Former local government chairmen in Kano State who served between 2014 and 2024 under Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje’s administration have publicly endorsed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for a second term and reaffirmed their loyalty to Ganduje as the leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state.
Baffa Takai, a former chairman of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) in Kano, disclosed the group’s position during a closed-door meeting with APC stakeholders in Abuja.
The former chairmen also expressed solidarity with party stakeholders operating under the leadership of Hon. Abubakar Kabir Bichi, commending their efforts in promoting cohesion and organisational growth within the APC.
In a statement issued at the meeting, the group urged other party members to join them in fostering peace, unity, and progress within the party.
They further reaffirmed their commitment to the APC’s ideals and principles and pledged to work collectively to strengthen the party and support its success in forthcoming elections.
Recall that days ago, Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf of Kano State has issued an executive order prohibiting the funding and operation of an independent Hisbah police group linked to former National Chairman, Ganduje.
Governor Yusuf directed the state police command and the Directorate of State Service to arrest and prosecute any individual or group presenting themselves as members or leaders of the independent Hisbah.
Briefing journalists on Friday, the Commissioner for Information and Internal Affairs, Hon. Abdullahi Ibrahim Waiya, said the directive, titled the “Kano State Prohibition of Hisbah Fisabilillah Order 2025”, takes immediate effect.
The order follows reports that Dr Ganduje, through his foundation, had commenced recruitment for 12,000 members of an independent security group in the state. Recruitment forms were recently issued by Baffa DanAgundi, a former Managing Director of the Kano Road Transport Agency under Ganduje’s administration. The initiative was described by DanAgundi as intended to provide opportunities for those displaced by the current government’s Hisbah Board reforms and to operate as a voluntary, non-political religious enforcement group.
Commissioner Waiya, however, said the state government considers such recruitment and mobilisation unlawful. “It has come to the attention of the Kano State Government that certain individuals and groups are undertaking recruitment, mobilisation and organisation of persons into a body described as ‘Independent Hisbah Fisabilillahi’, without lawful authority and in contravention of the laws of Kano State,” he said.
He added, “Such conduct, creating parallel enforcement structures within the State, constitutes an unlawful act capable of disturbing the peace and undermining statutory functions of the Hisbah Board.”
The commissioner stated that any person who violates the order will be liable to prosecution under laws covering unlawful assembly, impersonation of lawful authorities, or the establishment of unauthorised security groups.
The order explicitly prohibits the formation, mobilisation, training, or deployment of any body under the name of Independent Hisbah Fisabilillahi, declaring any such acts illegal and void.
