Kano Govt Rejects ‘Misleading’ Population, Social Figures, Demands Retraction of Report

The Kano State Government has rejected a report containing figures on the state’s population, industries, worship centres and the number of underage children allegedly roaming the streets without parental care, describing the claims as misleading and unsupported by official data.

The state government, through the Kano State Bureau for Statistics (KSBS), said the report did not originate from the bureau and was not connected to any of its recognised statistical findings.

In a statement signed by the Director-General of KSBS, Suraj Suleiman, the agency said the publication contained several inaccurate claims regarding key social and economic indicators in the state.

“The publication contains misleading and unsubstantiated claims regarding the population of Kano State, the number of industries, mosques, churches and the population of underage children allegedly roaming the streets without parents,” the statement said.

The bureau specifically disputed the report’s claim about the number of active industries in the state, saying verified data from an industry census conducted by KANINVEST in collaboration with KSBS showed a significantly different figure.

“For the avoidance of doubt, the number of active industries, including micro, small, medium and large-scale enterprises currently stands at 3,632 based on the validated industry census conducted by KANINVEST in collaboration with the Bureau and not 58,” KSBS stated.

The agency also rejected claims regarding the number of mosques and churches in Kano, saying the report failed to provide credible evidence or methodology to support its figures.

The bureau further described as false and exaggerated the report’s claim that Kano has about 3.67 million parentless underage children roaming its streets.

According to KSBS, a validated mapping exercise conducted by the bureau identified 6,573 street beggars across the state, with only 457 of them, representing about seven per cent, identified as children aged between nine and 10 years.

The government agency warned individuals, organisations, research institutions and development partners conducting surveys or collecting statistical information in the state to seek official clearance and approval from the bureau.

KSBS also challenged the author of the disputed report, Garba Adamu, to make public the research methodology, data sources and evidence used in arriving at the figures published.

The bureau urged Adamu to retract the report and issue a public correction within 48 hours, insisting that official statistics must be based on credible data collection processes.

The Kano Government said it remained committed to providing accurate and reliable data for planning, policy formulation and development purposes.