Kano demolitions: Ganduje, Kwankwaso trade accusations in Aso Rock

• Ganduje: Kwankwaso behind ‘illegal’ demolitions, using Gov Yusuf as stooge

• You acquired affected properties illegally, Kwankwaso replies

• Looters of properties at Kano demolition sites risk jail term, fines

By Egena Sunday Ode

Immediate past Governor of Kano State, Abdullahi Ganduje has accused his predecessor, Rabiu Kwankwaso of being the mastermind of the recent demolition of properties in Kano.
He said Governor Abba Yusuf is a mere stooge of Kwankwaso who is just doing his master’s bidding.
He spoke at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa, after meeting with President Bola Tinubu.
Ganduje who was at the State House for the second time in two days said he was at the seat of power to draw the attention of President Tinubu to the ongoing demolition, which he claimed was threatening the security of the state.
But Kwankwaso while speaking with newsmen also after a meeting with Tinubu said that most of the buildings demolished by the new government were illegally acquired by Ganduje.
He stated that his party had pledged to demolish such structures during the campaigns, saying that the governor was just fulfilling his electioneering promises.
The two former governors who met Tinubu separately on Friday evening may have been summoned by the President as part of efforts to ease tensions arising from the recent demolition of buildings in Kano metropolis.
Speaking to newsmen after the meeting Ganduje described the recent demolition in Kano allegedly carried out by Governor Yusuf as “illegal” as it was executed in breach of the law.
Ganduje said the demolition exercise was done without carrying out any investigation or giving due notice in line with the provisions of Land Use Act.
Recall Yusuf in his inauguration speech on May 29, gave a marching order to security agencies in Kano to immediately repossess all public properties believed to have been sold by the Ganduje administration.
He alleged that they were illegally acquired by the Ganduje’s administration.
Some structures demolished in included Haji camp, Daula Hotel and shopping complexes around the Eid Prayer Ground in Kano, structures Ganduje said were products of Public-Private Partnerships.
The former governor said he came to brief the President about the security situation in Kano State, especially “the looting and vandalization that is going on in Kano. And we don’t want it to result into religious or tribal conflicts. Thousands of traders have been rendered without any business”, he said.
Ganduje who served as Kwankwaso’s deputy from 1999 – 2003 and 2011 – 2015, blamed his former boss for directing the new administration under Yusuf to carry out what he termed a vengeful campaign against the previous administration.
He lamented that the shopping complex around the new Daula Hotel developed under a Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement and approved by the State’s Executive Council, was demolished on the directive of Kwankwaso, without any investigation or notice, by the Yusuf administration.
“We appointed a technical committee right from the beginning. They submitted a report to the Executive Council. The executive council approved the PPP project. The PPP project is 90% executed, but now without any investigation, without any notice, this new government under the directive of Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso demolished the building. The issue is in a court of law,” he recounted.
But Ganduje said he spoke at length on the issue while reporting the matter to the president and had petitioned the Inspector General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba, with video evidence of the looting and vandalisation that trailed the demolition.
He said he had briefed the president adequately on the demolition exercise that even affected the supporters of Kwankwaso whom he accused of ordering the action.
He said the governor who he described as a “stooge” of Kwankwaso was no longer happy because of the condemnation that greeted the move.
Gov Yusuf had, however, explained that the demolition exercise was part of the fulfillment of his campaign promise to “restore” the urban development masterplan of the city.
He had also insisted that the exercise was not a vendetta against the past administration of Ganduje, saying that many more demolitions would still follow.
Speaking further on his part, Kwankwaso corroborated Governor Yuauf’s position that Ganduje had illegally acquired the properties in question.
The former presidential candidate of the ruling New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) also accused his successor of demolishing some critical infrastructure built by his administration when he took over in 2015.
“We are all politicians and I’m sure you know how strong we’re in Kano; he was one of our senior members.
“What’s happening in Kano is a promise by governor during the campaigns that any property in government premises will be demolished.
“He (Ganduje) demolished some critical infrastructure we built and instead built on them malls owned by him and his family.
“He demolished Hajj Camp and sold the plots. He Kano demolished Kano Race course and gave to his children.
“He’s building inside Eid Mosque. It’s security risk to have buildings inside the Mosque,” Kwankaso alleged, adding that President Tinubu was shocked after his narration.
Regarding speculations of accepting a ministerial position from the Tinubu administration, Kwankwaso revealed that talks were ongoing about the possibility.
He, however, dismissed rumors of defecting to the ruling party, emphasizing that Tinubu was more focused on a government of national unity.