Kwankwaso made this statement after appearing before the State Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission (PCACC) on Thursday, accompanied by his legal team.
According to Daily Trust, the PCACC had summoned Musa Garba Kwankwaso, Managing Director of Novomed Pharmaceuticals, regarding an alleged multi-million naira drug supply contract scam.
A letter signed by CSP Salisu Saleh, the commission’s head of operations, on behalf of the chairman, stated that the commission is investigating potential violations of Sections 31 and 33 of the Public Procurement Law and Financial Management Law. These violations pertain to contracts awarded by the Ministry for Local Governments in Kano State to Novomed Pharmaceuticals for the supply of drugs to 44 local government councils.
The investigation centers around a N440 million drug contract.
The anti-corruption agency has secured a post-no-debit order on Novomed Pharmaceuticals’ account, freezing over N160 million while attempting to recover the remaining amount.
Speaking, the counsel to Kwankwaso, Barrister Okechukwu Nwaeze, said, “Three agencies are investigating one person for the same offenses. The ICPC , EFCC and the PCACC have extended an invitation on the same issue, I don’t think that is allowed under our constitution. How many times will we do so, will we do three times. So somebody else can wake up tomorrow and say we have to come and invite us and we still go.
on on the same issue, I don’t think that is allowed under our constitution. How many times will we do so, will we do three times. So somebody else can wake up tomorrow and say we have to come and invite us and we still go.
“We want the court to make pronouncement, the court has already pronounced on this matter. We are going to stand on this pronouncement and ask for another pronouncement on this particular issue.
“We are taking decisions, we are evaluating everything but three agencies cannot investigate one offense and we are going to challenge that in the Court.”
It was reported that the issue came to the fore when a US-based Kano indigene filmmaker and content creator, Bello Galadanchi released an expose that the caretaker chairmen were directed to remit N10 million each to the account of Novomed Pharmaceuticals, a company reportedly owned by Musa Garba Kwankwaso.
The state’s Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission (PCACC) has flagged the remittance as “fraudulent”, leading to the interrogation of several officials, including Mohammed Kabara, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs; Abdullahi Bashir, chairman of the state branch of the Association for Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON); and other officials of the Ministry of Local Government.
They were questioned on Tuesday and Wednesday and subsequently granted administrative bail.
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