Ahmad Tijjani Abdul, Kano
Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, the governor of Kano state on Saturday said the most populous state in the country is peaceful and safe for investment.
Ganduje who spoke during a Town Hall meeting/presentations to mark his six year anniversary as Governor of Kano state, assured that his administration would continue to ensure that the commercial city remains the most peaceful state in the country.
Ganduje during the colourful ceremony that attracted top flight APC stalwarts said “We promise that everybody is an indigene of Kano state. No discrimination, no segregation. In Kano, no armed robbery, no ethnic problem, no banditry, no insurgency. Nigeria is one and in Kano we maintain this principle, because Kano is a mini-Nigeria where everybody is recognized as an indigene.”
Ganduje also promised that his administration will continue with the free, compulsory basic and secondary education policy.
He maintained that education in Kano state is free and compulsory from primary to secondary level, adding that the most important thing is the political will which has been demonstrated.
He further stated that another challenge is the funding, “we have paid all our counterpart funding. The UBEC counterpart funding has been paid to the letter running into billions of Naira. The Federal Government has also succeeded in paying its counterpart funding.”
According to him, the state government also established the Education Trust Fund where five percent of our Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) and five percent of the Local Government funds are channeled into education.
Also in health, Ganduje said apart from the Contributory Health scheme where civil servants contribute for free medical services, “we also collect five percent of our IGR and five percent of our Local Government funds to fund the health sector.
“In order to reduce medical tourism abroad, we are building ultra modern cancer treatment center which will be the best and the biggest in the country.
“We have also isolated Coronavirus. We are also urging our people to continue to observe all the COVID-19 protocols.”
He also mentioned the creation of four additional Emirates as a major part of the achievements of his administration, which has kick-started development across the nooks and crannies of the state.
Ganduje said that, “we have also succeeded in empowering over one million youths in the state. We identified 25 skills in Kano. We purchased equipment and built the Dangote Ultra Modern Skills acquisition centre.
“We also engaged in general empowerment where we empower the youths, the women, tricycle operators, artisans and many others sent to PAN in Kaduna to learn automobile skills.
“Today, we are sending another batch to Kaduna where they will spend one year. We are taking care of their accommodation, feeding and everything.”
Speaking earlier during his welcome address, the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Alhaji Usman Alhaji, said Governor Ganduje took very seriously, the welfare of workers in the state, which culminated into a success story in this last six years where workers’ salaries are paid as at when due.