Awujale of Ijebu, Oba Sikiru Adetona and the National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu appear to be leveraging their influence to prevent the dethronement of Emir Aminu Bayero.
News Digest has learned that Emir Bayero’s purpose of visit to the Awujale in Ijebu-Ode, Ogun state on Wednesday was not merely ceremonial but also a strategic decision to seek assistance in the face of his looming leadership crisis.
It is also understood that Oba Sikiru, who is a close friend of Emir Bayero’s father, had been approached to intercede with President Bola Tinubu to prevent the planned dethronement by the NNPP-led government of Governor Abba Yusuf.
For many observers, the leadership of the Kano Emirate has rapidly become a display of political power between the All Progressives Congress and the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), as well as a tug-of-war between the federal government and the Kano state government.
Read Also:
On Thursday, the Kano State House of Assembly rescinded a 2019 Law that permitted the formation of five separate emirates from the old Kano Emirates. The law had previously allowed Gov Ganduje, a member of the APC, to depose Emir Sanusi Lamido, the person with whom he was in a dispute.
Shortly after the repeal of the law on Thursday, Governor Abba Yusuf, known for his disapproval of the APC government, declared the unification of the Kano Emirates and the reinstatement of Sanusi Lamido as Emir of the Kano Emirates.
In a related development on that Thursday, Justice A. M. Liman of the Federal High Court in Kano issued a restraining order that upheld Mr Bayero’s position as the Emir, with the court hearing for the case scheduled to begin on June 3.
In a rapid succession of events on Saturday, Gov Yusuf’s public directive to the state police to arrest Emir Bayero was disregarded. Instead, the Kano Commissioner of Police, noted that it would respect the order of the Kano Court and continue to recognize Mr Bayero as the Emir.
News Digest understands that the Police’s decision to ignore the governor’s directive was significantly influenced by the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, who is in support of Emir Bayero.
Amid this leadership crisis, Emir Lamido Sanusi was accompanied by Governor Abba Yusuf, Deputy Governor Aminu Abdussalam and several government officials during his return to the Palace on Saturday morning to mount the throne as Emir.
