‘Northwest Governors Will No Longer Pay Bandits’
Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna State on Tuesday said that he and other Northwest governors have met and resolved to depart from the previous idea of giving money to bandits.
This was just as he said his administration would focus on rural development as a way of improving the livelihood of the rural dwellers aimed at tackling insecurity in the state.
Sani who stated these while featuring on a Channels Television interview programme on Tuesday, however, disclosed that Governors of the region troubled by banditry also resolved to meet President Bola Tinubu to discuss the security challenges of their zone.
“I hosted a meeting with the governors of the northwest and Niger state where we came out with a framework to tackle insecurity. We agreed that we will work together and move away from the decisions made by the previous governments of giving money to the bandits.
“We are planning to meet His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to discuss the insecurity,” he said.
On his resolve to focus on rural areas, the governor said it’s aimed at improving the human capital index of the state, noting that the plan would be achieved through “improving primary education, upscale of the healthcare centres, construction of critical roads, supporting agricultural services and empowering women and youth through vocational skills.”
Sani hailed his predecessor, Malam Nasir El-Rufai, for the successful implementation of the Kaduna Urban Renewal Project while assuring that his administration would build on that and extend the developmental projects to the rural areas which would help in curbing insecurity.
On the issue of the removal of subsidies, the governor also said he met with the organised labour unions in the state and they have resolved to work together to achieve the Kaduna State Project.
“I had a meeting with the organised labour in Kaduna State and we came out with some resolutions. They assured me that even when the national body embarks on a strike they will not participate.
“And this is because I have been working with them closely in the last few years in Kaduna. They are also aware that I have been part of them because of my involvement in the fight for the rights of workers in the last 30 years.
“For the first time they are working with someone who was involved in the fight for workers’ rights and they believe this is their government,” he added.