Why I Offered Dethroned Emir Sanusi Double Appointments – Governor El-rufai

Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State says he gave dethroned Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi II, double appointments because the Emir is a global asset that could turn around the economic fortunes of Kaduna state.

Naija News reports that explained the rationale behind the appointments offered to Sanusi while fielding questions from newsmen on Friday in Awe, Nasarawa State when he came to visit the deposed monarch.

This online news platform recalls that the Kaduna governor who is a close friend to the dethroned Emir first appointed him into the board of the state Investment Promotion Agency, KADIPA and later appointed the dethroned Emir as the chancellor of Kaduna State University barely 72 hours after his dethronement as Emir of Kano.

Giving reasons for his decision, Governor El-Rufai said Sanusi is a global citizen with a network of contacts around the world that can bring a lot of investment to Kaduna state.

On why he visited the dethroned Emir, the Kaduna State Governor said the former first-class traditional ruler had been his confidant since their teens and that his visit to Awe was to encourage Sanusi in his moments of travail.

His words: “In his position as Emir of Kano, I couldn’t have offered him the appointment because I believe he should be attracting investments to Kano state. But once he became available, I seized the opportunity to bring that value to Kaduna state,” the governor explained.

On Sanusi’s appointment as the Chancellor of the state university, the Kaduna Governor said it was to compensate for what he would have lost following his dethronement.

Governor El-Rufai stressed that the tradition in the country, where first-class traditional rulers were always made Chancellors of universities, saying the appointment is to ensure he doesn’t feel any sense of loss.

The governor said: “I believe he (Sanusi) will add a lot of value to the growth of our university, which will be a multi-campus varsity with presence in seven out of the 23 local government areas of the state.

“We believe he can help a lot in implementing that road map,” he said.