Following the expiration of the tenure of the elected chairmen of 44 Local Government Areas of Kano State, the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) has raised the alarm that the state Governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf, has allegedly concluded plans to appoint a caretaker committee in their stead.
The council said it was therefore giving the state government a seven-day ultimatum to rescind the plan or face legal action.
Addressing journalists yesterday in Kano, IPAC’s Legal Adviser, Salisu Umar, stated the council gathered that Governor Yusuf had commenced the process of appointing his liaison officers at each local government area into a caretaker committee to run the affairs of the local government areas after directing the LG bosses to hand over to their DPMs following the expiration of their three-years tenure.
Umar said the warning was endorsed by 12 out of 18 registered political parties.
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“This action by the Kano government to enforce the idea of a caretaker is totally against the existing norms and procedure. So, we will not fold our arms watching the government abuse democracy,” he said.
While decrying the challenges of delaying the council election, IPAC said it would not allow any attempt to circumvent the thrust of the people.
Reacting, Sanusi Bature, the governor’s spokesman, said the government would ensure there is no vacuum in the leadership of the 44 LGAs and would do this within the confines of the law.
“The tenure of Local Government chairmen has expired, and they are expected to handover within the stipulated period. I am not sure what model of leadership will be adopted during this transition period, but I know there must be leadership in the local government.
“The government will do whatever possible to provide leadership that will take care of the 44 LGAs within the confines of the law,” he said, adding that the State Attorney General was best positioned to inform the public on the type of leadership that would be adopted.
However, several calls and a text message to the state Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice, Haruna Dederi, were not responded to as of the time of filing this report.
