FACT CHECK: Did Sultan make public statement about bad roads in Kano?

A post published by some blogs and shared on social media claimed that Sa’ad Abubakar, Sultan of Sokoto, complained about bad roads in Kano.

According to the viral report, the sultan said it took him several hours to travel from Fanisau (a town in Ungogo LGA, Kano state) to Bichi, another town within the state.

The report further claimed that the sultan made the statement when he attended an event organised to celebrate the wedding ceremony of Yusuf, son of President Muhammadu Buhari and Zahra, daughter of Nasiru Bayero, Emir of Bichi.

“I have suffered a lot before I arrived at the venue of this event from Sokoto. It took me over an hour from Fanisau to this place, all as a result of bad roads,” the sultan allegedly said.

“When I arrived Kurna, there was heavy hold up of vehicles that I had to divert and follow another route.”

Similar versions of the post have been shared on Twitter, Facebook, and a YouTube channel posted a commentary of the comment credited to the sultan.

His Eminence, the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Saád Abubakar II, has complained about the bad roads in Kano state, saying that it took him several hours to travel from just Fanisau to Bichi.

Sa’ad said that the duration of the apparently shorthttps://t.co/tJ1pSYXEvc pic.twitter.com/WJPL93iidu

— Africa Housing News (@newsinhousing) August 21, 2021

VERIFYING THE CLAIM 

To confirm the claim, TheCable reviewed news items and photographs published in credible media platforms pertaining to the marriage ceremony of Yusuf and Zahra; the comment credited to the sultan was unavailable.

Although the sultan was in the state for the ceremony, there is no evidence that the monarch publicly made the statement credited to him.

Efforts to reach the sultan for comments proved abortive.

 VERDICT

The claim that the Sultan of Sokoto “complained bitterly about bad roads” in Kano at the wedding ceremony is misleading.