‘I’ve never taken kickback in my 44 year of public service’

Former Governor Ibrahim Shekarau of Kano State has declared that for the eight years he served, he never negotiated with any contractor for kickback.The erstwhile Minister of Education under the administration of Goodluck Jonathan also stated that he never withheld local council allocation.

Shekarau made the declaration yesterday in Abuja at a press conference ahead of the 70th-anniversary celebration of the Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria (MSSN) to be held on October 12.

The ex-governor, who is the chairman of the organising committee for the event, reiterated that he never accepted kickbacks during his eight-year governorship and 44 years of public service, citing the moral teachings he got from the MSSN.

Shekarau, who was governor from 2003 to 2011, challenged any contractor who worked with the state government during his tenure to come forward with contrary evidence.

He said: “In 1980, I was school principal for 13 years. I became a general director of education, supervising over 20 schools. I became a director at the headquarters in charge of Planning, Research and Statistics. I was a Permanent Secretary of Education, Permanent Secretary of Water Resources, Permanent Secretary of the State Civil Service Commission, and Permanent Secretary in the Cabinet Office for seven years before I became a governor.

“So in these 44 years, I am bold to say that I’ve never negotiated with any contractor. As a school principal in the 1980s, we were buying almost everything in our schools -from textbooks, exercise books, beds to mattresses -but we always insisted on quality value for our money.

“I have never negotiated any percentage with any contractor. I always challenge them back home. If any contractor that worked with me in the last 44 years knows that I’ve asked him for a percentage, or you have brought any money, let him come out to say it.”

He added that none of his commissioners has ever brought any money to him in the name of kickback from a contractor, adding that he also did not withhold local government allocation or collect a dime from a council chairman.