From Romanus Ugwu, Abuja
A Civil Society Organisation (CSO), Coalition for Good Governance and Change Initiative, has issued a 72-hour ultimatum to Kano State Governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf, to retrace his steps in the ongoing demolition of property and destruction of investments in the state.
National Coordinator of the coalition, Okpokwu Ogenyi, issued the ultimatum, yesterday, at a press conference in Abuja. The group 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 people of the state.
“The last three weeks has 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 government to allocate lands? The land use act says individual own no land, all land belong to 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 it 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. 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 property leading to lost 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.”