President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has intervened in the ongoing demolition of structures in Kano after a meeting with former governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje.
It would be recalled that Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf in the dead of the night on Saturday demolished structures at Daula Hotel and Hajj Camp in the Kano metropolis.
The multimillion naira buildings were destroyed just like the first three storey buildings with 90 shops on Race Course road, in the Nasarawa GRA, that marks the beginning of structures the government termed illegal.
On Saturday, Governor Yusuf restated his determination to continue demolishing buildings the government believes to be illegal in the state.
A statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Sanusi Bature Dawakin Tofa, said the demolition exercise will continue.
It would be recalled that the immediate past administration of Ganduje said the building at Daula Hotel was a public private partnership arrangement.
A property developer, Lamash Properties Limited, had vowed to challenge the demolition of Daula Hotel by Kano State Government demanding for N10bn investment in the project.
LAMASH Properties Limited, a property development company was invited by Kano State government alongside other companies sometimes in the late 2020 to bid for the redevelopment of the old Daula Hotel under a Public Private Partnership (PPP)
Following the development, Governor Ganduje rushed to meet with the President on Monday at the Presidential Villa to brief him over the matter.
The President was, according to Villa sources, disturbed with the loss of billions of naira by individuals over the demolition.
“Tinubu directed that the demolition should be halted because it is senseless and causing avoidable loss to Nigerians,” the source who preferred anonymity stated.
He further asked Security agencies to prevent any further destruction of properties in Kano.
“This is why the governor stopped with the ongoing demolition because of the security report that was presented to him by security agencies,” the source added.
When contacted over the matter on whether the government will continue with the demolition, Tofa however told this newspaper that: “The demolition is still ongoing, the administration is determined to reclaim public properties that were sold or allocated.”
“This assignment is in the overriding interest of the public, it shall be taken to a logical conclusion in sha Allah,” he said.
