BARELY a few days into marking his one year in office, the Kano State Governor, Abba Yusuf, stirred the Hornet’s net by reinstating the deposed Sanusi Lamido Sanusi as Emir of Kano. This came four years after the erstwhile governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, dethroned Sanusi over ‘disrespect’ to his office and other government agencies.
The parting of ways between the emir and Ganduje was said to have been tied to the displeasure perceptibly expressed by Sanusi when Ganduje ran for a second term in 2019.
After securing his re-election, Ganduje assented to a law from the state assembly creating five additional emirates; a move believed to whittle Sanusi’s influence before he was dethroned.
Prior to this, the north-west state only had one emirate; Kano Emirate, to which budget allocations were made through the ministry for local government.
Earlier in 2019, four additional emirate councils were established: Bichi, Gaya, Karaye and Rano, following the amendment of the Emirate Council Law.
With the recent development, the state assembly passed the amendment law that dissolved the emirates created by Ganduje, who now chairs the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
The ICIR reported that the reinstallation of Sanusi and the abolishment of the emirate councils had attracted mixed reactions from residents in the state with the court issuing conflicting orders.
Inside the budget of Kano emirate councils
Findings by The ICIR showed that the state government approved a total of N2.27 billion for the five emirate councils between 2020 and 2024. The highest allocation was made in 2020, a year after the additional emirate councils were created.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Kano state government approved N500 million each for the upgrading of Primary Health Centres (PHC) in each of the additional emirates, while, the emirate council in Kano got N10 million for administration. This means a total of N2.01 billion was approved by the government in 2020.
In 2021, N5 million was approved for each of the five emirate councils amounting to N25 million. Similarly, N12.5 million was shared equally among the emirate councils in 2022.
| Emirates |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
2024 budget |
| Bichi Emirate Council |
500,000,000 |
5,000,000.00 |
2,500,000.00 |
2,500,000.00 |
15,000,000.00 |
| Gaya Emirate Council |
500,000,000 |
5,000,000.00 |
2,500,000.00 |
2,500,000.00 |
15,000,000.00 |
| Karaye Emirate Council |
500,000,000 |
5,000,000.00 |
2,500,000.00 |
100,700,000.00 |
50,700,000.00 |
| Rano Emirate Council |
500,000,000 |
5,000,000.00 |
2,500,000.00 |
2,500,000.00 |
15,000,000.00 |
| Kano Emirate Council |
10,000,000 |
5,000,000.00 |
2,500,000.00 |
2,500,000.00 |
15,000,000.00 |
Table showing the budget approved by the Kano state government to the emirate councils
However, The ICIR observed that in the approved budget for 2023 and 2024, while other emirate councils got equal allocation, Karaye emirate council received more than 100 per cent over others.
For instance, in the 2023 approved budget, each emirate council had an allocation of N2.5 million but Karaye council received N100.7 million. Also, in the approved budget of 2024, Karaye council was allocated N50.7 million while the other emirate councils got N15 million naira each totalling 110.7 million naira. I’m
With the suspension of the emirate councils, it is unsure how the state government would disburse the N110.7 million approved in the 2024 budget. However, The ICIR checks from the state’s Budget Implementation Report (BIR) for the first quarter of 2024 shows that no allocations have been made yet to the emirate councils.
Allocations to emirs must be value driven – Expert
A policy expert, Idowu Ayinde, told The ICIR that traditional rulers play a crucial role in the governance and socioeconomic system of the state. He, however, said allocations must be tied to economic value within the state.
“The emirs hold moral authority over the people as well and can quickly be a part of maintaining order in Kano. They are also crucial in mediating between aggrieved parties. So allocating funds to them may not be a waste of public funds. If you ask me, I would say they are grossly underfunded.
“If the emirates have not delivered value commensurate to the funds’ allocation, it is more a reflection of poor management of public resources by the government and failure of the personalities involved as well than it is about the emirates as an institution,” Ayinde ssid
According to him, the government needs to be more participatory, and allow policies to be people-centric while focussing more on sectors that empower the people, provide social safety and allow small businesses to thrive.
