Ganduje: Sanusi is supposed to report to LG chairman
Abdullahi Ganduje, governor of Kano state, says Muhammadu Sanusi II, emir of Kano, is supposed to be reporting to chairman of a local government.
Speaking with state house correspondents on the sidelines of the ongoing Progressive Governors Forum award ceremony at the presidential villa in Abuja, Ganduje said Sanusi was not the target of the break up of the emirate.
He said he decided to create four new emirates in the state in order to take Kano to the next level.
Some Nigerians had spoken against the action of the governor perceived to be political.
Two days before he gave assent to the bill to break up the emirate, TheCable had exclusively reported that Ganduje was plotting to depose or whittle down Sanusi’s influence.
A government official had told TheCable that the governor was targetting the emir, who reportedly did not support his reelection bid.
But Ganduje told reporters that the interest of the society prompted the action.
“We are taking Kano to the next level and we need the active participation of the traditional system, especially in the areas of education, security, agriculture,” he said.
“By decentralising the emirate, we followed history. Years back, the situation was not that.
“So if something developed 800 years ago, things are also developing now and there will be another 800 years. So look at the history.
“So, it is not vendetta, I am not against him (Sanusi). In fact, he is supposed to be reporting to the local government chairman according to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“It is the local government chairman that is supposed to discuss issues with him, not the governor.”
The Kano State Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission is currently probing the emirate under Sanusi which can lead to his deposition.
The commission had alleged the misappropriation of N6 billion by the Kano emirate council “without the approval of the state government”. The probe, which was halted in 2017, has now been revived.
Isa Bayero, a former official of the Kano emirate council, appeared before the commission on Thursday overpayment of vouchers from 2013 to 2017.
He was asked to report back on Friday with some documents.
It is a very funny situation. Allowing politicians to have power over traditional rulers is a big mistake. This is why such a thing will never happen in the United Kingdom.