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| Sen. Rabiu Kwankwaso |
A former governor of Kano State, Sen. Rabiu
Kwankwaso, on Monday cancelled his controversial plan to visit Kano on Tuesday
(today).
The controversy started when the state Police
Commissioner, Rabiu Yusuf, on January 27 advised Kwankwaso to shelve the visit,
saying that a security report had indicated that the visit might lead to
political unrest.
Kwankwaso, who responded through his
spokesperson, Binta Sipikin, vowed to go ahead with the visit in spite of the
police advice.
READ MORE: Kwankwaso Vows To Visit Kano
Sipikin had said, “We are coming to visit
friends, families and other relatives that for a long time we have not seen. We
have coordinated this visit with seven camera drones and other apparatus that
would make it a hitch-free homecoming.’’
But Kwankwaso cancelled the visit at an emergency
press conference at the Lugard House, Kano, addressed on his behalf by a former
Secretary to the State Government, Dr. Rabiu Suleiman Bichi.
Bichi said Kwankwaso cancelled the visit to give
the incumbent Governor Abdullahi Ganduje, time and space to form and
consolidate his administration, without any interference.
He said, ‘’It is almost three years now since the
Senator handed over and he’s under intense pressure from parents, brothers,
sisters, alongside other well-wishers and, of course, his constituents to visit
home.’’
Bichi explained that when the state government
fixed a date for the local government elections, Kwankwaso decided to visit
Kano on Tuesday (today), alleging that on learning about Kwankwaso’s plan, the
state government became desperate to frustrate the visit.
He stressed that the stand-off made prominent
Nigerians to prevail on Kwankawso to shelve the visit.
Meanwhile, the Presidency had earlier on Monday
summoned Ganduje and Kwankwaso towards dousing the tension in the state.
The governor, accompanied by two serving senators
and two members of the House of Representatives from the state, met with the
Chief of Staff to the President, Mallam Abba Kyari, at the Presidential Villa.
Ganduje, however, declined to speak to State
House correspondents after the closed door meeting.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Kwankwaso
was also invited to meet with Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo at the presidential
villa on Monday over the matter.
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