Ganduje bows to court verdict on new emirates as SEC presents fresh bill

Kano State Governor Abdullahi Ganduje may have accepted court verdict on the nullification of the four emirate councils, as the State Executive Council (SEC) has presented a fresh bill to the House of Assembly. Justice Usman Na’Abba of Kano High Court sitting at Miller Road had on November 21, 2019, nullified the appointment of the four first class emirs and their emirates created by Ganduje.

The nullified emirates are Rano, Gaya, Bichi and Karaye.The court also revoked the Kano Emirs Appointment and Deposition Amendment Bill 2019, which was passed by the assembly and signed into law by the governor, to create the new emirate councils.

In a statement signed by the Commissioner for Information, Mohammed Garba, the SEC approved new Emirate Council Bill 2019, which provides for the establishment of additional emirates, to be re-presented to the assembly.Garba, in the release, posited that approval for the new bill was reached at the end of the Council Session held at the Council Chambers, Government House, Kano, yesterday.

He indicated that some of the emirates even pre-dated Kano in ancient times, while the effort to revive them in the Second Republic was short-lived.
“The Emirate Council Bill 2019 was amended in the public interest following a Kano High Court action that nullified the law on the ground that the petition was presented to the Assembly by a private person, not a member of the house.

“While the council seriously discussed the decade-long clamour for the establishment of additional emirates in the state with a view to bringing more development to the people of the new emirates. The exercise was also informed by the need to bring the traditional institution closer to the people, in addition to facilitating speedy socio-economic development and security in the state,” Garba said.The council, according to statement, urged the Assembly to expedite action on the passage of the bill in the interest of the public.