Hassan Danbaba, a businessman and grandson of late Premier of Northern Nigeria, Ahmadu Bello, has accused Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar of plotting to jail him over chieftaincy tussle that led to exit of the former from the Sultanate Council.
In a statement he signed and circulated to journalists in Abuja on Monday, Mr. Danbaba insisted that he voluntarily left his position, even as he accused the Sultan of character assassination.
Mr. Danbaba had on Wednesday walked out of a meeting with the Sultan and declared that he was no longer interested in the Magajin Gari title which he had held for 20 years, following a bitter quarrel.
“I am aware that Sultan is hell bent on having me jailed as he has confided in one of the council members. So, it should be noted that should anything happen to me, Sultan should be held responsible,” he wrote in the statement.
Danbaba also described as false, claims that he wanted the Sultan to intervene in a case of purported abandoned contract with Ministry of Water Resources as well as investigation into the Paris Club refund scandal in which one of his companies was involved as consultant.
“I challenge the Sultan or any of the council members to prove that I have ever begged them to intervene in any of my dealings, either at this trying moment or previously.
“A Sultan who commoditizes caliphate services with a price tag, knows that I know his price, which I can as well afford, if I wanted his intervention in any matter.”
Documents show that the supposed contract awarded Danbaba’s company, Monarch Hydro-Works Limited, was awarded in 2004 and completed in 2013.
“As for Paris Club consultancy service, I have never begged nor discussed the issue of EFCC with the Sultan. Let me also make it clear that I was never arrested or detained by the EFCC.
"As a responsible citizen, I honoured the invitation of the commission and after handling the matter in a professional way by taking my statement without humiliation or harassment, I was asked to go.”
A letter signed by chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum, Abdulaziz Yari, shows that the embattled businessman was hired into the team of the forum’s financial consultants in August, 2016.
Danbaba described as “saddening and disheartening that a person holding an exalted throne will engage in peddling falsehood and lead a smear campaign against his council member by feeding editors with lies.”
Reiterating how he relinquished his position, Danbaba explained: "For the purpose of setting the records straight, I voluntarily resigned my position as Magajin Garin Sokoto at a meeting with the Sultan, council members and some eminent personalities in our society such as former Governor Mallam Yahaya Abdulkarim, former Deputy Governor Mallam Chiso Dattijo and former Secretary to the Military Government, Makaman Sokoto Mallam Sani Dingyadi, among others.
“This was the second meeting we held to resolve our differences with Inuwa Abdulkadir, and at no point during the two meetings the issue of EFCC was mentioned by my humble self or any other person present at the meeting.
“I honourably resigned, walked out on the Sultan, retuned my staff of office, official vehicle and other title paraphernalia because I could no longer stand the Sultan’s verbiage, disparaging remarks and tacit attempts to humiliate my lineage.”
PT
