2027: Ex-Nasarawa Accountant General Promises Inclusive Governance, Development

A former accountant-general of Nasarawa State and governorship aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr Zakka Yakubu, has promised an all-inclusive government and development if he emerges as governor. Yakubu resigned from the state civil service as permanent secretary to contest  the governorship election in the state.

Speaking at a mega rally for his formal declaration in Akwanga, the headquarters of Akwanga Local Government Area of the state, Dr Yakubu said the state and its citizens would benefit tremendously under his leadership, especially with his experience in the public sector spanning more than two decades.

According to him, the current administration is not doing enough to meet the yearnings and aspirations of the people.

He accused the Governor Abdullahi Sule-led administration of allegedly failing to utilise the subsidy windfall for the benefit of the people and the state. He stated that the improved federal allocation to the state, resulting from the removal of the fuel subsidy, has not affected the standard of living of the people.

He said following the economic reforms introduced by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and consequent removal of fuel subsidy, the monthly allocation to the state from the federation account has risen to N18 billion, “but there is little on the ground to show for it.”

He said the state has continued to experience endemic poverty even as unemployment is on the rise.

Yakubu urged the people to demand accountability by ensuring that the huge allocations are judiciously deployed to provide infrastructure and basic amenities that improve citizens’ lives.

The ex-accountant general also blamed the government for its failure to utilise the state’s enormous mineral resources and vast agricultural potential to improve the economy and create job opportunities for the teeming youths.

He also decried the influx of foreigners, especially Chinese expatriates, into the state’s solid mineral sub-sector, stressing that, because of the anomaly, the state is not getting its fair share of its vast resources.

“If allowed to serve, we will ensure that our solid minerals are processed here in Nasarawa State. We cannot continue to allow foreigners to dominate and control our resources in the name of investment while our youth remain unemployed. The state is richly blessed, but these resources must work for the benefit of the people,” he said.

Speaking at the event, the State Director of the President Tinubu Four Plus Four Grassroots Mobilisation Movement, Mr Wilson Kingsley, said Yakubu’s leadership will provide a new vista of life for the state and its citizens.

He said Yakubu’s experience as a public-sector accountant will greatly help transform the state through judicious resource utilisation.