Kano State Governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf, has threatened to revoke houses and properties allocated to individuals at Kwankwasiyya, Ammana and Bandarau cities for failing to put them into use. 
 
He insisted that the properties in the three housing estates built during the administration of Dr Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso must either be occupied by the owners or rented out in the next three months. 
 
The ultimatum followed the recovery of documents of properties and 324 houses from the cities for Kano pensioners by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) after the final forfeiture order granted by the Federal High Court, Abuja in 2024.
   
The cities, constructed by Kwankwaso between 2011 and 2015 with over N4 billion in pension funds, had been a product of litigation after successive administrations failed to allocate them to pensioners.

Issuing the warning yesterday at the inauguration of Architect Ibrahim Yakubu Adamu as the new Commissioner for Housing Development, the governor stressed the urgent need to revive economic activities in the three cities. 
   
He directed the commissioner to ensure the immediate restoration of basic amenities for conducive living.  Until his new appointment, Adamu was the Managing Director of Kano State Urban Planning and Development Authority. 

IN another development, the state government has sanctioned a payroll re-validation for civil servants in both state and local council administrations to address lingering salary discrepancies. 
   
The fresh exercise is mandatory for workers experiencing underpayment and outright withholding of salaries with a view to proffering a lasting solution. 
Addressing a press briefing yesterday, Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Ibrahim Umar Faruq, disclosed that a nine-member committee, headed by the Head of Service, is to conduct the exercise.  
   
He said subsequent upon the inauguration of the committee, a payroll balance sheet containing details of workers would be printed and circulated across ministries, parastatals and agencies for verification. 
   
The SSG, who affirmed that the government was aware of the outcry of some categories of workers over non-payment of salaries, however, insisted that no payment would be made until, and after, the re-validation exercise. 
   
While arguing that the agitators failed to comply with an earlier validation exercise in April 2024, Faruq maintained that the complainants must show cause for their refusal. He added that any civil servant found wanting was liable to dismissal.  He called on the workers to ensure they undergo the salary screening, as instructed by the state government, or they would henceforth, not be paid. 
 
“There are about 1001 workers in the state that have refused to attend the screening and over 2000 in the local governments,” he said, insisting that they must obey the directive of the Head of Service or face consequences.
 
The SSG explained that the entire crisis of non-payment of salaries, deductions and overpayment resulted from the expiry of old salary payment software in December 2024.