*Kaduna State
govt alleges non-payment of ground rent
• Senate,
Sani, others condemn action, army denies complicity
The crisis
within the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kaduna State turned messier,
yesterday, as Governor Nasir El-Rufai ordered the demolition of a factional
headquarters of the party.
The building
at 11B, Sambo Road, G.R.A., Kaduna, belonged to Senator Suleiman Hunkuyi
(Kaduna North) and housed the secretariat of the factional Kaduna Restoration
Group, led by Chairman Danladi Wada. The faction, last week, had handed
El-Rufai a six-month suspension over alleged anti-party activities.
The
demolition carried out around 5:00 a.m. was allegedly supervised by the
governor and backed by armed security operatives.
Reactions
from Hunkuyi’s purported official Twitter page read: “In the early hours of
today, the @GovKaduna Mallam @elrufai personally drove a bulldozer accompanied
by armoured tanks to destroy my house at 11B Sambo Road. This is a new low, and
fighting dirty with such low level of pettiness is indeed unprecedented in
Kaduna State.
“It is on
record that few months back, @GovKaduna Mallam @elrufai marked another property
of mine in Hunkuyi town for demolition but residents of the area prevented the
officials from demolishing it. Today, he came well prepared with military men
to destroy my house at Sambo Road.
“This is
also the same way, Mallam @elrufai destroyed the house of the APC Dep National
Chairman Northwest, Alhaji Inuwa Abdulkadir months back, which tells you that
the governor is reckless, petty & can’t stand political pressure, without
resorting to being a ruthless dictator.”
But
addressing reporters later, Hunkuyi said he had pardoned El-Rufai:
“As my own
brother, I wish to let you know, I have no case. I have forgiven him as a
person, for doing what he did. I have no issues with him for doing what he did.
He is my brother. For bringing down one of my houses, even if it is not my last
house. I see no reason why I should lose any sleep.
“In my own
opinion, let it be an incident to grow democracy in my state. Let this be a
rallying point for those who have been shortchanged in any way in my state, as
regards the leadership of El-Rufai. It is not too much a price to pay for
democracy to thrive in my state.”
El-Rufai is
also believed to have ordered bulldozers to a building at the Mogadishu area
belonging to the former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) caretaker committee
chairman, Senator Ahmed Makarfi.
Asked to
comment, Makarfi said: “I have nothing to say for now over the unfortunate
development. I would have spoken on the issue if I had wanted. Let him
(El-Rufai) do whatever he likes.”
Wada said:
“The reason advanced by the government in the statement issued by the
Director-General of the Kaduna Geographical Information Service (KADGIS) that
the demolition was necessary as a result of default by the owner of the
property, Senator Hunkuyi, in paying ground rent for a period of eight years is
untenable before the law, and is, hereby, condemned in strong terms.”
At a press
conference, yesterday, Wada, who was represented by APC Director of
Administration, Yahaya Shinko, “commend the Kaduna State Commissioner of Police
for refusing to compromise by allowing his officers and men to be used as
political tools at the hands of the governor to silence the opposition in the
state.”
He called on
the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Buratai, to “relieve the GOC 1 Division for
meddling in partisan politics by allowing his men to give cover to the governor
with trucks numbering over 20, fully loaded with military personnel who carried
out the shameless act, thereby bringing the military to disrepute.”
He called on
members of the party to be law-abiding and remain calm, saying steps have been
taken to seek redress in court.
But Colonel
Muhammad Dole, the spokesman for 1 Division, refuted reports that military
personnel had been involved in the demolition.
“This is not
true. No Nigerian Army soldier was involved in the exercise. The allegation and
the attempt to drag the Nigerian Army into the issue of demolition is yet
another baseless and unsubstantiated claim to malign the hardworking, loyal and
professional officers and soldiers of 1 Division Nigerian Army and discredit
them,” he said.
“The troops
of 1 Division have not been involved in any illegal activity of either
harassment of politicians or demolition of their property in Kaduna and its
environs. Therefore, this claim remains the height of mischief. It is
misleading and is viewed as another calculated attempt to distract our troops
from performing their professional duties. The public should, therefore,
disregard such a false allegation.”
KADGIS
Director Ibrahim Husseini also denied the demolition had any political motive.
He said:
“This morning, a building on 11B Sambo Close was removed for flagrant
violations of land use and non-payment of ground rent since 2010. This illegal
violation of use had begun to distress neighbours who were being forced to
endure an influx of thugs and blockage of the road.
“The land
has now been allocated to the Kaduna State Urban and Property Development
Agency (KASUPDA) for the purpose of developing and maintaining a public park
that will provide a green area and a serene place for recreation in that
residential neighbourhood.
“KADGIS
wishes to remind all title owners to be fastidious in complying with the terms
of their allocation. The purpose of allocation of land cannot be willfully
altered; neither can titleholders lawfully neglect to pay their ground rents.”
The Senate,
meanwhile, has condemned the demolition.
The chamber
asked El-Rufai to either provide a replacement for the secretariat or
compensate Hunkuyi.
It made the
resolution following a point of order raised at its plenary, yesterday, by
Senator Shehu Sani (Kaduna Central), who described the governor as “an
affliction on the people of Kaduna State.”
Also, at the
official launch of a fact-checking platform in Abuja, yesterday, Sani said
further: “Demolishing houses, intimidating opponents and using political thugs
to chase political opponents will not work. He (El-Rufai) is a man with double
identity. Outwardly, you see a technocrat and a professional and one who wants
to portray himself as a performer. But inwardly, he has a negative identity;
one that is thuggish, despicable, desperate and vindictive.”
APC
chieftain in the state, Dr. Tom Maiyashi, insisted the suspension of El-Rufai
from the party stands, despite the demolition of the factional headquarters.
He told
reporters that the governor’s action smacked of political immaturity and was an
indication El-Rufai was beginning to buckle under the weight of political
pressure.
“This is
madness. It is embarrassing. This has shown that the governor has failed the
people of Kaduna State. Despite all this madness, his suspension stands. I am
disappointed with what I have seen today. This is my saddest day as a
politician. Since my career as a civil servant and as a politician, I have
never seen this kind of political witch-hunt,” he said.
Last year,
the Kaduna State government also demolished the house of APC National Vice
Chairman (North West), Alhaji Inuwa Abdukadri, who was believed to have faulted
the suspension of Sani by El-Rufai loyalists.
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