From Garba Abdullahi Bagwai, in Kano
Kano State’s urban renewal programme is facing setbacks as more than 600 casual workers of the Kano State Urban Planning and Development Authority (KNUPDA) have reportedly gone without salaries for about three months.
The affected workers, who constitute about 75 per cent of the agency’s workforce, have allegedly not received their monthly wages since June 2026.
The development followed the suspension of KNUPDA’s Managing Director, Arc. Hauwa Hassan Tudun Wada, by the Kano State Governor, Engineer Abba Kabir Yusuf, over alleged violations of town planning regulations.
However, months after the suspension, the governor is yet to appoint a substantive managing director to oversee the affairs of the agency, a situation that workers and stakeholders say has affected its operations.
Sources familiar with the matter told Citizenship Daily that the agency’s casual workers are paid through its account, with the Managing Director serving as the sole signatory authorised to approve withdrawals from the account in accordance with the law.
Although the Director of Marketing, Town Planner (TPL) Nura Maude, was appointed to act as Managing Director, sources said he lacks the necessary authority to address some administrative and financial matters affecting the smooth running of the agency.
The casual workers are responsible for several duties, including monitoring and supervising illegal structures within and outside the metropolitan local government areas, as well as supporting the enforcement of government policies on urban renewal and beautification.
However, checks by Citizenship Daily showed that illegal structures and roadside shops have proliferated in some parts of the metropolitan area.
Petty traders have also reportedly occupied roads in parts of the city, particularly around major markets in the Municipal and Fagge Local Government Areas, making movement difficult for motorists and other road users.
One of the affected casual workers, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the prolonged non-payment of salaries had affected their morale and ability to perform their duties effectively.
“We have families to feed, children whose school fees we have to pay and medical bills to settle. How can we meet these responsibilities without receiving our salaries?
“We have never faced this kind of challenge before. I have spent more than 17 years working with the agency,” he said.
The worker appealed to Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf to intervene and ensure the immediate payment of the three-month salary arrears owed to the workers.
“We are appealing to the Executive Governor, Engineer Abba Kabir Yusuf, to come to our aid and hasten the payment of our three-month salary backlog.
“We do not want our current situation to affect the governor’s mission of ensuring a befitting new Kano,” he said.
Efforts by Citizenship Daily to obtain the reaction of the Kano State Head of Service, Hajiya Bilkisu Maimota, were unsuccessful as she neither answered phone calls nor responded to text messages sent to her as of the time of filing this report.
Meanwhile, the Kano State House of Assembly, at its plenary sitting in July 2026, repealed the law establishing KNUPDA and passed a bill providing for the establishment of two metropolitan development agencies.
The bill, which passed its third reading, would pave the way for the establishment of the Kano Metropolitan Development Agency (KAMA) and the Kano Development and Urban Renewal Agency (KADKA).
However, as of the time of filing this report, the bill had not been assented to by Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf.
