Kano Anti-graft Agency Partisan, CSOs Allege

Some Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), in the country have asked the head of Kano Anti-corruption Commission, Barr Muhuyi Magaji, to resign, alleging partisanship and incompetence as basis for their demand.

They said with the appointment of a partisan and card carrying member of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), the state anti-corruption commission has completely been politicised.

The rights groups also demanded that the recommendations of the 2006 white paper report that exposed the land scandal of the then former governor of the state, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, should be revisited for fairness sake.

At a one-day conference on Good Governance Appraisal in Kano, organised by the CSOs, victims of demolition and other stakeholders, various speakers decried actions taken so far by Governor Abba Yusuf in the state.

In a communique signed after the conference, it was resolved that the government of Kano State should stop further demolition of properties of innocent citizens with immediate effect.

The communique was signed by the national coordinator of Coalition for Good Governance and Change Initiative (CGGCI), Comrade Okpokwu Ogenyi, national coordinator of the Progressives League of Youth Voters, Comrade Abdul Shuaibu and national coordinator of Northern Nigeria Civil Service Group.

The CSOs stated, “that the government should, as a matter of urgency, compile a comprehensive list of victims of the demolition and commence the process of compensation.

“That the government should set up a committee to verify genuine landowners with the view to return the same property to them.

“That Governor Abba Yusuf should take his time to study the handover note of the previous administration instead of taking hasty decisions, bearing in mind that government is a continuum.”

“That the state anti-corruption commission has completely been politicised, especially with the appointment of a partisan and card carrying member of the NNPP as chairman and therefore Barrister Muhuyi Magaji, should either resign honourably or sack immediately.”