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Tag: Sanusi

  • Emirate defends Sanusi spending

    Emirate defends Sanusi spending

    •Council says Emir inherited N1.8b, not N4b

    THE Kano Emirate Council yesterday debunked allegations that Emir Muhammadu Sanusi II inherited N4 billion from his predecessor, the late Alhaji Ado Abdullahi Bayero.
    According to the Walin Kano, Alhaji Mahe Bashir Wali, it was untrue that the Emirate spent the N6 billion left behind by the former Emir
    Addressing reporters at the Emir’s Palace, Wali clarified that Sanusi II inherited only N1, 893, 378, 927.38, as against N4 billion allegedly inherited by the Emir.
    He said: “Before the appointment of His Highness, the Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, CON. The Kano Emirate Council has the sum of N2, 875, 168, and 431.17 under various Banks as Fixed Deposit Accounts, out of which N981, 784, 503.79 was withdrawn and used during the late Emir of Kano, Alhaji Ado Bayero on 7/2/2014 for the payment of Ado Bayero Royal City Project leaving a balance of N1, 893, 378, 927.38 with various banks.”
    The Kano Emirate Council further stated that about N152, 627,723.00 was paid to Dabo Gate for the procurement of furniture for the Palace, adding that, “after the demise of the late Emir of Kano, Alhaji Ado Bayero, Peace Be Upon him, all his belongings, including the furniture were removed and distributed to his heirs in accordance with Islamic injunction.
    “The sum of N108 million was also paid to the heirs of the late Emir of Kano, Alhaji Ado Bayero by the Emirate Council in respect of his personal cars inherited by the present Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi 11. The cars now form part of Kano Emirate Council fleet of vehicles in the Palace.”
    The Walin Kano, however, dismissed allegations that the Emirate spent N15, 458,660.00 on travels, insisting that the amount was actually used for the construction and renovation of Fadancin Dare wing of the Palace.
    The Emirate Council also admitted raising two vouchers of N6, 993, 203.00 and N5, 560, 235.00 totaling N12, 559, 435.00 to the Western Union as the cost of Air tickets for the Emir’s entourage, “excluding the Emir, who used to pay for his ticket.”
    He denied allegations that the Emirate Council spent billions of Naira on chartered flight, adding that the Emirate Council chartered flight only twice for the Emir’s movement to Sokoto and Benin City.
    His explanation: “The Council chartered an Air Flight only twice for His Highness for the following trips: In September, 2014 to Sokoto when the Emir paid a traditional homage (Mubaya’a) to Sultan of Sokoto after his turbaning as Emir of Kano and the Council spent N4, 651, 000.00
    “In January 2015 to Benin for his installation as Chancellor of Benin University and it cost the Emirate Council N9, 071, 000. 00. All the trips were made a as a result of lack of schedule flight at that time to make this important and historical trips and it cost the Council the sum of N13, 722, 00.00 as against alleged N9, 071, 000.00.”
    The Council admitted that two bullet proof cars were bought for the Emir at the cost of N142, 800, 000.00, but insisted that the purchase was based on the advice and approval of the state government.
    “This was as a result of an attack on the late Emir of Kano, Alhaji (Dr.) Ado Bayero on his way back from Murtala Muhammad Mosque to the Palace,” the Walin Kano added.
    He also stated that N154, 873, 000.00 was spent on the replacement of vehicles that were destroyed when the Emir’s convoy was attacked by Boko Haram insurgents on his way back from Murtala Muhammad Mosque to the Palace.
    The Emirate Council also insisted that the two Rolls Royce executive cars for Emir Sanusi II were purchased by his friends.
    On spending about N37, 054, 192.06 on phone calls, the Emirate Council stated that, “it is true that the sum of N37, 054, 192.06 was paid to Airtel due to the fact that the Emir has been identified with only one local mobile phone which he uses within and outside the country.
    “The majority of the charges are that of roaming which are normal. The telephones of the palace are upset by the Council, particularly when it comes within the provision of the budget.”
    He confirmed that the Council got N1, 727, 938, 660.42 as grants from the state government between August 30, 2014 and March 1, 2017, “over and above the alleged figure of N1, 672, 953, 660.00.
    “The Emirate Council should have received almost triple of this amount, in accordance with the law establishing Emirate Council fund of 2004.
    “From 2012 to date, the Council has been denied of this contribution where the sum of N1, 142, 938, 660.42 was spread and released over a period of two years i.e. 2014 and 2015 with an average monthly release of N23, 811, 222.09. The release is for the year 2012.
    “In 2016 to date, the contribution started to improve from the average of N23 million per month to N40 million and the Council received the sum of N585 million within 13 months.
    “This amount covered the period of 2013 and part of 2014 which brings the sum of N1, 727,938,660.42 as total amount received between 30/07/2014 to 01/03/2017 as earlier mentioned. From our calculations, between January 2012 to September 2016 the sum of N6, 527,013,061.00 has been held by the state government.”
    The Walin Kano assured that the Emirate would cooperate with anybody or agency who needs more clarification on the alleged financial misappropriation in the Palace.

