By Chijioke Okoronkwo
Abuja – Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Wednesday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, met with Gov. Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State over security issues in the state.
Ganduje, who spoke with State House correspondents afterward, said he came to brief the vice president on efforts being made to address the challenges.
He said that military was putting in its best and was being supported to keep criminals away from the Falgore forest.
“Just to brief him about the security issues in Kano State, especially pertaining to kidnapping, banditry, armed robbery and other criminal activities in the zone.
“I submitted a report to him that it is all well; we are managing; there is high coordination of the security agencies in Kano; they are working very hard.
“The only problem we have is the Falgore Forest for which we are providing infrastructure for military training in order to prevent the bandits from colonising that particular environment.
“We are working very hard on that; so, briefly, that is what I have come to discuss with him.’’
He said that the vice president was happy and felt encouraged with the report.
On the Kano Economic City, he said that Kano was a mega city; therefore, commercial activities must be encouraged.
According to him, all the markets in Kano are filled to capacity, hence the need to expand to other places.
“So, to create a new economic city is the answer; it has reached an advanced stage; there are so many facilities there.
“ Apart from the shops there, there are mega hotels, there are banking halls and also there are trailer parks and so many other things that you expect to see in an economic city.
“ The work has reached over 70 per cent; so, we are happy; even the drug sellers are being allocated a place there to avoid selling drugs indiscriminately.
“You know the Federal Government’s policy on drugs now; and those who are in corporate business, there is premises for them.’’
Ganduje also spoke on the N880 million recently distributed to the 44 councils in Kano state for the renovation of primary schools.
He said that the main essence of that programme was to encourage community participation in the development of education in the state.
The governor said that his administration had designed a package for direct labour, rehabilitation and renovation of schools.
“ Now, we have created what we call education promotion committees and we have given them N20 million each with identified schools to be renovated, with the scope of work to be undertaken.
“ We have given them three weeks to complete that project; so that they will come and report and our supervisors and engineers will also give the same report.
“ Then, they will also invite the well-to-do indigenes of the local governments; they also will provide their own contribution.
“ We are expecting, after the completion of the report, they will tell us how much they have been able to gather from the indigenes of the local governments.
“Then, we give them another money and they go back again; you know we have declared education to be free and compulsory from basic to secondary education; so, we have to involve community participation,’’ he said.
The governor said he was excited that the state had been paying its counterpart funding for UBEC and up to date with it.
According to him, the state has an education trust fund drawn from five percent of its Internally Generated Revenue, five percent of statutory allocations of local governments and two percent of all contracts.
(NAN)
