Kaduna Strengthens Investment Drive With Infrastructure, Others

Governor of Kaduna State, Uba Sani, is set to increase the provision of infrastructure to realise the dream of making the state the preferred destination for investors.

A statement yesterday in Abuja, signed by the governor, said building excellent and sustainable infrastructure requires skilled project managers.

Uba stated the need to equip top government project managers with the latest knowledge and skills in project control and construction quality management.

He identified the best training and consulting firms in Nigeria and abroad that will help provide the highest quality resource persons with the knowledge and skills on the global best practices in this area.

The governor picked world-class trainers, Penhall Consulting and Zoe Talent Solution of UAE, to provide these essential capabilities enhancing training for top project managers in Kaduna State government.

“The participants were taken to Kigali for one week of intensive training on project management, project control, and construction quality management.

“The aim was fourfold: build the capabilities of public service project managers and bring them up to date with global best practices; empower them with skills and knowledge that guarantee top quality for all state government projects.

“Retool them for optimal efficiency in project management and control and impart in their cost-efficiency skills so that the government gets value for money,” he said.

He stressed that Kaduna State is the first state government to expose its crucial project managers to this level of global best practices.

“Other state governments are encouraged to follow suit because of the enormous benefits this brings to the quality of projects they deliver.

“Participants include high government officials, policymakers, and civil servants – a permanent secretary, a senior special adviser to the governor on projects and directors from the Ministry of Works,” he said.

Uba said the resource persons and facilitators were top, hands-on project managers and former government officials with knowledge and experience of project control and quality management in a dynamic, volatile, and unstable environment like Nigeria.

On his part, the special adviser to the governor on projects, Dr Baba Musa, who commented on the training, which took place from the 29th of January to the 4th of February 2024, said, “I feel delighted with the training on project control and construction quality control that I attended.”

Musa said the course provided comprehensive and practical knowledge, equipping him with the necessary skills to ensure high-quality standards in construction projects.

He said the trainers were highly knowledgeable and engaging, making the learning experience enjoyable and insightful.

The permanent secretary, Mr Habib Lawal commented, “Kudos to the training organisation for delivering an engaging project control training in such a conducive atmosphere! The diverse topics discussed were enriching and highly relevant to their professions.”