The Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, on Monday sent a fresh bill to the state house of assembly to create four new emirates in Kano.

This is coming days after a high court sacked the recently created emirates and emirs. The court said the Kano assembly did not follow due process in creating the new emirates.

Mr Ganduje, however, appears determined to create the new emirates despite the opposition by many Kano residents, Premium Times reports.

Many observers believe the move is Mr Ganduje’s effort to weaken the Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi, who had been critical of the government.

The state’s commissioner of information, Muhammad Garba, in a statement to journalists Monday morning, said some of the emirates annulled by the court existed before the Kano emirate, and thus the government’s move was to revive the emirates after the failed attempt by previous regimes.

Below is Mr Garba’s full statement.

Kano State Executive Council has approved Emirate Council Bill 2019 which provides for the establishment of additional Emirates in the state.

To this end, the Council has, with this development, endorsed the establishment of four new Emirates namely Rano, Gaya, Bichi and Karaye and forward same to the state Assembly for necessary action.

A press statement issued by the commissioner for Information, Malam Muhammad Garba at the end of the Council Session held at the Council Chambers, Government House, Kano, yesterday, indicated that some of these Emirate have even pre-dated Kano in ancient times, while the effort to revive them during the Second Republic was short-lived.

He said while the Council seriously discussed the decade long clamour for the establishment of additional Emirates in the state with a view to bringing more development to the people of the new Emirates, the exercise was also informed by the need to bring traditional institution closer to the people in addition to facilitating speedy socio-economic development and security in the state.

The statement further indicated that the introduction of the Free and Compulsory Education at Basic and Secondary level requires the active participation of the community especially the traditional institutions for its successful implementation.

The commissioner pointed out that the Emirate Council Bill 2019 was amended in the public interest following a Kano High Court action that nullified the law on the ground that the petition was presented to the Assembly by a private person not a member of the House.

The Council, according to statement, therefore, called on the state Assembly to expedite action on the passage of the Bill in the interest of the public.