By Latiifah Amusan
The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Abdullahi Ganduje, has provided insight into the circumstances surrounding the withdrawal of Maryam Shetty’s nomination as a ministerial candidate.
Recall that Shetty’s nomination was revoked while awaiting her Senate screening last week, leading to her replacement by Dr. Mariya Mahmoud, a former Kano State Commissioner for Higher Education, during Ganduje’s administration.
Speaking in an interview with Freedom Radio, Ganduje revealed that Maryam Shetty’s name had been included in the ministerial list without proper consultation.
He further alleged that her name was “smuggled” into the list, raising questions about the transparency of the selection process.
He said,
“But what happened in this case is that we were not consulted. So we just heard her name on air. Initially, we didn’t complain, taking into consideration that Mr . President has the right to appoint anyone. And as loyalists of the president who understand democracy, we accepted his choice.
“But again, we don’t know her, and since we don’t know her, we can’t vouch for her competency for the job.
“Also, the President’s attention was drawn to the social media reactions that followed her nomination. Sometimes people take action, thinking they won’t be caught. But you will be surprised that all your actions are in the public domain. That’s what happened in this case.
“The reactions became so intense, and people were questioning her competency, and worthiness to represent Kano State.
“These concerns were not raised by Ganduje, but the masses. The president was also shown social media reactions, and he sought my opinion.
“I told him, I don’t know who she is. He asked if there was a need to replace her, and I answered in the affirmative.
“Because these kinds of positions need someone with integrity, the person must also understand the job, and thirdly, what role did the person play in the formation of the government.
“So if you look at these qualities, we were the ones that needed to be consulted for any appointments coming from Kano State.
“Even though I don’t know all the competent people from Kano, at least our advice needs to be sought when people make recommendations, but that didn’t happen in this case.
“So the president allowed us to make a replacement with the emphasis that it must be a woman. After consultation with critical stakeholders, we settled on the new nominee, Dr. Mariya Mahmoud Bunkure. From hearing the name, Bunkure, You know where she hailed from.”
