Kano govt defies court, presents letters of appointment to new Emirs

Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, has gone ahead with the appointment of Emirs for the newly created emirates in the state, against a court order issued less than 24 hours earlier.

Ruling on a suit filed by Rabi’u Saleh Gwarzo and Babangida Sulaiman, minority leader and minority chief whip of the state assembly, the Kano High Court has restrained Ganduje from implementing the breakup of the Kano Emirate.

However, the governor went ahead with his plans, presenting appointment letters during a ceremony held at the state capital on Saturday.

Those presented with the letters of appointment include Aminu Ado Bayero, the son of Late Emir of Kano, Ado Bayero, as the Emir of Bichi; Ibrahim Abulkadir as the Emir of Gaya; Tafida Abubakar as the Emir Of Rano and Abubakar Ibrahim II as the Emir of Karaye.

READ ALSO: KANO EMIRATE: Ado Bayero’s son, 3 others appointed emirs

During the presentation, Gov. Ganduje said the creation of four additional Emirates will make the Kano traditional system more efficient.

“This is an arrangement that will make the system more efficient. The issue of education, security, and agriculture are too heavy to be allowed on a centralised traditional system.

“So, we know that this present structure will certainly promote security and education,” he said.

The date for the coronation of the new emirs will subsequently be announced by the state government.

Speaking earlier, the Kano State Government defended the appointment of four new Emirs despite the court order on Friday restraining the implementation of the Kano Emirs Appointment and Deposition Amendment Bill 2019.

In a statement by Abba Anwar, the Chief Press Secretary to Ganduje and made available to newsmen in Kano on Saturday, the state government said it did not receive any court order restraining concerning the newly appointed First Class Emirs of Rano, Karaye, Gaya and Bichi Emirates.

Anwar claimed that the court order was reportedly issued around 5pm on Friday May 10, 2019, long after the new emirs had formally accepted the appointment.

“Letters of the Notification of Appointment were written from the office of the Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Usman Alhaji, since Thursday, May 9, 2019 and were dispatched to the concerned Emirs the following day Friday, May 10, 2019, in the very early hours of the day.”

It added that the letters dated May 9, 2019, had reference number SSG/REPA/5/A/86/T and were addressed to the newly appointed Emirs.

According to Anwar, each letter states that: “In accordance with the power conferred on the Governor by the Kano State Emirs (Appointment and Deposition) Amended Law 2019 (1440 AH) which provides the creation of more Emirates.

“I wish to convey the approval of His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Kano State, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje OFR for your appointment as First Class Emir of (Bichi) (Karaye) (Rano) (Gaya) Emirate.”

According to the statement, all the four new emirs had formally accepted the appointment.

It explained that the new Emir of Karaye, Dr Ibrahim Abubakar II forwarded his acceptance letter at about 12 noon on Friday, that of Rano, Tafida Abubakar Il around 10:15 am while the Emir of Bichi, Aminu Ado Bayero and the Emir of Gaya, Ibrahim Abdulkadir, forwarded theirs at 10am and 10:30am respectively.

Anwar further added that the ceremony expected to hold at the Sani Abacha Indoor Stadium, Kofar Mata, this Saturday was merely for the new emirs to thank the Governor for appointing them.

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