- Threatens legal action against Governor Yusuf
From Romanus Ugwu, Abuja
A Civil Society Organisation (CSO), under the auspices of the Coalition for Good Governance and Change Initiative, has issued a 72-hour ultimatum to the governor of Kano State, Abba Kabir Yusuf, to retrace his step in the ongoing unlawful demolition of property and destruction of investment in the state.
The National Coordinator of the coalition, Okpokwu Ogenyi, issued the ultimatum at a press conference in Abuja on Tuesday.
The coalition threatened to drag the Kano State government to the court should it continue with the demolition, lamenting the magnitude of pains and sorrow the governor is inflicting on the people of Kano State.
According to Okpokwu; “The last three weeks have become a hell in Kano State with a cry in almost every home within the metropolis. Governor Abba Yusuf has become a shadow of good governance, even his supporters are no longer proud of him because of his inhuman action against the people of Kano State.
“How can a Governor of less than a week old demolished property worth over two hundred and six billion naira without studying the process talk more of compensation of the property owners? The Government claimed that the previous administration allocated government lands to individuals and corporate bodies, is it not the responsibility of the government to allocate lands?
“The land use act says individuals own no land, all land belongs to the government. What is the offence of the citizens who genuinely acquired land from the government? If it is true that the previous administration of Kano State illegally allocated these plots, why not call the immediate past Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje to answer questions and if possible charge him to Court instead of destroying property built by innocent Nigerians who applied for land and were allocated same by the state government.
“Is government no longer a continuous process? Most of these individuals got loans and invested them in Kano only to face this kind of devastating situation. How do you expect them to survive? We believed that the situation in Kano if not called to order is capable of causing unrest which may affect the whole country,” the coalition warned.
Issuing the ultimatum, Okpokwu said: “Something must be done urgently to stop this madness. We call on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to quickly intervene and call Governor Abba Yusuf to order to stop further illegal demolition of the property leading to loss of lives in the state.
“We also call on the International Community to come to the aid of the people and investors in Kano State by prevailing on Governor Abba Yusuf to stop the demolition forthwith. Mr Kwankwaso who is the leader of the Governor is silent over the inhuman activities currently ongoing in Kano State, a bad signal that he is also part of the demolition plot, if he is not, we call on him to exonerate himself by joining religious leaders and other prominent Nigerians in condemning the evil act.
“We are making this appeal in the national interest because we know the implications of any possible crisis in Kano State, being the most populous state in Nigeria. If the misgovernance of Governor Abba Yusuf leads to a crisis in Kano state (God forbid) it will affect negatively the whole of Nigeria.
“That’s why we are calling for voices of reasoning now, not only to call Governor Abba Yusuf to order but to prevail on him to quickly reverse his actions by calling all the affected persons to a roundtable for amicable resolutions.
“We hereby give Governor Yusuf a 72-hour ultimatum to retrace himself and stop the ongoing demolition, call the affected persons and group for proper compensation or face legal action,” he warned.