Kano gov to sign amended emirates bill, as Assembly passes law today

Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf will assent to the amended emirates council bill any moment from now, as the Kano State House of Assembly reconvenes today to take a final decision. Recall that armed security operatives from the police and civil defence took over strategic places at the assembly on Wednesday, during which the lawmakers, drawn […]

Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf will assent to the amended emirates council bill any moment from now, as the Kano State House of Assembly reconvenes today to take a final decision.

Recall that armed security operatives from the police and civil defence took over strategic places at the assembly on Wednesday, during which the lawmakers, drawn from both the ruling NNPP and leading opposition APC in the state, allowed the bill that sought to repeal the creation of five emirates to pass the first reading.

The Kano State Emirates Council (Amendment number 2) Law, 2024, was sponsored by the Majority Leader and member representing the Dala Constituency, Lawan Hussaini Chediyar Yan Gurasa.

The Kano State Emirates Council Law 2019 which created five new emirates was first assented to by ex-Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, on December 5, 2019.

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The governor assented to an amendment to the law on 14 October, 2020 and signed another amendment on 11 April, 2023.

Section 3(1) of the law established five distinct emirates; Kano, Bichi, Rano, Gaya and Karaye, with Kano and Karaye having eight local government areas of jurisdiction each, while Bichi and Gaya emirates share 9 local government areas of jurisdiction each, Rano Emirate enjoys jurisdiction over 10 local government areas out of the 44 local councils in the state.

When Emir Muhammadu Sanusi, who chaired the council, was deposed on March 9, 2020, the law was amended to read: “There shall be the chairman of the council who shall be the emir, Kano Emirate”.

Section 12 provides that the governor may grade the office of an emir first, second, or third class subject to the approval of the House of Assembly.

A principal officer of the assembly, who did not want his name mentioned, said “no Jupiter can stop the assembly from amending the law.”

He said yesterday: “We were ready for this long ago and only God can stop this amendment. We wanted all these emirs to go 20 days after this administration was inaugurated but here we are. So, tomorrow (today) there would be a special session of the assembly to consider and pass the amendment,” the lawmaker said.

However, the minority leader of the assembly, Abdul Labaran Madari, told BBC Hausa Service that 12 APC members in the assembly were not opposed to the amendment, provided that none of the five emirates would be dissolved and the Emir of Kano, Aminu Ado Bayero, would not be deposed and replaced with Muhammad Sanusi.

He said though the NNPP lawmakers in the assembly have the numbers to effect the amendment, the opposition members would ventilate their opposition.

Madari claimed that the ruling party had perfected its plan to dissolve Bichi Emirate as well as reinstate the deposed Emir Sanusi.

Anxiety heightens

Sources around the emirates said there was anxiety already ahead of today’s special sitting by the Kano Assembly.

“As you can see, the Emir of Kano is already out of town, he is in faraway Ogun State, so, who knows…,” a source said.

“His brother, the Emir of Bichi, is also out of town. We don’t know whether this is a coincidence or whatever,” he said.

Another source said as soon as the Kano Assembly members signed the bill which will reverse the creation of the emirates, the governor will not hesitate to sign it.

“He is just waiting for the bill to come, and you know that once he assent to it, it means the deposed emir would most likely return, latest by Friday.

“They are all out to achieve this, but I heard from credible sources that some of the emirs might survive…The governor will initiate another amendment. The target now is the Kano emir,” he said.