Kano: Sultan, other northern Emirs urge Bayero, Sanusi to exercise restraint

From Cyril Mbah, Abuja.

Prominent traditional rulers from the 19 states in the North under the aegis, The Northern Traditional Rulers Council (NTRC) have called on Emir Aminu Ado Bayero and Emir Sanusi Lamido Sanusi to refrain from acts and statements that can jeopardise the existing peace and stability in Kano metropolis.

The NTRC issued the words of caution in a statement on Sunday by the Emir of Gummi, Justice Lawal Hassan Gummi, who also double as the Chairman Coordinating Committee, Northern Traditional Rulers Council (NTRC).

The statement reads thus :
” The Northern Traditional Rulers Council under the Chairmanship of the Sultan of Sokoto notes with concern the situation in Kano as it affects our revered institution.

“The Council with all sense of responsibility calls for restraint on the part of disputants in the interest of peace and stability, moreso as the matter has reportedly gone to court and is therefore sub – judice.

“The council prays Almighty Allah for peace to reign in Kano in particular and Nigeria in general.”

However, The All Progressives Congress (APC) has accused the Kano State Governor, Abba Yusuf Kabir of embarking on a desperation- induced effort to destroy every legacy of his predecessor, Dr. Abdulahi Umar Ganduje saying such plans  will fail woefully.

The Senior Special Assistant to the National Chairman on Public Enlightenment, Chief Oliver Okpala who made the assertion while speaking with journalists in Abuja, said, “Every government in power has its own leadership style. If this is the style Governor Abba Yusuf wants to adopt for Kano, it is left for the people of Kano State to judge if what he did is just and is in their best interest.

“Government is a continium. When Ganduje was in power, he did his best and the people of Kano State can testify to that. He left some legacies that cannot be equaled. What Ganduje did in Kano cannot be destroyed overnight through political malice from any quarter. This is because what he left in Kano are monumental legacies.

“So, for somebody to wake up overnight and try to destroy or dismantle all the legacies left behind by a predecessor is, to say the least, a disservice to the people of Kano State. But if he says that is the leadership line his government wants to toe, it is left for him. The people will at a later stage judge between him and Ganduje, which one meant well for them.

“The people who are also clamouring for Ganduje’s removal claiming to be representing the North Central zone are agents of the NNPP how were mobilised and induced financially to execute their plan to undermine the name, honour and integrity of Dr Ganduje.

“When the real leaders and stakeholders of the North Central led by a former President of the Senate paid a solidarity visit to the party headquarters and asked Ganduje to continue in office most of these political mercantile agents were not seen because they are inconsequential in the political equation of North Central politics.

“The leaders said though the slot was zoned to them, they however asked Ganduje to continue in office because of the excellent ways he was piloting the affairs of the party.

“When that took place in broad daylight, nothing was heard from these political lilliputians. So, nobody should be left in doubt that their actions are in justification of the money they were given to prosecute the ‘Ganduje -must- go agenda.”

Chief Okpala blasted former National Vice Chairman of the party, Salihu Lukman for being a meddlesome interloper in the affairs of the APC.

“A similar issue that should be brought into focus is that of a former National Vice Chairman of the party who resigned his position in the party and is now threatening to take the APC to court if Ganduje is not removed.

“One wonders under which platform or locus he wants to prosecute his case?  This is someone who on daily bases, abuses the government of the day, of his supposed party on national papers, discrediting the leaders and he still wants the leaders to listen to him.

“One wonders what he forgot in the party that he wants Ganduje and the party leaders to pay him for.  People should please allow the party and the leadership under Ganduje to breath since they are doing well and winning political heavy weights from other parties because of their performance.

“Ganduje from all indications means well for the party and he is working tirelessly to ensure the APC occupies an Olympian position in the country’s orbit of partisan politics. He will not be distracted,” Okpala asserted.