By Adamu Yusuf The Birnin Gwari Emirate Progressives Union (BEPU) has called on the Kaduna State Government to immediately suspend all ongoing transactions involving strategic public institutions and government lands in Birnin Gwari Local Government Area pending the outcome of an independent investigation. In a communiqué signed by the Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Professor Lawal Khalid, the Chairman of the Birnin Gwari Emirate Progressives Union (BEPU), Dr. Isah Muhammad, and the Secretary-General of the Union, Engineer Muhammad Jamil Abdulhamid, and made available to journalists in Kaduna, the Union outlined a series of resolutions aimed at safeguarding public assets in Birnin Gwari. The resolution was part of a communiqué adopted at an emergency congress of the Union attended by members of its Board of Trustees, National Executive Council and representatives of communities across the Emirate. The Congress expressed concern over reports that several public institutions and government properties, including the Birnin Gwari Public Library, Jibril Mai Gwari I Memorial Hospital, sports facilities, police quarters, veterinary clinic, fire service lands, government staff quarters and the post office, had allegedly been transferred into private hands without the knowledge or consent of the people. It maintained that public assets are held in trust by government and should not be disposed of through unlawful or non-transparent processes. Among its resolutions, the Congress condemned every unlawful, irregular or non-transparent disposal of public assets and urged Governor Uba Sani to establish an independent Judicial Commission of Inquiry to investigate all reported transactions, identify those responsible, determine whether due process was followed and recommend appropriate legal action. It also insisted that the Commission’s proceedings should be transparent and its report made public. The Union further demanded the immediate recovery and restoration of every public institution or government land found to have been unlawfully alienated, prosecution of any public officer or private individual found culpable, publication of all approvals, Certificates of Occupancy, survey plans and other official documents relating to the transactions, as well as a public hearing by the Kaduna State House of Assembly into the management and disposal of public assets in Birnin Gwari. The Congress also called on the Kaduna State Government to conduct a comprehensive inventory of all public assets in Birnin Gwari, digitise and gazette government properties to prevent future encroachment or illegal allocation, and rehabilitate neglected public institutions, including schools, healthcare facilities, the public library, sporting facilities, veterinary services and government staff quarters. It stressed that the development of Birnin Gwari depends on strengthening public institutions rather than diminishing them. The Union rejected any attempt by individuals to appropriate the collective heritage of the Emirate without public consent and dissociated the people of Birnin Gwari from any transaction carried out without transparency or due process. It called on citizens at home and in the diaspora to remain united, peaceful and law-abiding while supporting lawful efforts to protect public institutions and authorised its leadership to pursue constitutional means, including petitions, legislative engagement and legal action where necessary, to safeguard the public interest. The Congress also appealed to anti-corruption agencies, including the ICPC, EFCC, Code of Conduct Bureau and Public Complaints Commission, to investigate any credible evidence of abuse of office or corruption arising from the alleged transactions. It emphasised that its campaign was neither political nor directed against any government but aimed at promoting transparency, accountability, the rule of law and the protection of Birnin Gwari’s collective heritage.
