Amidst the ongoing Emirate dispute in Kano State, Mainasara Kogo Umar, member of the Kogo Royal Dynasty has warned that the situation of things in the state, could compel President Bola Tinubu to declare a state of emergency to restore decorum.
Umar, during an interview with ARISE NEWS on Monday, provided a detailed analysis of the situation, focusing on the actions of the Kano State Assembly and the subsequent legal challenges.
He said despite the fact that the State Assembly amended the law establishing four additional emirate councils in Kano, a move within their rights under sections 4 and 11 of the Nigerian federal constitution, there was an omission on the part that called for public hearing, that allowed the opinion of the general public.
“If the brouhaha continues like this, the president will be compelled to invoke a state of emergency so as to bring about stability, civility, order and decorum.
“Ado Bayero is not deposed and there is no question of reinstatement. First of all, the State Assembly decided to amen the law that established the four additional emirate councils in Kano. In that, they have the right to do it under sections 4 and 11 of the federal constitution of Nigeria. But there is a fundamental breach there.
“Under section 14(1), sovereignty belongs to the people and there is a fundamental thing in legislative practice; what they call public hearing. They deliberately omitted public hearing in that exercise.”
He said the omission of public hearing led to legal action, with some individuals petitioning the court to halt the implementation of the legislation.
Umar emphasised the importance of respecting judicial decisions, stating that the appropriate response to a court order is to comply and then challenge or seek to vacate it, rather than disregarding it.
“As a result of that, some people ran to the court demanding that the implementation of the outcome of that process be halted by the court. That was what led to the issue of the court order, restraining the implementation of that particular legislation.
“Now with that, whenever there is a court order, you must respect the institution of the judiciary. Where you are not in consonance with the court order, the best thing for you to do is for you to implement the order and then you go and challenge or vacate the court order, that is the thing you should do in decorum and not refusing to respect the court order.
“The Emirs are entitled to be informed of the articles of their offense first and up to this moment, they have not been informed.”
Umar also emphasised that Ganduje’s disregard and violation of the law during his administration should have been addressed with appropriate sanctions as provided by the laws of the land, and should not serve as a precedent for this administration to do the same.
He advocated for a return to the court’s position, urging all parties involved to await the court’s decision next week before proceeding further.
“What Ganduje did is clearly Christianly wrong and should no be the basis for this one to duplicate what Ganduje did. What Ganduje did should have been followed appropriately with sanctions provided by the laws of the land. It is not an excuse.
“I am in support of the implementation of that court proceeding to the later but what I am saying is that the compounding of another offense over the same offense would not give us any head way.
“The way out of this is to go back to the position of the court. We should respect the rule of law. Restraining order restraining the implementation of the new legislation should be the position of everybody now. We should go back there and wait until the position of the court is known next week, then we can go ahead and see where the pendulum swings.”
Addressing rumours of federal government interference, Umar clarified that the federal authorities did not meddle in the selection of candidates for the emirate positions.
He explained that Ado Bayero sought protection, involving police and military forces under federal control due to the absence of state-level security forces.
“Federal government did not interfere and is not interested in any of the candidates. The position is that his Highness Emir Ado Bayero decided to see protection and the police and the military are all under the domain of the federal strata in our own structure.
“That is why people are saying the federal government is involved. It is because there is no state police and no state military.”
On Thursday, the Kano State House of Assembly passed the Kano Emirates Council Law (Repeal Bill) 2024, which dethroned all the five first class Emirs of the state.
The bill, titled the Kano State Emirates Council (Amendment No. 2) Law, 2024, was sponsored by the Majority Leader of the House Lawan Chediyar Yan Gurasa.
The House dissolved the five Emirates created by the former Governor of the State Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, who created Bichi, Rano, Gaya, Karaye as well as the Kano Emirate.
According to the new law, all offices established under the repealed law were set aside thereby reviving Single Emirate System in the state, all offices created under the repealed law dissolved and district heads appointed or elevated under the previous legislation are to revert to their former positions.
Chioma Kalu
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