By our Correspondent
The opposition Congress of all progressives (APC) asked the administration of Kano State Governor Abba Yusuf to extend the property revocation and ongoing demolition of some properties in the state to properties sold by the governor’s political godfather, Rabiu Kwankwaso.
Yusuf was Kwankwaso’s personal aide and then commissioner when he was state governor from 1999-2003 and 2011-2015.
Less than 72 hours after his May 29 inauguration, Yusuf ordered the demolition of some properties that he claimed were illegally sold by the previous government. He also claimed that some properties were built on land for recreation sites.
Between Saturday and Tuesday, the government demolished at least four buildings. A three-story building with 90 shops at a Nasarawa GRA racecourse was also demolished on Saturday.
On the same day, the government demolished the Hotel Daula, a three-star hotel rebuilt by the Ganduje administration under a Public Private Partnership agreement. The government also demolished another structure at Hajj Camp. On Monday, the government demolished shops in the Kantin Kwari textile market; he claimed the stores were built on illegally sold land.
Other locations reported to be slated for demolition include the Shahuci Mall, the former Triumph Publishing Company building, whose premises were sold to the Bureau De Change operators which now houses a shopping mall.
Other properties are Farm Incumbent Centre, shops erected at the Fagge Jumma’at Mosque, shops erected near the city wall, shops on Club Road and Mallam Kato Park.
Former rural development commissioner under the Ganduje administration, Musa Illiyasu, and his colleagues spoke about the demolition exercise, and a leaked confidential document circulating on social media indicated how senator Kwankwaso, four days before the end of his tenure in 2015, he auctioned off an armored Lexus SUV purchased for N70 million for N3 million.
The documents bore the signature of the former state government secretary, Rabiu Suleiman, who conveyed the details of a payment plan and approved by the SSG the sum of N3 million for the vehicle.
Illiyasu, on a radio show, listed various government-owned properties that he claimed were sold cheaply by Kwankwaso when he was governor, allegedly for himself and his associates.
“Government properties at numbers 5, 6 and 7 Bala Muhammed Way. The government property at No132 on Dawaki Road and No13 on Ali Akilu was sold by Kwankwaso’s management, and please investigate who is the occupant now.
“The Kwankwaso administration sold the government properties at numbers 193, 194, 196, 197, 198 and 920, all on Ahmadu Bello Way, and Ganduje used the same process to sell the government properties if Ganduje was not appropriate, so Kwankwaso himself too, Illiyasu said.
The APC claimed that Mr. Yusuf, who was Mr. Kwankwaso’s private secretary, was one of those who bought the properties.
APC supporters, in a memo widely circulated on social media, claimed that the shops erected on the old city wall between ‘Kofar Kabuga’ gate and ‘Kofar Fanfo’ gate were sold by Kwankwaso; therefore the ongoing demolition exercise should not stop at the city wall shops sold by the Ganduje administration.
“The Kwankwaso administration sold the shops on the city wall in front of the Sani Abacha stadium starting from the ‘Kofar Mata’ gate.
“The land belonging to the slaughterhouse cemetery, Kano Road, was sold by the Kwankwaso administration.
The Kwankwaso administration sold the land at Kabarin Raka (Raka Cemetery) on Airport Road
“Land at the women’s teacher’s school, land at the government high school festival, land at the government boys’ high school, Goron Dutse: plots inside the Daula Hotel, plots in Salanta at Kano Polytechnic. Plots at the Faculty of Legal Studies and plots at Kano Education Resource Development (KERD) in Gandun Albasa, among others, were (allegedly) sold by the Kwankwaso administration, APC claimed.
The APC alleged that Kwankwaso also sold the Kano Link Guest Houses in Kano, Lagos and Abuja.
APC state vice president Shehu Maigari said the ongoing demolition is barbaric and has affected the livelihood of millions.
He said this at a press conference at the Kano NUJ secretariat on Tuesday.
“Kano, being a mega-city and the commercial powerhouse of the northern region and other West African countries, is now facing a serious calamity from the NNPP-led administration.
“This wanton and barbaric destruction of people’s livelihoods by the state government calls for serious prayers from all well-meaning people as people are now counting their losses in billions of naira,” Maigari said. .
“Therefore, we call on all those affected to be patient, remain calm and explore all legal means to protect their properties and seek legal redress for damages caused and losses suffered.
“The party also urged parents and guardians in the city to warn their children and wards of the dangers of being used as ‘agents of destruction by the NNPP-led administration,’ Maigari said.
Sanusi Bature, the governor’s spokesman, could not be reached Tuesday night for comment.