  • Sanusi ranks Northwest, Northeast most backward

    Sanusi ranks Northwest, Northeast most backward

    EMIR of Kano Muhammad Sanusi II is worried over the backwardness of the Northwest and the Northeast in community healthcare delivery and education.
    According to him, the two zones have remained the most backward for a decade.
    Speaking yesterday at the Aminu Dabo College of Health Science and Technology, Kano, where he inaugurated a state-of-the-art health science laboratory named after him, the emir urged the rich in the North to invest in health and education.
    He said “the two regions have multi-dimensional index of poverty”, due to their inability to measure up with other regions in terms of healthcare delivery and education.
    The elite, Emir Sanusi said, should unite to drag the North out of its socio-economic problems.
    The monarch described healthcare delivery and education as very important to human development, just as he called on politicians, businessmen and northern elite to encourage education and community health programmes through donation and award of scholarships.
    He, however, commended the proprietor of the College, Aminu Abubakar Dabo, for his foresight and service to humanity through investment in programmes that have direct impact on human development.
    In his opening remarks, Dabo said: “The idea behind the establishment of the College of Health Science and Technology is to bridge the gap that exist in the availability of qualified and well trained professionals in the field of health care provision in the state, northern Nigeria and Nigeria at large.”
    Dabo, a one-time Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), further stated: “The aim of the institution is to train health and allied health professionals in the areas of environmental health, community health, dental health, health information management, pharmacy technician, medical laboratory technicians and dispensing optician.”
    According to him, the institution, now operating on a temporary campus acquired from the defunct Bank of the North Training Centre, has acquired 100 hectres of land at Kanye, in Kabo Local Government Area as its permanent site, with hostels in Hotoro.
    The Provost of the College, Prof. Babatunde Opabola, said plans have advanced to elevate the College to Aminu Dabo International Medical University.

  • Yari to Sanusi: Practice what you preach

    Yari to Sanusi: Practice what you preach

    •’You’re struggling to fear God unlike other royal fathers’

