From Noah Ebije, Kaduna
Kaduna Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has said he will relocate from the state on May 29, 2023, after handing over to his successor, so as not to interfere with the incoming administration.
The governor, who expressed optimism that Uba Sani will succeed him, said he will not make any input in the running of the next All Progressives Congress (APC) government.
El-Rufai said the next governor will be guided by God if he has a pure heart, adding that Sani is a good man who will also make an excellent governor.
He described Sani as a worthy successor who will take Kaduna State to greater heights when voted as governor.
The governor, who spoke at a town hall meeting organised by the Central senatorial zone, yesterday, said he has known the senator for over 20 years and he has proven his mettle politically.
El-Rufai advised the people of Kaduna State not to inundate him with requests for notes to Sani to be given appointments or contracts when he becomes governor.
Sani said he has been a student of El-Rufai’s school of government and policy in the last 20 years and he has acquired several ‘degrees’ as a result.
“In this school, there were some people who entered before me, people like the Secretary to the State Government, Balarabe Abbas Lawal, who is my senior. However, the school has not graduation date. So, we are still learning,’’ he said.
The senator, who promised to continue with the policies and programmes of the El-Rufai administration, praised the governor for re-engineering governance in Kaduna State.
“Before the coming of this administration, government’s resources were being shared among a few elite, after payment of salaries. So, there was nothing left for development, in spite of the huge resources that Kaduna State was receiving as federal allocation.
‘’But El-Rufai changed that narrative by improving education, revamping healthcare and building infrastructure that is benefitting the people of Kaduna State,’’ he said.
The APC gubernatorial candidate said the result of the massive investment in education has started bearing fruit because Kaduna in the fourth state in the country whose students got five credits, including English and Mathematics in Senior Secondary School examinations.
Sani, who said government cannot shoulder the funding of education alone, called on wealthy individuals to sponsor promising but indigent students to tertiary schools.
According to him, he recently gave scholarships to 280 students in Kaduna State tertiary schools to enable them continue with their studies.
The senator also said Governor El-Rufai has empowered traders, by instituting a mortgage arrangement whereby they will pay in instalments towards owning their shops.
He said shops were allocated to top government officials and party chieftains in the past, as a way of patronage, who in turn sublet them to traders at exorbitant prices.
