Barely one month after he took over the mantle of leadership of Kano State, Governor Abba Yusuf made several headlines when he went on a demolition spree, mowing down properties and business centres whose construction he suspected didn’t follow due process.
Although the governor claimed he was merely fulfilling the promise he made to the people in his manifesto, his action was largely viewed as a deliberate act to destroy any legacy left behind by his predecessor.
Yusuf was however sacked from office on September 20 by the state Election Petitions Tribunal, which affirmed the APC candidate, Nasiru Gawuna, as winner of the March 18 governorship election.
Receiving a delegation of Kano market youth leaders at the APC national secretariat on Tuesday, Ganduje, who was the immediate governor of the state, reassured the business community that sanity would be restored in the ancient city once the ruling party regained control of the state.
He said: “It is unfortunate for the other issue that you raised. The issue of senseless demolition was unfortunate. That was very unfortunate. They destroyed the economy of Kano. They destroyed business and trading in Kano.
“Many people are now sceptical about going to Kano for business. Even banks don’t accept certificates of occupancy, because they are not sure whether the certificate will be revoked tomorrow. Or even when you build, it will be demolished.
“You can see the extent of demolition of businesses in Kano. It is very unfortunate. But I have to congratulate you for taking the right steps. People who lost their property in Kano have taken the issue to court. And the court has already started giving verdicts for compensation. It is just the starting point for the people who take them to court. The answer to Kano politics is for the return of the APC and we are pursuing that.”
Earlier in his speech, Chairman of the market leaders, Umar Ladiyo, recalled the untold hardship suffered by the business community in the last four months, saying the destruction of property and business centres by the NNPP-led government had forced many business owners into bankruptcy.
The market leader however stated they were happy at the September 20 judgment, which affirmed Gawuna as the actual winner.
“With the outgoing government in Kano, everybody knows what happened was a tragedy. The destruction of properties, businesses and many people have been thrown into crises. Some even lost their lives.
“The amount of money lost in Kano during the destruction was huge. The turnover that is being done is more than N2bn every day. Sadly, we have lost all that now,” he stated.
Continuing, Ladiyo reminded the APC governorship candidate in the state to fulfil his promise to reallocate property to the victims of the NNPP administration destruction.
He said, “We are happy that during the trial at the tribunal, the APC candidate promised that when the APC government comes, all the property destroyed would be reallocated and some people would be helped with some token to start up their businesses. So many people have been thrown into debt and some have even lost their lives.
“We came here to express our sadness on that. And we pray that when a new government comes, that promise should be fulfilled because it is going to be the first agenda of our government when the time comes.”
