The Kano State Government has dismissed claims that the lingering emirate crisis in the state is politically motivated, insisting that Emir Muhammadu Sanusi II remains the lawful Emir of Kano despite recent political developments.
The government said the recent defection of Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf to the All Progressives Congress did not in any way affect Sanusi’s status.
According to a Daily Trust report, the state government maintained that there was no plan to remove or replace Sanusi, despite renewed speculation following the governor’s political realignment.
Kano has been embroiled in an unprecedented royal dispute for nearly two years, with Sanusi residing at the historic Gidan Rumfa Palace, while Aminu Ado Bayero continues to lay claim to the throne from the Nassarawa mini-palace, both backed by rival political interests.
Sanusi was deposed in March 2020 by the administration of former governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje and replaced with Bayero. However, he was reinstated in May 2024 after the Kano State House of Assembly repealed the 2019 emirate law that created five emirates, restoring Kano to a single-emir structure.
Despite the repeal, Bayero has continued to assert his claim to the throne, deepening divisions and fuelling political and legal battles within the emirate.
Speculation over the future of the emirate intensified this week after Governor Yusuf defected to the APC, aligning him politically with Ganduje, a known supporter of Bayero, and ending his alliance with Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, under whose influence Sanusi was believed to have regained the throne.
Tensions rose further after the Commissioner for Information and Internal Affairs, Ibrahim Abdullahi Waiya, hinted during a radio programme that the protracted crisis could soon be resolved, sparking interpretations of a possible political settlement.
However, the governor, through his spokesman, Sanusi Bature, Director-General, Media and Publicity, Kano Government House, dismissed the speculation.
“There is no plan to replace Emir Sanusi on the throne of Kano,” Bature said. “The appointment of the emir was made after the emirate law was repealed, and there is no intention at the executive level to amend it.
“Emir Sanusi has been duly appointed in accordance with the law, and the governor’s defection to the APC will not change the status quo. Emir Sanusi remains the Emir of Kano.”
Bature described reports suggesting otherwise as rumours and urged residents to disregard them.
He also denied claims that the emirate dispute formed part of negotiations preceding the governor’s defection, insisting the matter was not political.
“The emirate issue is not a political decision. It is driven by the personal interests of some individuals,” he said.
While noting that the government had not formally engaged with the Bayero camp, Bature appealed for calm in the interest of peace and stability in the state.
Meanwhile, the legal aspect of the crisis remains unresolved, with a suit challenging the repeal of the emirate law and Bayero’s removal still pending before the Supreme Court.
Residents of Kano have continued to express mixed reactions, with some warning against politicising the traditional institution, while others insist that Sanusi’s reinstatement is firmly rooted in law.
The state government, however, maintains that the emirate crisis is not part of any political arrangement and that Sanusi’s position remains unchanged.
