From Ruth Amos, Kaduna
The Kaduna State Governor, Uba Sani, has declared that President Bola Tinubu has been a pillar of support in the execution of all road projects and infrastructural development in the state in the last three and half years.
According to a press release, Sani gave the testimony at the flagging off of 11 road projects in Zaria and Sabon Gari local governments at the Fillin Mallawa.
Sani further said that Tinubu has facilitated the siting of federal government projects in Kaduna State, like the Kaduna Light Rail.
While thanking the President, Sani noted that Kaduna and Lagos states are the only beneficiaries of the project which promises to be a game-changer in mass transit.
He further said that the N1 trillion Light Rail Project will commence in the next two months, adding that the contractors have already been mobilised.
‘’In the next one week, the groundbreaking of Mando-Birnin Gwari road, which will stretch from Kaduna to Birnin Gwari town, will be performed. The President has paid N100,000,078,000,’’ he disclosed.
According to the Governor, all the developmental projects that are being sited in Kaduna State have been made possible because the people support the state and Federal Government.
‘’So, it is incumbent on us to vote for President Bola Tinubu. We should give him 98 per cent of our votes. That is the only way to reciprocate the president’s good gestures towards Kaduna State,’’ he added.
Sani who pleaded with the people of Zaria to re-elect House Speaker Tajudeedn Abbas, also implored the people of Kaduna State to vote overwhelmingly for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the coming elections.
Speaking on the 11 road projects in both Zaria and Sabon Gari local governments which he flagged off, the Governor promised that they will be commissioned in the next five months.
He said that the ground breaking ceremony marks another important milestone in the Urban Renewal and Rural Transformation Programme.
The Governor pointed out that the project ‘’reaffirms our unwavering commitment to building infrastructure that expands opportunity, stimulates economic growth, and improves the quality of life of our people.’’
‘’Roads are far more than stretches of asphalt. They are the arteries through which the life of every society flows. They connect communities to opportunities, farmers to markets, businesses to customers, students to schools, patients to healthcare, and families to one another,’’ he noted.
According to the Governor, ‘’where infrastructure is strong, commerce flourishes, investment follows, and hope takes root.’’
He recalled that ‘’from the very first day of our administration, we resolved that infrastructure would serve not merely as a public works programme, but as a powerful instrument for inclusive development and shared prosperity.’’
The Governor disclosed that his administration has ‘’ initiated 150 road projects covering more than 1,355 kilometres, with the overwhelming majority already completed.
‘’These projects reflect our determination to ensure that development is driven not by geography, politics or identity, but by fairness, equity and the legitimate aspirations of our people,’’ he added.
In his speech, Abbas noted that Tinubu has an exceptional love for Kaduna State, adding that he has done what no president has done for the state.
He said that there was only one federal university in Kaduna State that was created in 1963 by the late Premier of Northern Nigeria, Sir Ahmadu Bello.
‘’Since then until the present administration, no president, no Head of Sate has ever has come close to bringing any tertiary institution of that magnitude.
‘’But today, the story is different under president Tinubu; he has uograded our Federal College of Education to Federal University of Education, making two universities within Zaria township,’’ he noted.
The Speaker further said that Tinubu established a new Federal University of Applied Sciences and ‘’just three weeks ago, he converted another institute belonging to the Petroleum Training Institute, to a university.’’
‘’Just last week, he told me that he is also planning to upgrade Kaduna Polytechnic to a Federal University of Technology within the next few months,’’ he revealed.
According to the House Speaker, when Kaduna Polytechnic is converted into a university, it will increase the number of universities in Kaduna State to five.