Ganduje Moves To Establish Independent Group Akin To Hisbah In Kano

The immediate-past governor of Kano State, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, has unveiled plans to set up a voluntary organisation of volunteers similar to Hisbah Board under the Ganduje Foundation, to accommodate the 12,000 personnel recently dismissed by the Kano State Hisbah Board.

Ganduje, who is also the immediate-past National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), announced the initiative while receiving a verification report on the affected workers. He condemned their dismissal by the incumbent Governor Abba Yusuf administration, describing it as “unjust”.

The report was presented by the director-general of the National Productivity Centre (NPC) and former head of the Kano State Roads and Traffic Agency (KAROTA), Dr Baffa Babba Dan-Agundi, who chaired the committee set up to identify and verify the disengaged Hisbah personnel by State government.

“Your Excellency, this is a draft report. We have verified them with their contacts. All of them are with you in this journey,” Dan-Agundi said.

Responding, Ganduje said the proposed body tentatively named Independent Hisbah would operate outside government structures and function purely as a civil, voluntary organisation.

“I know there are many others who will want to join aside from these 12,000,” he said. “You’ll soon be given another mandate of getting more people to join.”

The proposed outfit is expected to be led by a former Hisbah Commander-General, Sheikh Muhammad Harun Ibn Sina, who served under the administration of Ganduje.

Ibn Sina explained that the organisation, to be known as Khairun Nas, would mirror some of the moral policing and community support functions of Hisbah but without being a parallel state agency.

“The 12,000 officers engaged during his tenure and dismissed by this government complained to him,” Ibn Sina said. “He said an independent body could be established, but not a government agency, as only government can do that. So he set up a committee co-chaired by Dan-Agundi and me, alongside four others, to verify the people and their willingness to join.”

He clarified that the body has not been formally inaugurated and would be open to new members beyond the dismissed Hisbah personnel. While allowances are not guaranteed, he said support from individuals and organisations could provide stipends for volunteers.