A Kano-based lawyer, Barrister Nura Ahmad Muhammad, has criticised the suspension of the Chairman of Rano Local Government Council, Muhammad Nazir Yau, by the Kano State House of Assembly, describing it as unconstitutional.
On Wednesday, the Assembly suspended Yau for three months over allegations of financial recklessness, abuse of office, inflating fertiliser prices, and mismanaging council funds.
The lawmakers acted on an interim report by the House Committee on Public Petition, chaired by Majority Leader Hussaini Lawan Cediyar Yangurasa.
The report accused Yau of selling fertiliser at ₦22,000 instead of the approved ₦20,000, favouring political allies in resource distribution, and bypassing councillors in decision-making.
Speaking to Kano Times, Barrister Nura said the suspension breached the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and judicial precedents.
“It is generally unconstitutional for a State House of Assembly to suspend an elected local government chairman,” he said.
“The Supreme Court has reinforced this principle. In a landmark ruling on July 11, 2024, the court declared that state governments cannot dissolve or interfere with democratically elected local government councils through state legislation or other means.”
Nura added that the removal or suspension of a local government chairman should be handled within the local government system, not through directives from the state level.
“In Nigeria, the removal of an elected local government chairman is not something a governor or a State House of Assembly can just do directly,” he said.
“The Local Government Legislative Council is the only body empowered to remove an elected chairman from office, and it must be done through due process.”
He explained that the procedure requires a resolution passed by the required majority of councillors, often two-thirds, based on proven misconduct or dereliction of duty.
The Kano State Assembly, citing Section 55 of the Kano State Local Government Law 2006, ordered Yau to step aside and directed the Ministry for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs to install the vice chairman as acting chairman.
The Assembly also ordered the council to submit all financial and administrative records within seven days.
Nura argued that such directives undermine local democratic governance.
“Democracy works through separation of powers,” he said. “When the state legislature takes over the functions of the local legislature, it is no longer oversight – it is interference, and the law does not support it.”
