Senator Uba Sani, the Governor of Kaduna State, on Sunday, dismissed criticism by his predecessor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, and reaffirmed his commitment to good governance in the state.
Sani spoke during an Iftar dinner with Social Media Influencers at the Sir Kashim Ibrahim House in Kaduna.
Though, the Governor was responding to claim by El-Rufai that he was using police to harass him and his loyalists.
El-Rufai had made the allegation last week following the arrest of his supporter, Jafaru Sani, who had served as Commissioner for Environment and Natural Resources during his administration.
While addressing the allegation by El-Rufai, Uba Sani said, “My preoccupation is to serve the people of Kaduna State, who elected me. I am not bothered by baseless and idle talks, which will add no value to governance.”
Sani also pinpointed his administration’s progress over the last 22 months, citing notable achievements in agriculture, education, and security in areas previously beset by insecurity.
“We have made significant strides in addressing security challenges in Birnin Gwari and Giwa local governments. The Birnin Gwari cattle market, which had been closed for over 10 years due to security issues, was reopened last November, and business is now thriving,” he added.
He further addressed the long-standing issue of water scarcity in the state, stating that his administration declared a state of emergency in the water sector upon taking over the baton of leadership.
Governor Sani noted that the capacity utilisation of the water supply scheme was under five percent, but has since risen to 30%. Sani promised to reach 100% capacity by the end of the year.
Also, Governor Sani revealed that his administration had cleared a salary backlog of N800m owed to staff of the Kaduna State Water Corporation and settled electricity debts totaling N1.3bn.
He also mentioned ongoing efforts to retrofit water supply schemes across all 23 local governments in the state.
The governor expressed his gratitude to social media influencers for their support in promoting the activities of the state government.
“I want to thank you for highlighting the achievements of our administration. We will continue to support you in your efforts to promote the good works of our government,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Kaduna Social Media Influencers, Malam Adam Garba, thanked Governor Sani for hosting them for Iftar and commended his support.
“This is the first time any governor has hosted us for Iftar. We appreciate your support and look forward to continuing to work with you to promote the good works of your administration,” he said.
