Kano government will sign modified Emirates bill, as Assembly adopts law today.
The modified Emirates Council Bill will soon be approved by Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf when the Kano State House of Assembly meets again today to decide on a final outcome.
Remember that armed security personnel from the police and civil defence took over key locations at the assembly on Wednesday, when the lawmakers—who were drawn from the state’s leading opposition APC and the ruling NNPP—allowed the bill that attempted to reverse the establishment of five emirates to pass the first reading.
Representative for the Dala Constituency and Majority Leader Lawan Hussaini Chediyar Yan Gurasa proposed the Kano State Emirates Council (Amendment number 2) Law, 2024.
December 5, 2019, saw the first assent to the Kano State Emirates Council Law 2019, which established five new emirates.
On October 14, 2020, the governor signed a legislation amendment; on April 11, 2023, he signed a second.
With Kano and Karaye having eight local government areas of jurisdiction each, Bichi and Gaya emirates sharing nine local government areas of jurisdiction each, and Rano Emirate enjoying jurisdiction over ten local government areas out of the 44 local councils in the state, Section 3(1) of the law established five distinct emirates.
Following the ouster of Emir Muhammadu Sanusi on March 9, 2020, the law was changed to state that “There shall be the chairman of the council who shall be the emir, Kano Emirate.”
Subject to the agreement of the House of Assembly, Section 12 allows the governor to grade the office of an emir as first, second, or third class.
No Jupiter can stop the assembly from altering the law, declared a key assembly official who declined to be identified.
We were prepared for this long ago, and only God can halt this revision, he declared yesterday. Though we had hoped that all of these emirs would depart 20 days after this administration took office, here we are. Therefore, the legislator stated, there would be a special assembly session tomorrow (today) to discuss and approve the modification.
Twelve APC lawmakers were in favour of the amendment, according to Abdul Labaran Madari, the minority leader of the assembly, as long as none of the five emirates were abolished and Aminu Ado Bayero, the Emir of Kano, was not overthrown and Muhammad Sanusi was not installed.
The opposition members would voice their disapproval, he said, even though the NNPP legislators in the legislature have the numbers to carry out the change.
Madari said the ruling party had honed its strategy to dissolve Bichi Emirate and bring back the ousted Emir Sanusi.
Peak anxiety
Anxiety was already high before the Kano Assembly’s special meeting today, according to sources throughout the emirates.
“The Emir of Kano is already out of town, as you can see; he is in distant Ogun State, so, who knows?” a source stated.
The Bichi Emir, his brother, is likewise not in town. We have no idea if this is a coincidence or not, he said.
According to another source, the governor will not think twice about signing the measure that will undo the emirates’ creation as soon as the Kano Assembly members do.
“He is merely waiting for the bill to arrive, and you know that once he signs it, the ousted emir will probably return by Friday at the latest.
Although they are all out to get this, I’ve heard from reliable sources that some of the emirs may make it.The governor will propose still another modification. Now, the Kano emir is the objective, he declared.