Kaduna Govt. Set to Demolish My House, Senator Hunkuyi Cries

Senator Suleiman Hunkuyi representing Kaduna North senatorial zone, has raised the alarm over alleged plans by the Kaduna State Government to demolish his resident, located No.18a Inuwa Wada Road, Ungwan Rimi GRA, Kaduna. In a twist, Hunkuyi said the Kaduna State government “is set to demolish my personal house despite a valid and subsisting court order.” He added that the matter “is still pending in the High Court of Justice Kaduna as I tweet this but the government is bent on carrying on its atrocity.” The Kaduna Geographical Information Service (KADGIS) had in February, sent a bill of N1.4 million, said to be an accumulated ground rent on the house for 24 years as well as an additional N30 million fine to the senator. Before serving the senator with N31.4 million bill, his property on 11B Sambo Road, Kaduna, which was used as the secretariat of a faction of the All Progressives Congress (APC) was demolished by the state government for alleged violation of land use laws. Hunkuyi, upon receiving the bill in February, had gone to court to stop the state government from taking any action in regards to the property. He also secured an interim injunction on the March 6, restraining the state government and its agencies from taking any step in respect of the payment of the ground rent for the property pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice, which was slated for hearing on the March 12, 2018. The Kaduna State Internal Revenue Service (KADIRS) has however sent a reminder notice on the payment of the ground rent on the property to the senator, saying the state government is yet to receive the payment totaling N31.467, 861 million. KADIRS in the letter dated May 28, 2018 and signed by its executive director, revenue operations, Ango Liman, said the amount for payment is late and as such penalties and interest would be computed as stipulated by law. The letter read in part: “You are by this reminder requested to pay the amount due into our Internally Generated Revenue account with any of the collecting banks, within seven days from the date of the receipt of this reminder notice to avoid statutory sanctions.” Efforts to reach the Director General of KADGIS, Ibrahim Hussaini, on telephone was unsuccessful. Hunkuyi who belongs to a faction of the APC in the state known as Restoration and the state governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, have become bitter political rivals, including the two other senators from the state. Recently, the governor rained curses on the three senators for rejecting the $350 million World Bank loan approved to the state, describing them as “useless” and urged the people to shave the heads and beards of the senators whenever they come to Kaduna.]]>