    Governor Abdu-laziz Yari of Zamfara State is squaring up to a fresh face-off with the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi II, after accusing the traditional ruler of playing to the gallery.
    Sanusi, he said, should practice what he preaches for Nigerians to believe him.
    Yari, Chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF), wondered why the Emir rides a Rolls Royce in the midst of poverty in his kingdom.
    The governor made his feelings known in a statement through his Special Adviser ((Public Enlightenment and Communication), Mr. Ibrahim Dosara, 24 hours after the Emir claimed that some vested interests in the North were putting pressure on him to stop talking following his recent comments on national issues.
    It also came less than two weeks after their first spat when the Emir dismissed a statement by Yari that the meningitis outbreak in parts of the country, especially the North, was caused by sin.
    He said the outbreak was severe in his state because many of them engage in an immoral sin of fornication and now God was punishing them.
    Sanusi dismissed Yari’s position on the cause of the meningitis outbreak as horrendous, incorrect and un-Islamic.
    He said, “200 people died of meningitis in a state, the governor was asked and he said it is God’s curse on us for the sin of fornication, which apparently does not happen in America, which is why they don’t have meningitis.”
    He said that 90 per cent of the problems in the North are self-inflicted and can be solved. “How have we reduced ourselves, what have we done as a people, that we have placed ourselves in a situation where simple things, a medical issue…you don’t have vaccines, say you don’t have vaccines.
    “Treat those who have contracted it, don’t give these kinds of explanations. But this is the mindset. I have a degree in Islamic law, and I can tell you that is not an Islamically correct statement to make.
    “These are the kinds of things that we have; and when we talk about a difficult environment, we realize that 90 per cent of that difficulty, we can address, because it is self-inflicted.”
    However, Yari fired broadsides at the Emir yesterday for saying, at Thursday’s inaugural lecture on the missing Chibok girls, that he renovated the Kano Palace with his personal resources and hoped to recoup the money over time, and that some of the luxury cars he rides were gifts from his friends.
    The governor said: “Recently, our erudite emir has been mired in several controversies, which rather than enhance his profile and the integrity of royalty, has put him very much on the spot.
    “And the emir has put up a spirited defence of all the allegations against him. But he was not transparent enough, as he always accused officials, especially governors, to tell the public what he found in the Kano Emirate palace coffers when he ascended the exalted throne. This is the least of his people’s expectations of him. It was the first that our finest royalty would offer.
    “Sacrifice is another attribute known to our royal fathers. But when an emir pledges to commit his hard-earned resources for the face-lifting of the palace where he alone would reside and eventually transfers the burden to his impoverished subjects, there is a breach, or a problem.
    “The late Sultan Ibrahim Dasuki, of blessed memory, used his money to rebuild the Sultan’s Palace in Sokoto to his taste, but until his demise, he never tendered the bill to his subjects for reimbursement.
    “Over time, we know our traditional fathers for their compassion. When their friends from far and near offer to assist them, they would rather the assistance was given to alleviate the sufferings of their people in cash or kind.”
    The governor wondered why “a traditional ruler who identifies the problems of his people” could ask his friends who offered to help to donate a Rolls Royce to him rather than what would directly benefit his people, adding, “There is more than a fundamental problem. There is a big disconnect. Like Governor Yari has always said, his respect for our creator will never waver. He will also rue joining issues with royalty, in Nigeria or anywhere in the world. He maintains that his reverence of the institution that HRH Muhammadu Sanusi II represents is also unshaken.”
    Yari said he was only “asking HRH to either practice what he preaches or forever keep his peace, because in a situation where epidemics are taking our children, maternal mortality, uneducated youth, social vices and incompetent leaders are the national scourge, to borrow the words of the emir, and all he wants to do is ride a Rolls Royce in the face of palpable poverty, he shouldn’t engage in throwing accusations at others.
    “Kano kingdom is an important kingdom amongst the kingdoms in Africa. It is also an important and strategic institution in the history of Nigeria.”
    He called on the emir to emulate his predecessors and not play to the gallery in a manner that ridicules his own heritage. He asked the emir to stop using public platform to attack governors and those in power and stop equating science with God.
    Yari in the statement by his aide continued, “The emir as a brother and co-occupant of elite positions in Nigeria, he could advise governors and those in positions of authority in several chains of communication that are richly available to him. But he preferred the public platform, for reasons best known to him.”
    The governor revisited his controversial statement on the cause of the current meningitis outbreak, and insisted that he was not wrong in asking God to assist in addressing the epidemic in the state and other parts of the country.
    The governor, his aide, said, “firmly believes that a country that goes to its pastors and Imams who recommend prayer and fasting as the solution to every social misfortune, from matrimonial disagreements, to social and economic complications needs to be wary of the wrath of God in the event of an epidemic of unquantifiable proportion such as Type C meningitis. And as a country that succumbs to the supremacy of Allah, we must continue to link Him with all things, fair or foul.”
    He described the emir as an enemy of Islam.

  • Why it’s ok that my daughter slapped a boy’ – Sanusi

    Why it’s ok that my daughter slapped a boy’ – Sanusi

    For the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Muhammad Sanusi II, there has always been something strange about the daughter, Shaheeda who represented him at the BBOG movement’s third anniversary lecture for missing Chibok girls in Abuja last Friday.
    By her own account at the Transcorp-Hilton Hotel venue of the event, Shaheeda said that she just became the first female in northern Nigeria to represent an Emir at a formal event.
    While she appeared to have some inkling about the criticism that was bound to trail the development, and her not so conventional or inadequate use of the veil, her father’s video message that introduced her as a rather strange child took some members of the audience by surprise.
    “Although I won’t be there in person, I decided to send not my son but my daughter, Shaheeda to represent me,” the emir said in his introduction of Shaheeda.
    “Let me tell you something about the young lady who is going to read my speech. Shaheeda is a graduate of African Leadership Academy in South Africa and a graduate from New York University as a Biology major.
    “But long before she went to African Leadership Academy, when she was in Form 3, I remember an incident that is probably relevant for today.
    Her mother came to me and said: ‘You need to talk to your daughter’ and I asked her: ‘Why?’
    “She said: ‘Your daughter slapped a boy in school’. It is a bit strange so, I called Shaheeda and said: ‘Shaheeda, I heard that you slapped a boy in school. Why did you do it?’
    “Then she said: ‘Dad, that boy has no respect for women’.
    “So, I asked her exactly what she meant by that. It turned out that one day, during prep in the afternoon, in full class, the boy had come to her, and put his finger to her forehead and pushed it backwards, and he was in the habit of doing it to all the girls in the class.
    “She had said nothing apparently and waited until the next day. She walked into the prep class late, the whole class was full, and she walked up to him, slapped him, and said: ‘That was for yesterday’.
    “So, long before we started talking about marriage and talking about whether when your husband slaps you, you should slap him back, Shaheeda had decided for herself that she would not take abuse, she would not take insult and she would not be disrespected by any man.
    “As you will see when she presents this paper and maybe if she has the time to speak her own mind, those who are opposed to my views and those who think that I am a problem have a much bigger problem to deal with in the next generation of Sanusis.
    “They are far more radical, they are more progressive, they are far more committed, they are far more fearless.
    “So, maybe it is time for us to address these issues before those group of tigers come to the scene,” the Emir stated in the video message shortly before his daughter, Shaheeda read a prepared text.

