Ganduje kicks as Abba Yusuf revokes ‘sale’ of Kano paediatric hospital

Abba Yusuf, governor of Kano, says he has revoked the sale of the Hasiya Bayero Paediatric Hospital allegedly sold by the previous administration.

In a Twitter post on Monday, Yusuf said the hospital allegedly sold to an individual by Abdullahi Ganduje, the immediate governor of the state, will now be renovated and reopened for public use.

He said the hospital has been abandoned by the previous administration for over 30 years.

“Today, we paid an assessment visit to the Hasiya Bayero Paediatric Hospital, once a haven for medical care to children and women in our state for over 30 years. And, which was closed down by the previous administration,” the governor said.

“I’ve revoked its sale to an individual for a paltry sum. And, we shall now work towards renovating and re-opening it for public use.”

Reacting to the revocation order in a statement on Monday, Ganduje said the governor was misinformed about the purported sale of the building housing the relocated Hasiya Bayero Paediatric Hospital.

Ganduje said services at the facility were suspended temporarily, noting that it was relocated after the completion of the Khalifa Sheikh Isyaka Rabiu Paediatric Hospital.

He said the new Khalifa Sheik Isyaka Rabiu Paediatric Hospital now has better bed spaces, and standard services and is being used as a training and research centre.

He said the old Hasiya Bayero was proposed to be converted into a malnutrition treatment centre, adding that a factory for manufacturing of ready-to-use therapeutic foods (RUTF) was proposed for the facility.

He said a team was also inaugurated to supervise the conversion of the hospital, adding that the committee visited a similar facility for proper conversion in Maradi, Niger Republic.

The former governor added that the Hasiya Paediatric Hospital was never sold to any individual and remained government property until the end of his administration.