Time to quit: Kano govt tells owners of shops built on public lands

By Maduabuchi Nmeribeh, Kano

In continuation of its resolve to recover government property and assets allegedly sold by the immediate-past administration of Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf’s administration has ordered owners  and tenants of lock-up shops and kiosks built on public lands to vacate.

A Statement written in Hausa language and signed by the Secretary to the State Government, Dr. Abdullahi Baffa Bichi, urged the tenants to vacate the shops and handover the ownership to the state government.

The statement warned that anybody who refused to vacate rented structures built on public space, and institutions owned by the state government should be ready to bear the consequences.

According to the statement, buildings and structures constructed on public places and institutions such as schools, stadiums, places of worship, grave yards,  beside the city walls, among others, by the immediate-past administration remain illegal and must be demolished.

” Those who rented shops built on government properties such as schools, cemeteries hospitals, mosques, recreational parks, around Kano walls and other government places to immediately vacate these properties

 “Failure to comply with the directive may affect their properties for which the government would not be held responsible,“  the statement added.

The quit notice is coming after a number of multi-million Naira shopping plazas within the city have been demolished without notification to the owners.