The Kano State House of Assembly passed a bill reversing the dissolution of three out of four recently dissolved emirates, downgrading their emirs from first-class to second-class status.
Back in May, the Assembly had amended the state’s emirate council law, resulting in the dissolution of the Gaya, Rano, Karaye, and Bichi emirates, leaving Kano as the sole emirate. This controversial decision led to a major crisis, including court battles and the reinstatement of Lamido Sanusi as the Emir of Kano.
In the latest session, the Assembly decided to maintain the dissolution of the Bichi emirate but reinstated the Gaya, Karaye, and Rano emirates, albeit with reduced status. They also decreased the number of local government areas under these emirates. This change is significant, as traditional institutions receive 5% of federal allocations based on their local government areas.
The bill was first read on May 23 before the Assembly went on recess, though this went largely unreported. The Speaker of the House, Jibril Falgore, oversaw the plenary session on Tuesday. After the second and third readings, Deputy Speaker Muhammad Bello moved for the adoption and passage of the bill.
With the bill’s passage, the restored emirates of Rano, Karaye, and Gaya were downgraded to second-class status. The new structure places Rano as the headquarters of Rano Emirate, with Bunkure and Kibiya local government areas under its jurisdiction.
Karaye Emirate will have its headquarters in Karaye and include Rogo local government area. Gaya Emirate, headquartered in Gaya, will encompass Ajingi and Albasu local government areas.
This latest development follows the repeal of the State Emirate Council Law 2019 on May 23. The 2019 law had significantly altered the traditional structure, creating the four new emirates and reducing the number of local government areas under the Kano Emirate from 44 to 8. Rano, Gaya, Karaye, and Bichi emirates were then allocated various local government areas.
Now, under the new arrangement, the three reinstated second-class emirates collectively cover only eight of the state’s 44 local government areas. The Kano emirate under Lamido Sanusi retains its first-class status and oversees 36 local government areas.
