Demolition: Tinubu Summons Kwankwaso, Ganduje

In an effort to ease tensions arising from the recent demolition of buildings in Kano by the state government, President Bola Tinubu has summoned former governors Rabiu Kwankwaso and Abdullahi Ganduje.

The president held separate meetings with the two former governors at the Presidential Villa yesterday evening.

Speaking to State House correspondents after the meeting, Ganduje  described the demolition carried out by Governor Abba Yusuf as “illegal”,  because it was executed without due process and, therefore, breached the law.

Ganduje said the demolition exercise was done without carrying out any investigation or giving due notice in line with provisions of the Land Use Act.

Yusuf in his inauguration speech on May 29 ordered security agencies to immediately repossess all public properties believed to have been sold by the Ganduje administration.

He alleged that they were illegally acquired and built by the administration.

Some structures demolished in the recent fiasco include Haji camp, Daula Hotel and shopping complexes around the Eid Prayer Ground, structures Ganduje said were products of Public-Private Partnerships.

The former governor said he came to brief the president about the security situation in the state, especially “the looting and vandalism going on.

“And we don’t want it to result into religious or tribal conflict. Thousands of traders have been rendered without any business,” he said.

Ganduje who served as Kwankwaso’s deputy from 1999 to 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.

“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 said.

Yusuf had said 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 and that many more demolitions would follow.

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.

He said the governor whom he described as a “stooge” of Kwankwaso was no longer happy because of the condemnation that greeted the move.

Kwankwaso, on the other hand in an interview with correspondents claimed that most of the buildings demolished were illegally acquired by the Ganduje administration.

He stated that his party had pledged to demolish such structures during their campaign.

Regarding speculations of accepting a ministerial position from the Tinubu administration, Kwankwaso revealed that talks were ongoing about the possibility.

However, he dismissed rumors of defecting to the ruling party, emphasising that Tinubu was more focused on a government of national unity.

Meanwhile, Ganduje said he would have  slapped his predecessor, Engr Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, if they met at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

Asked by newsmen about the security situation in Kano following demolitions carried out by Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf’s administration, Ganduje expressed displeasure.

He acknowledged Kwankwaso’s presence in the building, but said they had not met.

Ganduje said; “Probably if we met, maybe I would have slapped him.”