  • Fraud: Kano Emir disowns Instagram, Facebook, Twitter accounts

    Fraud: Kano Emir disowns Instagram, Facebook, Twitter accounts

    The Emir of Kano, Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi II, has disowned social media accounts opened in his name.

    Sanusi said in a statement that on Friday in Kano that he never authorised any person or organisation to open to Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or any other social media account nor post any message on his behalf.

    The traditional ruler spoke through his Chief of Staff, Alhaji Munir Sanusi.

    He explained that this should put to rest series of calls and enquiries to the office of the Emir on some purported malicious and fake social media accounts in the name of the monarch.

    Sanusi noted that the current development is coming after an earlier advertorial disclaiming a fake Facebook and Twitter accounts created in the name of his Highness.

    He lamenting that the fraudsters have remained unrelenting in their nefarious acts.

    “We have officially notified the administrators of the fake Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and other social media accounts requesting that the accounts be closed immediately in addition to detecting the identity of the culprits.

    “It is important to reiterate that the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi II, has persistently stood for the unity of the nation regardless of its diversity.

    “He always emphasise the need for tolerance and respect for one another.”

    Sanusi assured that his principles as a traditional ruler and religious leader would be meticulously safeguarded and warned the fraudsters to desist forthwith or face the consequences of their action. (NAN)

  • Intensify security in Falgore forest, says Sanusi

    Intensify security in Falgore forest, says Sanusi

    The Emir of Kano, Alhaji Muhammad Sanusi II, has enjoined the police to reinforce security in Falgore forest to stem crime.

    He spoke when the new Assistant Inspector-General (AIG) of Police Zone I, Kayode Cornelius Aderanti, visited him in his palace.

    The emir promised that the emirate will do everything to ensure the new AIG succeeds.

    “Pay attention to the Falgore forest, where we have these cattle rustlers. Pay attention to kidnapping, activities of Yandabas (hoodlums and street urchins) who terrorise residents. When you do this, you have solved the security issues we have here.

    “I am happy to receive the new AIG because I have followed his record, even when he was in-charge of Zone II in Lagos. I pray Allah to be your guide. Your stay here will be very successful because the emirate council will give you necessary support to accomplish your mission.

    “Kano is the Lagos of the north. Kano habours all the tribes in Nigeria, it is the commercial nerve centre of the north and serves the commercial needs of the entire country. Kano emirate council works with all security formations in the state to ensure peace and order.”

    AIG Aderanti said he was at the emir’s palace to receive royal blessings and advice to help in his responsibilities.

    He promised to channel his experience to ensure Kano and Zone I remains peaceful.

    “I am ready to partner stakeholders to ensure that we succeed in making Zone I crime-free. My desire is to ensure that Zone I, comprising Kano, Katsina and Jigawa States, remain the most peaceful area in the country.”

    The police boss has warned officers and men against illegal detention and intimidation of suspects.

    Aderanti, who spoke at an interactive session with reporters in his office yesterday, stressed the need for speedy treatment of case files, investigations and prosecution to facilitate the process of justice.

    According to him, the Ibrahim Idris-led police force is against illegal detention, saying the police high command will discipline erring officers.

    The police boss reiterated the bail-is-free policy of the force, warning that no policemen should collect money for bail.

    “I am against illegal detention; the Inspector General of Police, who I represent in this zone, is against it; and illegal detention is against the police policy. No Nigerian should be detained unjustly.

