The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kano State has described the demolition of structures erected on public property by the state government as “a barbaric behaviour”.
The party, however, appealed to all those affected by the demolitions to “exercise patience, maintain calmness and explore all legal means to protect their properties and seek legal redress for the damage done and losses incurred.”
Speaking on behalf of the party’s executive at a press conference on Tuesday, the APC Deputy Chairman, Shehu Maigari said the party condemned in totality the situation that the New Nigeria People’s Party-led (NNPP) administration had foisted on the people of the state.
“This barbaric and wanton destruction of the people’s means of livelihood by the State Government called for serious prayers by all well-meaning persons as the people are now counting their loses in billions of Naira. This has now paralyzed and brought the commercial activities in the famous Kantin. Kwari, Kofar Wambai markets among others to a standstill,” he said.
The party added that the actions of the government has “brought an necessary chaos, rampant vandalism, daylight stealing and grabbing of innocent people’s properties by the youths.
“Similarly, we are calling on parents and guardians to caution their children on the danger and implications and desist from being used as agents of destruction. We also called on the security agencies in the State to step up actions that will restore the people’s confidence in the light of shock and calamity that befell the state,” he said.
When asked to respond on the allegation that the APC-led administration had allocated public properties to individuals to tamper with the city’s masterplan, Maigari said allocation of land for development was not only done by the Ganduje-led APC government, adding that this is done all over the country and this has been for all administrations that had governed in the state.
Daily Trust reports that the state governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf, who said the demolition exercise was part of the fulfillment of his campaign promise to “restore” the urban development masterplan of the city, insisted that the exercise was not a vendetta against the past administration of Abdullahi Umar Ganduje and that many more demolitions would follow.
