By Ibrahim Shuaibu
Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, has said the repatriation of Almajiris to their states of origin was a collective decision of the Northern Governors’ Forum.
Ganduje explained: “But we are not making politics out of it, because we all believe that what they need mostly now is not noise making or publicity. What they need at this critical point in time is, care giving.
“We agreed at the Forum that all Almajiris should be moved to their states of origin. That is why we are sending, in good faith and procedures, all Almajiris that are not from Kano State to their respective states of origin.”
Speaking at the weekend at the state Task Force on COVID-19 media briefing held at the Government House in Kano, he pointed out that the exercise was not political and should not be politicised.
“The way we are sending back the Almajiris to their states of origin, that’s how we are also receiving Almajiris from other states who are Kano indigenes. But the fact that we are not making noise about it does not mean they are all healthy without COVID-19 infections.”
While making it categorically clear that some of the Almajiris brought to Kano during the exercise are also COVID-19 positive, the governor said: “People should also understand that these children were not infected in the process of transporting them to their respective states.
“So noise making should not be the way forward. All we are doing is simply to comply with the Northern Governors’ Forum decision that all Almajiris in our states should be taken back to their respective states, simple.”
