The Kano State Government has cautioned the Arewa Consultative Forum against plans to establish a separate Kano Elders Council, warning that such a move would duplicate an existing structure already created by the state.
Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf had in January 2024 announced the creation of the Kano Elders Advisory Council as a non-partisan platform for guidance on governance and development issues.
According to the government, efforts are ongoing to institutionalise the structure ahead of its formal inauguration.
In a statement on Wednesday, the Commissioner for Information and Internal Affairs, Comrade Ibrahim Abdullahi Waiya, said the council is designed to serve as an apolitical body composed of highly respected personalities, including former governors, deputy governors, lawmakers, retired judges, traditional rulers, Ulamas, ex-service chiefs, and other distinguished elders of Kano origin.
Waiya stressed that the council was conceived as a neutral forum to provide wisdom, experience, and knowledge for the benefit of the people of the state.
“The Council is deliberately conceived as a neutral body without any political ambitions, standing instead as a collective forum for guidance, collaboration, and inclusive development,” the statement read in part.
The commissioner said the government appreciated the ACF’s intention to contribute to the state’s development but urged it and other interest groups to align with the already established framework.
“It is anticipated that the processes of formalising and institutionalising the Council’s structure will soon be concluded, after which Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf will officially inaugurate the Council,” he added.
Waiya reaffirmed the government’s commitment to an open-door policy and expressed readiness to work with partners to sustain peace, progress, and prosperity in Kano State.
In January 2024, Yusuf announced the establishment of the Kano Elders Council as an advisory platform for the government.
According to a statement at the time by his spokesperson, Sunusi Dawakin Tofa, the council was designed to draw from the wealth of experience of Kano’s most accomplished figures.
The council’s membership includes former governors, deputy governors, Senate presidents, Speakers of the House of Representatives, Speakers and Deputy Speakers of the State House of Assembly, retired Supreme Court and Appeal Court justices, former chief justices of the state, and ex-secretaries to the state government.
Also listed were retired heads of the state civil service, traditional rulers, leaders of the Ulamas, business leaders, and former heads of security agencies from Kano.
Tofa said the elders “possess a wealth of knowledge, wisdom, and experience, and his administration will deliberately seek to harness their versatile expertise.”
