Nuhu Ribadu, the national security adviser (NSA), has addressed Aminu Ado Bayero as the Emir of Kano at an event held in Abuja.
Ribadu, who represented President Bola Tinubu, spoke at the inaugural annual international lecture organised by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday.
While acknowledging the dignitaries present, the NSA said, “Of course, the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero.”
The audience erupted in applause following his recognition of Bayero as emir.
BACKGROUND
The Emir of Kano throne has been at the center of a contentious dispute between Bayero and Muhammad Sanusi II.
In May 2019, the house of assembly approved the amendment of the Kano State Emirate Council Law, which paved the way for the splitting of the emirate.
The legislation was purportedly conceived to whittle the powers of Sanusi, then Emir of Kano.
Subsequently, Abdullahi Ganduje, the governor of Kano at the time, signed the bill into law.
With the law, Kano was divided into five emirates — Kano, Rano, Gaya, Karaye and Bichi — with emirs appointed into each emirate.
In March 2020, Ganduje deposed Sanusi as Emir of Kano “for total disrespect to lawful instructions from the office of the governor”.
However, four years after Sanusi’s dethronement, Abba Yusuf, governor of the state, reinstated him as Emir of Kano — the state legislators had also passed the amended Kano State Emirate Council (Repeal) Bill 2024.
The newly passed bill abolishes the five emirates, restoring the previous Kano emirate system under a single Emir’s oversight, as appointed by the governor.
Bayero, the deposed emir returned to Kano despite his removal and occupied a palace in Nassarawa LGA of the state, sparking the governor’s arrest order — fueling speculation of federal backing.
Aminu Gwarzo, deputy governor of Kano, had later alleged that Ribadu facilitated the return of Bayero, the dethroned ruler, by providing him with two private jets.
But Ribadu denied the allegations, while threatening legal action, and demanded an apology. The deputy governor later retracted his statement.
The struggle for control of the emirate moved to the court, with rival factions filing competing lawsuits against each other.
