NNPP, APC group in verbal war over ‘shadow govt’ in Kano

The New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) has engaged in a war of words with the Patriotic Volunteers, a group within the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kano State, over the announcement made by the APC group to form a “shadow government” to checkmate the administration of Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf.

In a statement issued as a counter to the group’s announcement and signed by the state Commissioner for Information, Comrade Ibrahim Abdullahi Wayya, the state government described the group’s intention to form a shadow government 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.

“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 scrutinise the ruling government. However, Nigeria operates a presidential system, which neither recognises nor supports such a structure outside the institutional framework of the law,” he said.

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The group, under the leadership of the former Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Alhaji Usman Alhaji, had revealed a plan to form a shadow government apparatus that would effectively put an eye on the state government’s activities.

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.