Abba Yusuf, the incoming governor of Kano, has been urged by the state administration to practise patience and refrain from making formal statements in the form of public advisories in order to avoid creating needless uncertainty in the state.
This is stated in a statement made by Muhammad Garba, commissioner of information and internal affairs, on Friday in response to a warning issued by the office of the governor-elect to people, groups, and organisations engaged in construction on public property.
By issuing a directive on a subject that impacts established government policy when the incumbent has not yet completed his entire term, the governor-elect, according to him, is jumping the gun.
In addition, Garba noted that, according to the Federal Republic of Nigeria’s constitution, Abdullahi Ganduje would continue to serve as governor with executive authority through May 29 and has the right to continue serving in that capacity as long as it serves the public good.
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“He is still a governor-elect and lacks the authority of the governor until May 29, when he takes the oath of office as governor. When he takes office, the only thing he can do is, if there is a good reason to do so, undo some of the decisions made by his predecessor. Prior to being sworn in, no governor-elect has the constitutional or legal authority to decide how a state will be run.
The commissioner pointed out that since state governors had a great deal of power to distribute plots, every government had engaged in such an activity, including the previous administration under which the governor-elect had previously served.
Additionally, he said that according to records that are currently available, the previous administration had allocated land in some of the public areas that the governor-elect had specifically mentioned, such as the city wall, shops at the Kofar Mata Eid Prayer Ground facing the Orion Cinema, from Kofar Mata to ‘Yan Yashi opposite the Eid Ground, and from Kofar Kabuga to Kofar Famfo facing the old campus of Bayero University.
Garba added that the governor-elect’s actions had caused a great deal of stress in the state, and he had been instructed to refrain from doing so in order to prevent creating commotion.
He further urged the direction not to intimidate people or organisations that have obtained land through legal and proper channels.
