Gov Yusuf Assents To Bill Reversing Creation Of Kano Emirates Created By Ganduje

The governor also reinstated the 14th Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, who was earlier deposed in March 2020.

Governor Abba Yusuf signs into law a bill reversing the creation of Kano emirates by the administration of former Governor Abdullahi Ganduje on Thursday, May 23, 2024

Kano State Governor, Abba Yusuf, has assented to the bill earlier passed on Thursday by the state assembly which reversed the creation of new emirates by the then Governor Abdullahi Ganduje administration.

The governor assented to the bill on Thursday after a closed-door meeting with the members of the state assembly and some traditional leaders believed to be kingmakers at the Government House in Kano.

Yusuf also reinstated the 14th Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, who was earlier deposed in March 2020. With the governor’s proclamation, Emir Aminu Ado Bayero, who initially succeed Sanusi, has been removed.

 

 

Emir Ado Bayero was said to be currently out of town after he paid a courtesy call on Oba Sikiru Adetona, Awujale of Ijebuland, on Wednesday.

Sanusi, a former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), was appointed as the 14th Emir of Kano in June 2014 by the administration of former governor Rabiu Kwankwaso, with Ganduje as deputy governor of the state before the latter eventually became governor in May 2015.

As Kano emir, Sanusi fell out with the Ganduje administration over his outspoken nature.

He was deposed in March 2020 after the Kano State Emirs (Appointment and Deposition) Law was promulgated by the Ganduje administration in 2019, and four additional emirates were created – Rano, Karaye, Gaya, Bichi.

The then state government said he was removed “to safeguard the sanctity, culture, tradition, religion and prestige of the Kano emirate,” accusing the emir of “total disrespect” of institutions and the governor’s office.

But Sanusi’s supporters believed he was ousted for opposing Ganduje’s re-election in 2019.

Upon securing a second term mandate, Ganduje split the Kano emirate into five and appointed four more emirs – to weaken Sanusi’s influence.

Five years after his controversial removal as emir, the Kano State House of Assembly resolved to amend the law after Majority Leader Hussien Dala moved the motion during plenary.

“The need to revisit the Emirs Law has become imperative to address the issues that have arisen from the 2019 amendment. We must ensure that our traditional institutions are governed by laws that reflect fairness and justice,” Dala said.

On his part, the Speaker of the Kano House of Assembly, Jibril Isma’il Falgore, promised to ensure that the process of amendment follows due process and transparency.

The law that booted Sanusi from office is known as the Kano State Emirs (Appointment and Deposition) Law. It was promulgated in 2019 by the Ganduje administration after having a running battle with the deposed emir.

Now, the parliament is controlled by the opposition New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP).

Earlier, NNPP 2023 presidential candidate (Kwankwaso) pledged that the issue of Sanusi’s sack would be revisited. Kwankwaso, the political mentor of the current governor, controls Kano, the north-western state known for its huge voting population.

 

Tinubu Directs Review Of Governing Boards Of Tertiary Institutions

According to the Presidency, the review will also take into consideration national spread and ensure every part of the country is adequately represented

File photo of President Bola Tinubu

President Bola Tinubu has directed a total and comprehensive review of the recently announced governing boards of tertiary institutions in Nigeria before the inauguration and retreat being planned for the nominees.

The Federal Ministry of Education recently released names of nominees for chairmen, Pro-Chancellors, and members of the boards and councils of universities, Polytechnics, and colleges of education.

It also announced that the inauguration and retreat for the nominees will take place on 31 May.

READ ALSO: FG Constitutes Governing Councils Of Federal Tertiary Institutions

However, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy in a statement on Thursday, said public reactions showed that the nominations did not reflect the federal character of the country as some states got just one nomination, while some others got many.

“In directing a complete review of the list of members, President Tinubu acknowledges the feedback across the country.

“President Tinubu is committed to ensuring strict compliance with the principle of federal character as entrenched in the constitution,” Onanuga said.

He added that the review will also take into consideration national spread and ensure every part of the country is adequately represented.

The Bauchi zone of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), had on Tuesday, criticized the appointment of governing boards across Federal Tertiary Institutions.

They said it was better for the Bola Tinubu-led administration to reinstate the earlier dissolved members.

 

Tinubu, Seven Other African Leaders Attend Déby’s Inauguration As Chad’s President 

Eight African heads of state as well as Constitutional Council members and hundreds of guests watched as the 40-year-old, dressed in his customary white boubou, was inaugurated as president at the Palace of Arts and Culture in the capital N'Djamena.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu attends the Inauguration of President Mahamat Deby of Chad. Photo credit: Nosa Asemota

General Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno, who has led Chad’s military junta for three years, was sworn in as president on Thursday after an election victory contested by the opposition.

Deby officially won 61 percent of the May 6 vote that international NGOs said was neither credible nor free and which his main rival called a “masquerade”.

Taking the oath of office, Deby said he swore “before the Chadian people… to fulfil the high functions that the nation has entrusted in us”.

Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu and seven African heads of state as well as Constitutional Council members and hundreds of guests watched as the 40-year-old, dressed in his customary white boubou, was inaugurated as president at the Palace of Arts and Culture in the capital N’Djamena.

The presidential term runs for five years and can be renewed once.

In a speech had earlier declared a “return to constitutional order” and pledged to be “the president of Chadians from all backgrounds and of all sensibilities”.

Deby was proclaimed transitional president in April 2021 by a junta of 15 generals after his father, iron-fisted president Idriss Deby Itno, was shot dead by rebels after 30 years in power.

The swearing-in marks the end of three years of military rule in a country crucial to the fight against jihadism across Africa’s restive Sahel region.

