‘I will contest for office in 2023,’ AGF Abubakar Malami declares
Nigeria’s Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, has declared interest in the Kebbi State governorship race.
Malami’s declaration was captured in a video posted by Arise TV on Tuesday.
“If God in his mercies permits, and all goes well, I will as a politician contest the governorship of Kebbi State. I am seeking your support,” Malami said.
Stressing that he has a sterling record of being loyal, the Chief Law Officer of the nation solicited the support of Kebbi residents to realise his governorship ambition.
“I want to announce that I will contest indeed, and as such, I am counting on your prayers and support so that we can all work and survive the race together,” he added.
“I have no history of betrayal, and I won’t betray you, people. I will work for you.”
In 2020, a series of detailed investigations carried out by Sahara Reporters showed that Malami had acquired several properties whose value run into many billions of naira since being appointed into the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari as Nigeria’s chief law officer.
For example, the AGF has an underground hotel in Sokoto, three houses at Peace Estate, Abuja, a brand-new state of the art school in Kebbi, two houses for his sons worth N100m each and a new hotel under construction in the Jabi area of Abuja.
Malami also bought a house this year worth N150m in the Gwarimpa area of Abuja.
The newly constructed school is located at the back of NITEL in Gesse Phase 1, Birnin Kebbi, while a new house worth N600m on Ahmadu Bello Way, Nasarawa GRA, Kano, are among properties acquired by Malami since he became a minister under President Buhari.
The houses he built for his sons in Kebbi are 200 meters apart in a posh part of the city.
That is not all. Malami also built a N3 billion multipurpose event centre in Kebbi State named Azbir Arena for his son in Kebbi.
The facility is said to be an entertainment centre with a plaza and a kids’ playing section and an ongoing hotel all in one place.
This is apart from Rayhaan Hotel located on Zaria Road, opposite Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, which the AGF massively upgraded using proceeds of corruption.
Since Sahara Reporters published a series of detailed reports exposing these illicit acquisitions, the online news medium has been a target for the AGF’s camp.
Apart from falsely claiming to have sued Sahara Reporters over the expository reports he said had damaged his reputation before the world, Malami also issued a petition to the former Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, on the issue to arrest the publisher of the online newspaper, Omoyele Sowore.
Despite the open display of unexplained wealth by the AGF and members of his family, President Buhari, who rode to power in 2015 on the back of a promise to crush corruption, especially in the government circle, has yet to offer any statement on the development.
Observers say Buhari’s silence is an endorsement of the atrocities of one of his most trusted lieutenants, Malami.
