The governing ruling Peoples Democratic Party [PDP] has congratulated the new emir of Kano, Lamido Sanusi, and admonished him to emulate his predecessor by not leaning towards any political party.
The party said it expects the new Emir to remain non-partisan deserving of the exalted and revered office.
The party’s congratulatory message is contained in a statement issued Monday night by its National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh.
It came more than 24 hours after the party committed a huge blunder by rushing to congratulate Sanusi’s rival, Sanusi Ado Bayero, even when official announcement of the chosen candidate had not been made.
Apparently terribly embarrassed, the party hurriedly withdrew the statement after it became clear that Mr. Ado Bayero had lost to Mr. Sanusi.
In its statement Monday night, the party urged the new monarch to be non-partisan and advised the traditional ruler not to consider himself an “emir of any political party but that of the entire people of the Kano Emirate”.
“The PDP holds the office of the Emir of Kano in very high esteem. We therefore give the new Emir our prayers and urge him to ensure that the sanctity of the throne and the traditional institution are absolutely guarded and preserved.”
The selection of Sanusi as the new emir of the powerful Kano emirate is widely considered a triumph of the opposition All Progressives Congress over the ruling PDP.
By congratulating his major contender as victor hours before an official announcement was made, the presidency and the PDP are believed to have been opposed to Sanusi’s emergence as Kano emir. The party however later withdrew the congratulatory message blaming it on an error by an aide to Metuh.
Some chieftains of the APC had also poured into Kano on Saturday and Sunday after reportedly receiving intelligence that some northern traditional rulers were, at the behest of the PDP and President Jonathan, putting pressure on the kingmakers and Governor Rabiu Kwankawaso to overlook Sanusi and appoint his rival to the coveted throne.
The presidency apparently felt humiliated that the former banker prevailed, analysts say.
Before his emergence as Emir, Sanusi had a running battle with the Goodluck Jonathan administration, with the president controversially suspending him as Governor of the Central Bank.
His passport was also seized by security agencies and prevented from travelling out of the country, while the government claimed it acted based on allegations of graft against the ex-CBN chief, though many Nigerians believe he was persecuted for exposing the corruption in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC.
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