Ganduje appoints Sanusi chairman Kano council of chiefs

Moves to stop child marriage, pardons 3,000 prisoners
Governor Abdullahi Ganduje has appointed Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, as pioneer chairman of the state council of chiefs.

The appointment, which takes effect from Monday, December 9, 2019, has two years tenure.

The Chief Press Secretary, Abba Anwar, said the appointment was based on the powers conferred on the governor by Section 4 (2) (g) and Section 5((1) (2) of the Kano State Emirate Councils Law 2019.

Odds had favoured Emir of Bichi, Aminu Ado Bayero, as pioneer chairman of the council.

After announcing the appointment, Ganduje directed the immediate conveyance of inaugural meeting of the council.

The four new first class emirs ­– Aminu Ado Bayero (Bichi), Tafida Abubakar (Rano); Dr. Ibrahim Abubakar II (Karaye) and Ibrahim Abdulkadir (Gaya) – are automatic members of the council.

Others are 10 kingmakers, two from each of the five emirates, and Chief Imam of each emirate, representative of the business community from each emirate, all to be appointed by the governor.

Ganduje also said that the four new emirates “has come to stay”

The Commissioner for Information, Garba Mohammad, insisted that the creation of the emirates followed due process and was also part of efforts to reform obsolete laws guiding the traditional institution to tally with existing reality.

Former presidential candidate of the defunct National Republican Convention (NRC), Bashir Tofa, had cautioned the government against tampering with the 1,000-year-old Kano heritage by creating new emirates, which he believed was politically-motivated.

However, The Guardian gathered that Sanusi might shun the new appointment due to pending legal suit on the emirate at Federal High Court.

“It may amount to accepting defeat since the court is already in Kano. It is obvious the Emir Sanusi will not accept the appointment. Again, many may consider the appointment as trap for the emir’s removal.”

“Once the emir failed to convey the meeting as ordered by the governor, Ganduje will serve him query and that will be the beginning of his removal,” a source submitted.

Meanwhile, the state government has put in place measures to ensure that girls of school age complete secondary education before they are married out.

Ganduje made this known yesterday in Abuja during the conferment of an award on him by the Human Rights Commission over his achievements in education, human and infrastructure development in the state.

Vowing to integrate the Almajiri system of education into western education, the governor restated his resolve to declare free and compulsory basic to secondary education.

Also, he has pardoned over 3,000 inmates to decongest the correctional centres. The beneficiaries include the aged, the invalid and the physically challenged.