cast doubts in the minds of people on whether he was on good terms with the governor, or not.
Barau, who hails from the same local government with Ganduje, appeared to be recently distancing himself from the governor and the state on realizing that the governor might after all not going to be supporting his gubernatorial ambition in 2023. One of the close associates of the senator, who did not want his name in print, said he was in Abuja while the election was going on in Kano.
Asked why Barau failed to show up during the election, which received the attention of Governor Ganduje, the associate said he did not know of any reason. “I can’t tell you the reason why Senator Barau Jibrin Maliya failed to come to Kano. He was supposed to be here to even monitor the election in his local government, Dawakin Tofa.
“I didn’t speak with him yesterday, but I thought he would be here with the governor, especially as he is from the same local government as Governor Ganduje,” he said.
Meanwhile, Sharada and Jobe were not in Kano and had failed to contribute to the just-concluded election in the state. This may not be unconnected with the fact that the two were at loggerheads with Governor Ganduje.
Recently, a video clip went viral on social media, purportedly showing Sharada lambasting the Ganduje administration, accusing the government of selling public properties.
Also, Jobe, who is representing Tofa/Dawakin Tofa Federal Constituency, was said not to be on good terms with Governor Ganduje, who hails from the same constituency as him.
