The Patriotic Volunteers, a group within the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kano state has announced that it will form what it called “shadow government” to checkmate the administration of governor Abba Kabir Yusuf.
Speaking at a press conference in Kano, the national President of the group and former Secretary to the State Government (SSG) Alhaji Usman Alhaji said plans are underway to form the shadow government apparatus that will effectively put an eye on the present Kano state government’s activities as the people of Kano state deserved to be informed of the several failures of Abba Yusuf’s administration.
According to him, the group is planning to assign its members to all the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to monitor their activities and make “constructive” criticism that would prompt the government to do the needful.
“This is what is obtainable in the UK where we see opposition parties form the shadow government to checkmate the incumbent one. We are going to replicate it in Kano by assigning our members at MDAs to monitor the activities there and come up with a report. We are committed to doing this, because what we want is a better Kano for all,” he said.
He further explained that, the APC Patriotic Volunteers, which currently has 60,000 members across the 44 Local Government areas of the state, has commenced online registration exercise in a bid to expand its membership base, targeting 1 million before 2027 and that the group is now targeting 200,000 members through the online registration.
According to him, the group is created to promote internal democracy within APC and good governance in government.
Reacting to the group’s claims, Kano state government described the group’s intention to form a shadow government in Kano as not only a desperate and politically motivated scheme but also a dangerous move with serious social and legal implications for the entire state and Nigeria’s democratic system.
In a statement issued and signed by the Kano state Commissioner for information Comrade Ibrahim Abdullahi Wayya said democracy does not permit anyone to lose their sense of judgment simply because they have lost relevance within their party’s political structure adding that the right to freedom of expression does not grant anyone the liberty to make reckless statements or take actions that undermine constitutional governance and the sovereignty of an elected government.
“Let me remind these elements within the Kano APC that, in a democratic system like ours, forming a government within a government is entirely illegal and unconstitutional. A shadow government, as practiced in the United Kingdom, exists within a parliamentary system where opposition parties appoint “shadow ministers” to scrutinize the ruling government. However, Nigeria operates a presidential system, which neither recognizes nor supports such a structure outside the institutional framework of the law,” he said.
