An audio in which Governor Abdullahi Ganduje and Ibrahim Masari, former vice presidential placeholder candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), discussed the meeting between President-elect Bola Tinubu and Rabiu Kwankwaso, presidential candidate of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), is currently trending.

In a translation by DAILY TRUST, an apparently embittered Ganduje was quoted as saying: “What intelligence told me is that they want his intervention to scuttle the case at the tribunal.” It was unclear whether he was referring to the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT) which is handling petitions filed by Labour Party candidate, Mr. Peter Obi and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, former vice president Atiku Abubakar.

CITY LAWYER recalls that Tinubu and Kwankwaso met for four hours in France where they discussed a wide range of issues, reportedly including the possibility of the NNPP presidential candidate joining the incoming cabinet. The audio of the conversation has generated different reactions across social media.

Ganduje, who expressed how unhappy he was with the development, said Tinubu had considered Kwankwaso as an alternative.

But a statement by the Kano State Commissioner for Information and Internal Affairs, Mallam Muhammad Garba today stated that “the exaggerated publicity on the purported audio clip was the handiwork of paid agents with a view to causing disaffection between the two political gladiators.”

Garba also maintained that the governor and the President-elect have since realised that “this is a mischievous attempt to cause disaffection between them, and would not allow this sound working relationship which has been waxing stronger, particularly at this critical time to be destroyed by some self-centred individuals.”

Below is the complete transcript of the conversation:

Ganduje: Hello

Ibrahim Masari: Your Excellency

Ganduje: How is work and everything? How is Abuja

Masari: Glory be to God, I just came into Abuja

Ganduje: Kano is all over with noise.

Masari: Your Excellency, I told you what is going on, but you denied it. What should I say? I told you what’s happening, but you denied it and expressed surprise over it. How would this be happening, and so on?

Ganduje: Even if I heard it, there is nothing I can do about it. Isn’t it?

Masari: But you can speak to him at that time, you can call him and talk to him.

Ganduje: To tell him what? I can’t do anything since Kwankwaso has become an alternative to us. There is no problem.

Masari: It hasn’t reached that stage. That’s impossible

Ganduje: Because we don’t have government?

Masari: Are you coming on Thursday?

Ganduje: It’s because of him that we lose reelection.

Masari: You should be patient. Even your enemies know that he wasn’t fair to you.

Ganduje: The right thing is that even if he will grant Kwankwaso audience, it should be in our presence. We should be invited. Did you understand? Even if it is symbolically.

Masari: Your Excellency, you should be patient. I wish you safe journey

Ganduje: Everything is in the hands of God

Masari: You’re right

Ganduje: All these calculations

Masari: They are very wrong. Everybody will be scared to work with him

Ganduje: This man did not end well with Jonathan. He gave him work but ended up painting the government as corrupt.

Masari: Yes, you’re right

Ganduje: Because he wasn’t allowed to partake in corruption, it’s not a matter that he was clean.

Masari: What brought the issue of he is clean? The truth of the matter is that they weren’t fair to you. You should just be patient but leave it until you arrive.

We’ve started the discussion, he called me and I told him that Mr. President, you’re wrong. He said, “What have I done again?” He started explaining it to me that it was SLS and Chagaury that led them and so on.. I asked him whether he had spoken to you, and he said no. Is he seeing these things. Leave it until you come, you know this conversation on the phone is unsafe.

I wish you a safe journey. You should just keep mute as you did, maintain your maturity by not speaking on the matter

Ganduje: What intelligence told me is that they want his intervention to scuttle the case at the tribunal

Masari: There is that game plan. It’s not his right. You have that right, Excellency.

Ganduje: He’s not showing interest over the matter.

Masari: Excellency, you should let this matter go, I don’t like these conversations on the phone. Allow it when you come tomorrow or next tomorrow, then we sit down and discuss. If the need arise,s we can call him.

Ganduje: When is he coming back?

Masari: Wallahi, I don’t know, we have spoken, not that good, and I even showed him my anger.

To join our CITY LAWYER ROUNDTABLE on WhatsApp, click here 

To join our Telegram platform, click here 

COPYRIGHT 2022 CITY LAWYER. Please send emails to citylawyermag@gmail.com. Join us on Facebook at https://web.facebook.com/City-Lawyer-Magazine-434937936684320 and on TWITTER at https://twitter.com/CityLawyerMag. To ADVERTISE in CITY LAWYER, please email citylawyermag@gmail.com or call 08138380083.

All materials available on this Website are protected by copyright, trade mark and other proprietary and intellectual property laws. You may not use any of our intellectual property rights without our express written consent or attribution to www.citylawyermag.com. However, you are permitted to print or save to your individual PC, tablet or storage extracts from this Website for your own personal non-commercial use.