* As Gov Yusuf signs bill dissolving Ganduje’s 5 emirate councils
Four years after Muhammadu Sanusi II was deposed as the Emir of Kano, Governor Abba Yusuf has reinstated the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to the throne.
“With the full support of the kingmakers, I have approved the reappointment of Malam Sanusi Lamido,” the governor said to a cheering audience at the Art Chamber of the Kano State Government House around 5:16pm on Thursday.
He announced the decision right after signing the Kano State Emirate Council (Repeal) Bill 2024 into law.
The new law replaces the Kano State Emirates Council Law, 2019, and dissolves the emirate councils created by Governor Yusuf’s predecessor Abdullahi Ganduje.
It was based on the law that Ganduje split the Kano Emirate into five in December 2019 and deposed the 14th Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II on March 9, 2020. The emirates created by the Ganduje administration were Karaye, Bichi, Rano, and Gaya, in addition to Kano.
Meanwhile, 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’s administration.
The governor assented to the bill after a closed-door meeting with the members of the Assembly and some traditional leaders believed to be kingmakers at the Government House in Kano.
Emir Ado Bayero was said to be out of town after paying a courtesy visit to 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 before the latter eventually became governor in May 2015.
As Kano emir, Sanusi fell out with the Ganduje administration over his outspokenness.
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 namely 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.