    “It is the desire of the IG to build a police force that is re-enforced, forward-moving and people-friendly. We will remove the walls between the police and the people. We will build stronger security architecture and sustain it,” he said.

    AIG Aderanti also promised to ensure the welfare and wellbeing of police officers and their families. “I will ensure the welfare of men and officers; I will take their welfare serious because when a policeman has enough resources to take care of his needs, his morale is boosted and you cannot co-opt him into corruption and compromise.

    “I will ensure they are happy with their families and those due for promotion get it promptly.

    “I will do everything possible to sustain peace in the Zone. I intend to put in place strategies that will sustain the security architecture built by my predecessor. We shall work hard to ensure that crime is reduced to the barest minimum,” he added.

  • FG spends 66% of revenue on debt servicing – Sanusi

    FG spends 66% of revenue on debt servicing – Sanusi

    Emir of Kano, Alhaji Muhammad Lamido Sanusi, on Wednesday said the Federal Government is spending a whopping 66 per cent of the country revenue on servicing of interest on debts leaving only 34 per cent for capital and recurrent expenditures.

    Addressing the second Kaduna Economic and Investment Summit, tagged Kadinvest 2.0, which kicked off Wednesday in Kaduna, the former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor said the amount earmarked for debt servicing in the 2017 budget is more than the revenue from non- oil sector added together.

    He noted that Nigeria is getting more enmeshed in debt and has reached its borrowing limit leaving nothing to invest.

    The Emir said, “Federal Government spends 66 per cent of revenue on interest of debt leaving only 34 per cent of revenue available for capital and recurrent expenditure. In the 2017 budget presented by the President the amount earmarked for debt servicing is in excess of the non- oil revenue.

    “The problem with the budget is that it goes for more debts considering that 66 per cent is paid as interest from the nation’s revenue, which means, more debts will be accumulated for the country. As a country and at both state and national level, the model of borrowing has reached its limit. Growth can only come from investment because you cannot continue to borrow unsustainably.

    “You have governors who visit China on a month’s tour and eventually return home with MoUs for debts to invest in infrastructures that might not have direct impact on citizens. Borrowing to invest in light trains in regions like Northern Nigeria does not drive the economy but instead encourages them to join the trains to attend weddings or naming ceremony.

    “At the end of the day, a nation and a state are only transformed by vision, once the vision is flawed every single thing that follows logically collapses.”

     

     

  • Sanusi, Ajimobi, Dankwambo bag doctorate degrees at Ekiti Varsity

    Sanusi, Ajimobi, Dankwambo bag doctorate degrees at Ekiti Varsity

    Emir of Kano, Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi II, Oyo State Governor, Abiola Ajimobi, Gombe State Governor, Ibrahim Dankwambo and House of Representatives member, Oladipupo Adebutu, were honored with honorary doctorate degrees on Saturday at the grand finale of the 22nd Convocation of Ekiti State University (EKSU), Ado Ekiti.
    Sanusi who was represented by former Kano State Governor, Ibrahim Shekarau, was conferred with degree of Doctor of Finance while Ajimobi was conferred with degree of Doctor of Business Administration. Dankwambo who was represented by his deputy, Charles Yau Illyas, was conferred with degree of Doctor of Business Management and Adebutu with the degree of Doctor of Public Administration.
    Emir Sanusi who spoke on behalf of the honorees expressed appreciation to the authorities of the university for bestowing them with honorary doctorate degrees. The monarch said: “With this honour done to us, we have become ambassadors of EKSU. We shall defend and promote the interest of this university anywhere we go.”
    Addressing the convocation, Governor Ayo Fayose said Ekiti remains the nation’s fountain of knowledge judging by the many academic feats recorded since his return to power in October 2014. He announced a cash donation of N2.5 million to Adedipe Oluwatosin, a student of Shepherd International College, Ado Ekiti who came first out of 774 students in the federation to win the first Young Scientist Presidential Award.
    The governor also awarded an annual scholarship of N1 million to Adedipe throughout his undergraduate education; N1 million to his school; N500,000 to his class teacher and another N500,000 to his lesson teacher.
    EKSU Vice Chancellor, Prof. Samuel Bandele, said a total number of 10, 206 students graduated at the 22nd Convocation with Miss Damilola Eunice Adedeji of the Department of Plant Science emerging the best graduating student with 4.77 CGPA. Bandele explained that 1638 made Second Class Upper while 5,395 got Second Class Lower. He added that 3012 obtained Third Class and 124 ended up with Pass. According to him, 81 students bagged their Ph.Ds; 169 Masters; 85 Professional Masters and 63 Postgraduate Diplomas.

