Sokoto Speaker sworn-in as acting governor

The Speaker was sworn in at the state Government House Chamber by the state’s Chief Judge, Justice Aisha Dahiru, around 9.26 am yesterday. He took the oath in the presence of hundreds of PDP chieftains and top government functionaries in the state.   Speaking after taking the oath of office, the acting governor called on […]

The Speaker was sworn in at the state Government House Chamber by the state’s Chief Judge, Justice Aisha Dahiru, around 9.26 am yesterday. He took the oath in the presence of hundreds of PDP chieftains and top government functionaries in the state.

 

Speaking after taking the oath of office, the acting governor called on the people of the state to continue to go about their normal and lawful activities.

“I appeal to the entire good people of Sokoto state to continue to imbibe the virtues of peace for which we are all known for. We should not allow unpatriotic elements to plant seeds of discords and acrimony. We should join hands together to promote peace and unity of our dear state in whatever capacity we find ourselves,” he said.

The acting governor, while pledging to be fair to all, irrespective of party differences, said “we should not forget that we are members of the same family, bound by common destiny, whose ultimate aim is the development of our dear state.

“While assuring our people of our commitment to a lasting peace, I look forward to a successful outing for Alhaji Aliyu Wamako and his eventual return as the Executive Governor of Sokoto state and indeed for the continuation of his laudable and people oriented programme,” he said.

The swearing in of the speaker as the acting governor doused down the confusion that enveloped the state following the judgement of the Supreme Court on Friday.

Meanwhile, the campaign organization of Alhaji Yusuf Suleiman, one of the candidates who contested the PDP primary for Sokoto State governorship election with  ousted Governor Aliyu Wamakko  yesterday alleged that shortly after the Supreme Court judgment, some files were moved from ministries to a private house at Gawon Nama  area of the state by loyalists of the ousted governor.

A release by Yusuf Suleiman gubernatorial campaign organization, which was signed by its Director General, Ambassador Abdullahi Ladan Shuni, alleged that “shortly after the Supreme Court judgment on the tenure of some state governors, our attention were called to strange movement of files from various ministries in Sokoto State to a private house.  A number of documents were outrightly burnt, while others were replaced from the files.”

The release stated that by it was strongly suspected that the documents destroyed were related to curious financial transactions.  It alleged that in the last three months, a total of N14.6 billion had been withdrawn from some accounts in Sokoto State.

However, the state’s Commissioner for Finance, Alhaji Farouk Malami Yabo told our reporter in a interview last night that the ousted governor did not sign any cheque after the Supreme Court judgment was delivered. .

Reacting to the opposition’s press release, the finance commissioner described it as untrue and that it was the handiwork of mischief makers who were hell-bent on dragging the reputation of Wamakko in the mud.

“It is not true that Governor Wamakko signed cheques yesterday. In Sokoto State, we don’t issue cheques. What we used in paying money is payment mandate and the governor is not even a signatory to it. Nobody moved out files from my office on Friday after the Supreme Court judgment. We were all busy to see that the vacuum created by the judgment was filled,” he said in a telephone interview with our correspondent.

There were also reports yesterday that the Ministry of Finance was torched. When our correspondent visited the place at about 4.pm, two elderly security men were seen at the entrance.  Contrary to the rumour that official set the place on fire after removing vital document, there was no sign of fire outbreak at secretariat.

Contacted on phone, the spokesperson of the Sokoto State police command, ASP Elmustapha Sani said he did not receive any report that the state’s Ministry of Finance was set ablaze by officials.