Kaduna State Government has directed the five kingmakers of the Zazzau emirate to begin a fresh selection of candidates for the 19th emir of Zazzau after it jettisoned the earlier list submitted to it.
The state government on Wednesday stated that the earlier processes had excluded two untreated applicants including the Bunu Zazzau and the Sarkin Dajin Zazzau who it claimed had protested their exclusion in the selection processes.
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Daily Trust had exclusively reported that the kingmakers of Zazzau had met with representatives of government and security agencies in Zaria on September 24, where they submitted a list of the top three candidates from the 11 contenders.
The top three were: Iyan Zazzau, Alhaji Bashar Aminu from the Katsinawa dynasty who scored 89%; Yariman Zazzau, Alhaji Muhammed Munnir Jafaru from Bare-bari dynasty who scored 87% and Turakin Zazzau, Alhaji Aminu Shehu Idris from Katsinawa dynast who scored 53%.
Daily Trust further reported that Governor Nasir El-Rufai’s ally, Magajin Garin Zazzau, Alhaji Ahmad Nuhu Bamalli from the Mallawa dynasty did not make the list. Sources however later confirmed that the list was altered to include the Magajin Garin Zazzau’s name and place above the other three princes.
One of the reasons given for the latest directive for a new selection, according to the statement, issued by Governor Nasir El-Rufai’s Special Adviser on Media and Communication, Muyiwa Adeyeye was that the kingmakers had assessed two candidates on 24th September 2020 without sighting their CVs which the selectors received a day later.
“The SSG explained that the Kaduna State Government directed a new round of the selection process following the cancellation of the initial process, which excluded two interested applicants.
The Bunu Zazzau complained that he was unable to submit his application because he was told that the window for receipt of applications had closed. The Sarkin Dajin Zazzau also protested his exclusion from the process,” the statement noted.
It noted that the kingmakers of Zazzau emirate were currently engaged in a fresh process to recommend candidates for the office of the 19th Fulani Emir of Zazzau adding that “the state government considers as highly irregular the leakage of the report of the selection meeting of 24th September 2020 before its receipt by the state governor.”
“The kingmakers are now meeting to assess all the 13 candidates that indicated interest from all the ruling houses, including the two that were previously excluded. The report of these assessments will be swiftly submitted to the governor for his consideration,” the statement concluded.
Kingmakers of Zazzau Emirate are currently engaged in a fresh process to recommend candidates for the office of the 19th Fulani Emir of Zazzau. KDSG directed a new round of the selection process after cancelling the initial process, which excluded two interested applicants.
— Governor Kaduna (@GovKaduna) September 30, 2020
