2023 Election: Shekarau Breaks Silence On His Meeting With Ganduje

Former Governor of Kano State, Ibrahim Shekarau, has disclosed what transpired between him and incumbent Governor Abdullahi Ganduje last Friday.

CityNews Nigeria reports that the duo took many by surprise last week after there were seen together after attending the funeral prayer for the late influential contractor, Alhaji Sani Dahiru Yakasai (SDY), at Kano Emir’s palace.

Ganduje and Shekaru are both political rivals. However, Ganduje, the incumbent Governor of Kano State, followed his predecessor to his residence after the burial event of the renowned businessman who died on Thursday night.

Speaking on the development which had set the tongues wagging over the weekend, Shekaru during an interview with Radio France International (rfi), said his meeting with Ganduje was apolitical.

There were speculations that the unexpected rapport between the duo was political. Also, many had suggested that Shekarau might direct his followers to vote for the All Progressive Congress (APC) gubernatorial candidate, Nasir Gawuna, in the coming Saturday’s poll.

Giving clarification, however, during the meeting, Shekarau, who is a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and one of the directors of the party’s Presidential Campaign Council in the just concluded election, insisted that there is cordial relation between himself and other leaders of the state, adding that he often meets with many leaders, including Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso of the New Nigerian People Party (NNPP).

The Senator representing Kano Central said: “Honestly, we met because of the death of our common friend, Alhaji Sani Dahiru Yakasai. We met at the funeral prayer held at the Emir’s palace. Immediately after the prayers, we moved to the graveyard together in his own car. After burying the corpse, the governor held my hand and said he must finish what he has started, that is, to take me back to my house.

“So I thanked him, and we moved together to my house. There is nothing like politics here. It was just an accident. We don’t have any serious grudges; we respect each other. Just like Kwankwaso, we often meet at airports and we greet and laugh at each other.”

Commenting on whether he met Governor Ganduje behind closed doors, Shekarau said, “Oh do you want us to leave the door open while discussing? We didn’t discuss anything political. We were just discussing the death of this man and how our lives should be.”

He said his door was open for discussion with anybody that came to him, adding that he would never close his door to any politician who came around to discuss issues of the progress of the state.