Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, Kano state governor , has relaunched moves to remove Muhammad Sanusi II as the emir of Kano. On Monday, the Kano State Public
Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, Kano state governor , has relaunched moves to remove Muhammad Sanusi II as the emir of Kano. On Monday, the Kano State Public Complaints and Anti-corruption Commission reopened investigation into the expenditure of the state emirate council under Sanusi II.
“The governor is determined to remove the emir, and if this does not succeed, he will break the emirate into pieces to whittle down Sanusi’s power,” an official of the state government said.
Also at the plenary of the house of assembly, Kabiru Alhassan Rurum, the speaker, read a letter from one Ibrahim Salisu and others, seeking the creation of new Kano emirates in Karaye, Bichi, Rano and Gaya.
Ironically, Ganduje’s move to break the emirate into smaller units will mirror what Abiola Ajimobi, the outgoing governor of Oyo state, did to the olubadan of Ibadan, Saliu Adetunji, whose authority Ajimobi sought to decimate by approving 21 beaded kings for Ibadan. Ganduje and Ajimobi are in-laws.
Sanusi II’s problem with Ganduje can be traced to his critical comments in 2017 on the award of contracts to Chinese companies by the state government and on the governor’s foreign trips. Shortly after the comment, the Kano State Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission alleged the misappropriation of N6billion by the Kano emirate council without the approval of the state government. The probe was halted then but it has now been revived.
Sanusi II is also believed to have opposed the re-election of Ganduje, who needed a disputed supplementary election to be returned to office in the March 2019 governorship election.
Other officers in the emirate council to be quizzed, include Mohammad Sani Kwaru, the accountant, Mannir Sanusi, the chief of staff, Danburan Mujittafa and Falakin Kano. The letter said the commission was inviting the staff over alleged violation of section 26 of its enabling law in the management of the emirate’s funds.
Sanusi II was appointed the 14th emir in 2014 after his suspension from office as governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) by former president Goodluck Jonathan. Ganduje was the deputy governor to Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso when Sanusi II was appointed, but the former governor is no longer on good terms with his successor.
Ganduje lost the Kano municipal heavily, leading to rumours that he would come after the emir after the election.