In 2021, Deby was quickly endorsed by an international community led by France, whose forces in recent years have been ousted by military regimes in its other former colonies Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger.

The investiture ceremony also officialises what the opposition has denounced as a Deby dynasty.

Prime Minister Succes Masra, one of Deby’s fiercest opponents before becoming prime minister, handed in his resignation on Wednesday in the wake of his party’s election defeat after just four months in office.

Masra, an economist who won 18.5 percent of the vote, contested the results and did not attend the inauguration.

He had claimed victory after the first round of voting but faced accusations of being a junta stooge by the opposition, which has been violently repressed in Chad, with its top members barred from the election.

General Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno (C) arrives for his inauguration as Chad’s President at the Palace of Arts and Culture in N’Djamena on May 23, 2024. (Photo by Joris Bolomey / AFP)

– No legal recourse –

After the Constitutional Council rejected Masra’s bid to annul the result, he said there was “no other national legal recourse” and called on supporters to “remain mobilised” but “peaceful”.

Deby’s own cousin Yaya Dillo Djerou, who had emerged as the leading opposition candidate to the general, was shot and killed at point-blank range during an army assault on February 28, his party said.

The turnout of heads of state at the investiture was an opportunity to gauge international support for the president.

The eight who were present were all from African nations. Other countries were represented by ministers or ambassadors.

French President Emmanuel Macron, who travelled to N’Djamena in 2021 to pay homage to the late Marshal Deby in front of his son and successor, sent his minister for foreign trade and Francophonie, Franck Riester.

Chad, one of the world’s poorest nations, is France’s last military foothold in the Sahel region, with 1,000 soldiers, and Macron was one of few leaders to publicly congratulate Deby on his election.

Several Sahel nations, reeling from jihadist insurgencies, have strengthened ties with Russia after severing them with Paris.

Russian President Vladimir Putin was among the first to congratulate Deby.

AFP

 

Bill Seeking Return To Old National Anthem Scales Second Reading At Senate

A bill seeking to make provision for Nigeria to revert to its old national anthem has scaled through second reading at the Senate.

The bill sponsored by the Leader of the Senate, Opeyemi Bamidele, enjoys overwhelming support from the lawmakers.

It has been referred to the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters to report back to the house in two weeks.

The lawmakers, who appeared unanimous in support of the bill, argued that it would promote better symbol for unity, peace and prosperity, compared to the current one.

After a closed door session to debate on the bill, the lawmakers asserted that the current national anthem is a product of the military junta, decreed by the military and therefore should be discarded to adequately capture the nations democratic values, integrity and principally foster commitment to nationhood.

The old anthem “Nigeria, We Hail Thee” was replaced with the current one “Arise, O Compatriots in 1978.

Meanwhile, the the House of Representatives has passed the bill to revert to the old national anthem “Nigeria, We Hail Thee”.

The bill was quickly passed through first second and third reading at the lower chamber within minutes.

 

Kano Gov In Closed-Door Meeting With Lawmakers, Kingmakers

The governor is expected to assent to the bill passed earlier by the state assembly which reversed the creation of new emirates by the Ganduje administration.

Kano State Governor, Abba Yusuf, is in a closed-door meeting with the members of the state assembly and some traditional leaders believed to be kingmakers at the Government House in Kano.

The governor is expected to assent to the bill earlier passed on Thursday by the state assembly which reversed the creation of new emirates by the then Governor Abdullahi Ganduje administration.

If signed into law, the move is expected to see the return of the 14th Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, who was deposed in March 2020. The fate of Sanusi’s successor, Emir Aminu Ado Bayero, is, however, unknown as of press time.

Emir Ado Bayero is said to be currently out of town after he paid a courtesy call on Oba Sikiru Adetona, Awujale of Ijebuland, on Wednesday.

Sanusi, a former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), was appointed as the 14th Emir of Kano in June 2014 by the administration of former governor Rabiu Kwankwaso, with Ganduje as deputy governor of the state before the latter eventually became governor in May 2015.

As Kano emir, Sanusi fell out with the Ganduje administration over his outspoken nature.

He was deposed in March 2020 after the Kano State Emirs (Appointment and Deposition) Law was promulgated by the Ganduje administration in 2019, and four additional emirates were created – Rano, Karaye, Gaya, Bichi.

The then state government said he was removed “to safeguard the sanctity, culture, tradition, religion and prestige of the Kano emirate,” accusing the emir of “total disrespect” of institutions and the governor’s office.

But Sanusi’s supporters believed he was ousted for opposing Ganduje’s re-election in 2019.

Upon securing a second term mandate, Ganduje split the Kano emirate into five and appointed four more emirs – to weaken Sanusi’s influence.

Five years after his controversial removal as emir, the Kano State House of Assembly resolved to amend the law after Majority Leader Hussien Dala moved the motion during plenary.

“The need to revisit the Emirs Law has become imperative to address the issues that have arisen from the 2019 amendment. We must ensure that our traditional institutions are governed by laws that reflect fairness and justice,” Dala said.

On his part, the Speaker of the Kano House of Assembly, Jibril Isma’il Falgore, promised to ensure that the process of amendment follows due process and transparency.

The law that booted Sanusi from office is known as the Kano State Emirs (Appointment and Deposition) Law. It was promulgated in 2019 by the Ganduje administration after having a running battle with the deposed emir.

Now, the parliament is controlled by the opposition New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP).

Earlier, NNPP 2023 presidential candidate (Kwankwaso) pledged that the issue of Sanusi’s sack would be revisited. Kwankwaso, the political mentor of the current governor, controls Kano, the north-western state known for its huge voting population.