Deputy Governor Aminu Gwarzo, on Monday, said he and Governor Abba Yusuf were “shocked” to hear National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu’s name “mentioned in the plot to impose a deposed Emir in Kano, knowing his integrity and pedigree.”
Mr Gwarzo said this while addressing journalists at the Government House in Kano on Monday morning.
Mr Gwarzo, in a brief video interview at the emir’s palace in Gidan Rumfa on Saturday, accused Mr Ribadu of arranging the return of the deposed 15th Emir of Kano, Aminu Bayero, to Kano.
The deputy governor acknowledged that he was misled into making the allegation and expressed regrets for any embarrassment or inconvenience caused to the NSA and his office.
”We were shocked to hear the NSA’s name mentioned in the plot to impose a deposed Emir in Kano, knowing his integrity and pedigree. We are human and can err at any time,” the deputy governor said.
Mr Gwarzo added, “On behalf of myself and the Governor of Kano State, I assure the NSA of our continued support and cooperation in discharging his duties.”
The deputy governor called on President Bola Tinubu to conduct a thorough investigation into the happenings in Kano to ensure peace and stability in Kano.
The NSA had threatened to sue Mr Gwarzo for defamation in the ongoing emirship dispute in Kano.
“The National Security Adviser provided two jets to bring the dethroned emir to Kano and to take him to the palace. We have not understood their intention,” Mr Gwarzo had claimed.
After denying the allegation through his spokesperson on Saturday, Mr Ribadu demanded an apology from the Kano deputy governor in a letter by his lawyers, Aliyu and Musa Chambers.
The lawyers emphasised that while the NSA had never been accused of any wrongdoing, he had been inundated with “a barrage of telephone calls both within and outside Nigeria” over the “false accusation.”
(NAN)