  • Sanusi advises Buhari to beware of praise singers

    Sanusi advises Buhari to beware of praise singers

    Emir of Kano Muhammadu Sanusi II yesterday warned President Muhammadu Buhari against praise singers and sycophants.

    He said they were the real “enemies” of the government who could “destroy” his efforts.

    Urging the President not to resist criticisms, Sanusi said: “I feel sorry for the people in government because they are surrounded by enemies.”

    He said the President needed people who will tell him where he goes wrong.

    Sanusi said he defied a directive by the Goodluck Jonathan administration to resign as Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor after he blew the whistle that $20 billion oil money was missing.

    The Emir, who chaired the 10th Kehinde Sofola (SAN) memorial lecture in Lagos, said he was not surprised when he was suspended by former President Jonathan.

    According to him, in blowing the whistle on the missing money, he was not afraid because he knew he was not going to remain CBN governor forever.

    The emir said because he knew power was transient, he spoke the truth, no matter the consequences.

    He said some were afraid to speak out against evil because they were afraid of losing their jobs.

    “All the people they were afraid of years ago, where are they today? For those who are still in power, remember that it is transient,” he said.

    He spoke of praise singers in his palace who always tell him he would rule “forever”, but that he would never consult them for advice on serious issues.

    The emir said he refused to join those who abuse Jonathan after he had left office, adding that the best time to criticise a leader is when he is in power.

    “If you want to be a true Nigerian, tell the present government where they’re going wrong,” he said.

    According to Sanusi, those who loot public funds and steal the commonwealth forget that there is a limit to the amount of food they can eat at any given time; that they can only ride in one car at a time, even if they have a fleet of cars, and can only sleep in one bed even if they have so many houses.

    Recalling his exit from the CBN, he said: “At the end of the day, this job, Central Bank, I’d leave it someday. I could die, or my tenure expires, or I’d be sacked. I had no control over it. But I have a control over how I live.

    “I wasn’t surprised about my suspension; I knew it would happen, because I had been called and asked to resign, and I said ‘no’. I was not going to make it easy for anyone.

    “My answer was simple. You asked me to resign for telling you money has been stolen. Ask the minister to resign first.”

    The emir said fear holds those in government back from speaking truth to power.

    “You forget that the person, either the president or the governor, is also occupying a transient position. All the people that people were afraid of two, three years ago, where are they today?

    “Power is transient. The only thing that is permanent is what you do for people when you were alive. If you’re a governor or a president or a minister, it does not matter how much you have; you will be remembered for service, not the amount of money you have that you cannot even announce,” Sanusi said.

    The theme of the memorial lecture, delivered by Dr Wale Babalakin (SAN), was: The role of the legal profession in nation building: the Nigerian context.

    The Emir said judiciary could play more roles in nation building if there is more emphasis on merit rather than federal character.

    “The idea of federal character should never be pursued at the expense of merit. Sometimes it’s an excuse for nepotism. Someone is claiming to represent Kano but is actually representing his family.

    “The people that we choose to run our country are never our first team, second team and third team. That needs to change,” Sanusi said.

    A justice of the Court of Appeal, Mrs. Abimbola Obaseki-Adejumo, expressed regret that sometimes judges were wrongly blamed for judiciary’s woes.

    She said judges work in difficult circumstances, such as writing in long hand and having to adjudicate on too many cases.

    According to her, those responsible for enforcing judgments sometimes fail to do so, thereby undermining the judge’s powers.

    “What do you want us to do? No one protects us. You spend the whole day writing, and when you get home your fingers are numb,” she said.

    According to her, there are fewer than 1,500 judges of the courts of record, which she believes is not enough to deal with  the number of cases filed in court daily.

    Justice Obaseki-Adejumo said efforts should be made to reduce the number of cases that go to court, adding that some cases ought to be resolved out of court.

    She said more courts needed to be built while corrupt judges should be singled out and dealt with rather than tarnishing the image of the Bench.

  • Osinbajo, Sanusi meet in Aso Villa

    Osinbajo, Sanusi meet in Aso Villa

    Acting President Yemi Osinbajo yesterday met with the Emir of Kano, Mohammed Sanusi II  at the State House, Abuja.

    The royal father declined to speak to reporters on the purpose of his visit to the Villa at the end of the meeting.

    He simply told State House correspondents that approached him: “You can just report that I came to the Villa.”