Like Ganduje, Kano govt says it is only reallocating front view of Eid prayer ground

The Kano State Government says it is only reallocating shop and stall spaces at the front of the Eid prayer ground in Kano, where the same facilities were demolished last June.

PREMIUM TIMES reported how traders were paying approved government agents for new allocations at the site.

The development came after the state government agreed in December to pay N3 billion to compensate traders whose properties the government had demolished at the site.

On Tuesday, one of the agents, Balarabe Hassan, led a PREMIUM TIMES reporter to locations at the front of the prayer ground. Last year, the state government removed traders from the locations and prohibited business activities there.

Mr Hassan said the official rate for space at the place varies from N80,000, N180,000 to N1,000,000 depending on location.

A table space stall facing Ahmadu Tijjani Mosque is now being leased for between N70,000 and N80,000, depending on ‘connection’ with the officials.

Following a backlash from the report, the government held a press conference on Thursday and said it consulted with the market leaders before deciding to reallocate the site for trading.

The managing director of the State Urban Planning and Development Authority (KNUPDA), Ibrahim Adamu, told reporters that the new allocation at the front view of the Eid prayer ground would not affect the government’s plan to redesign the prayer ground for religious activities.

“Anyone who said we allocated plots inside the premises of the Eid prayer ground is lying. The government will soon commence work inside the Eid prayer ground,” Mr Adamu said.

What Ganduje said about the place

The state government’s response was a repetition of what former governor Abdullahi Ganduje said while denying allocating spaces to traders at the Eid prayer ground.

Mr Ganduje had said his administration only allocated spaces at the front view of the Eid prayer ground, citing the example of the Haram Mosque in Mecca, which is surrounded by shops of all types and buzzing business activities.

The new governor, Abba Yusuf, ordered the demolition of shops built on spaces leased out by the Ganduje administration and after an out-of-court settlement, agreed to pay N3 billion as compensation to the owners.