The Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Alhaji Umar Farouk Ibrahim has dismissed allegations of a N1.8 billion fund mismanagement by the immediate past Head of Service, Abdullahi Musa describing the claims as misinformation.

The clarification follows a directive issued by Governor Alhaji Abba Kabir Yusuf during the May Day celebrations, instructing the SSG to investigate the matter and uncover the facts.

A statement issued by Governor’s Chief Press Secretary Mustapha Muhammad on Saturday revealed that during the Workers Day, Chairman of Nigeria Labour Congress Kano State, Comrade Kabiru Inuwa alleged that immediate past Head of Service had mismanaged state funds.

According to the release, Alhaji Ibrahim made this known during a Dinner and Award Night organised by the State Government in collaboration with the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) at the Government House, Kano on Saturday.

The SSG explained that the N1.8 billion in question was not mismanaged by government officials, but was instead identified as excessive charges deducted from civil servants’ salaries by loan vendors.

Upon the Governor’s directive, the SSG’s office engaged professional auditing firm to scrutinize the state’s payroll system and the accounts of the affected civil servants for the period under review.

Alhaji Ibrahim confirmed that the loan scheme was temporarily suspended to allow for this thorough investigation.

He said the audit revealed that several loan vendors had been charging workers rates far above their original contractual agreements.

Alhaji Ibrahim disclosed that the private auditing firm found that vendors had illegally accrued over N1.8 billion from civil servants through these overcharges.

The SSG revealed that based on these findings, the State Government has officially directed the loan vendors to return the N1.8 billion and it would be shared among the affected civil servants accordingly..

Former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has announced his departure from the African Democratic Congress, citing worsening internal crises within the party and broader national challenges.

In a statement shared on Sunday on X, Obi said his decision followed deep personal reflection and “silent pains” he had been carrying while navigating Nigeria’s political environment.

He described the country’s system as increasingly toxic, saying it had become marked by intimidation, insecurity, suspicion, and discouragement, which he argued often undermines sincere public service.

“We now live in an environment that has become increasingly toxic, where the system that should protect and create opportunities often works against the people,” he said.

Obi also said he had been subjected to unfair criticism and internal pressure within political spaces he previously joined in search of solidarity and reform-minded leadership.

“Some who publicly identify with you privately distance themselves or join in unfair criticism,” he stated, adding that humility is often misinterpreted as weakness in Nigeria’s political culture.

He clarified that his departure from the ADC was not due to personal issues with the party leadership, including former Senate President David Mark or former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, both of whom he said he continues to respect.

According to him, his decision was driven by what he described as the infiltration of unresolved political conflicts and recurring legal and internal disputes that have distracted the party from national issues.

“Let me state clearly: my decision to leave the ADC is not because our highly respected Chairman, Senator David Mark, treated me badly, nor because my leader and elder brother, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, or any other respected leaders did anything personally wrong to me. I will continue to respect them.

“However, the same Nigerian state and its agents that created unnecessary crises and hostility within the Labour Party that forced me to leave now appear to be finding their way into the ADC, with endless court cases, internal battles, suspicion, and division, instead of focusing on deeper national problems and playing politics built more on control and exclusion than on service and nation-building,” he said.

Obi said he has no personal desperation for political office, stressing that his focus remains on national welfare rather than positions.

“I am not desperate to be President, Vice President or Senate President. I am desperate to see a Nigeria where people can live in dignity, without hunger, fear, or displacement,” he said.

Despite leaving the party, Obi reaffirmed his belief in a better Nigeria, insisting that competent and compassionate leadership remains possible.

“A new Nigeria is possible,” he declared.

By Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa

Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso has categorically denied that any final decision has been made regarding his political future, even as a close ally told reporters that he and fellow opposition leader Peter Obi plan to defect from the African Democratic Congress (ADC) on Monday.

In a statement issued in the late hours of Saturday, the former governor and 2023 presidential candidate acknowledged “wide-ranging consultations” with leaders from the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), and others to explore options for protecting their democratic interests.

The clarification comes after Buba Galadima, a key Kwankwaso ally, disclosed to newsmen on Saturday, May 2, 2026, that both Kwankwaso and Obi would leave the ADC for a new political platform on Monday.

Kwankwaso cited multiple legal challenges facing the ADC, including a recent Federal High Court ruling that “delegitimised the party’s recent convention” and an application by the Attorney General of the Federation to deregister the party.

“We left the NNPP due to externally influenced legal problems that made our stay perilous,” Kwankwaso said. “The ADC has now been also forced into this difficulty.”

Regarding presidential ambitions, Kwankwaso noted that the ADC has yet to zone its presidential ticket or take any decision on a candidate. “I have therefore neither declared any intention to run for president nor endorsed any aspirant,” he stated.

His absence from two recent ADC stakeholders’ meetings, he said, was due to “unavoidable personal commitments” for which he had apologised to party leadership.

A definitive position on his political direction will be announced “in the soonest possible time,” he added.