Polio Fund: Give Account Of Funds You Took, Dangote Asks Gov Ganduje

Dangote made the demand during a video conference with Co-chair of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Mr. Bill Gates, Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje of Kano state, his Kaduna state counterpart, Mal. Nasir El-Rufa’i, officials of the National Primary Health Care Development

Agency and development partners, at the Government House in Kano noted that his request lies in the interest of “accountability and transparency.”

“All expenditure in exercise must be verified by external auditors and the report tendered (to partners in the tripartite agreement with the state government on immunization), by the end of next March 31,” Dangote said.

Dangote further stressed the need for the state government to pay more attention to collation of quality-assured data collection in respect of the exercise because of its significance in decision making.

The Co-chair, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Mr. Bill Gates,lauded Kano and Kaduna state governments for their unrelenting war against polio, stressing that total eradication of the disease is possible if the states maintained the zeal.

While stressing the need for accountability in managing donor funds released for immunization, he stressed the need for both states to ensure timely release of funds to the basket fund, to keep things moving.

The Kano state government had contributed N100million to the donor basket after it signed a tripartite agreement with Gates and Dangote.

In his contribution to the video conference, Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje said “although milestone have been recorded in immunization in the state, which hitherto was the Chief Host of Polio, but we would emphasize public enlightenment and cooperation with religious and traditional leaders to make the set goal achievable”.