Governorship candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in Kaduna State Hon. Jonathan Asake yesterday said he has a pact with the people to secure the state and restore hope if he gets elected.
Asake gave the assurance during a gubernatorial dialogue organized by Partnership For Issues-based Campaign in Nigeria (PICaN) and Legal Awareness For Nigerian Women (LANW) with support from ActionAid and Partnership To Empower Reform and Learn (PERL).
He also unveiled a five-point agenda which according to him will ensure growth, prosperity and development of the state.
The governorship hopeful also promised to run an all-inclusive government and ensure fair representation that will provide effective leadership to resolve the challenges facing the state.
The LP flag bearer decried the deteriorating security situation in the state, which according to him had crippled agriculture, education, trade, investment and general economy of the capital of the old northern region which used to be the hub of business activities in the past.
He listed; security, sports, women and youth development, human capital development, inclusive economic and infrastructural development, institutional reforms as platforms on which he will build his administration if elected.
According to him, Kaduna State has become the epicentre of insecurity which radiates to surrounding states like Katsina, Zamfara, Niger, Nasarawa and Plateau.
Asake who was the former president of the Southern Kaduna People’s Union (SOKAPU) lamented the high indebtedness of the state amounting to almost half a trillion naira most of which he said was accrued during the present APC administration.
He questioned the wisdom in collecting foreign loans with virtually nothing to show for it in human and capital development.
He pledged to ensure and uphold the autonomy of local governments, saying it’s a constitutional matter which must be respected by the law-abiding executive arm of government.
He attributed the lack of trust, ethnic and religious disharmony among citizens to absence of equity and fairness in the distribution of wealth and resources, particularly in contract allocations by state government, promising to make justice key before taking important decisions that would have far-reaching effects on the people of the state.
“ We shall tackle insecurity issues head on and deploy the latest technology in fighting it. The state government shall prioritize and upgrade citizens driven policing and facilitating the setting up of Neighborhood watch across all Communities and Senatorial districts.
“ We will fight poverty head-on by providing an enabling environment for citizens to thrive in their respective vocations and different fields of human endeavour so that the state would flourish in business and become attractive for both local and foreign investors.
“We will revamp the educational sector by reviewing high fees charged by state-owned institutions and above all make our educational sector, skill oriented so our young population can be self-reliant after finishing school instead of becoming a burden for the society.
“Traditional institutions will be given their rightful place as custodians of culture and traditions and the values of the people within respective domains.
“We will review the peace commission law and strengthen the local government, ward and committees to address current challenges, and carry out confidence-building with violence prone communities by taking proactive actions to get their input in efforts to prevent communal clashes.
“The state has about 1,678 health care facilities with one of the poorest records, healthcare deliveries due to poor investment in the sector.
“While sustaining the 15 percent budgetary allocation to Health, We will strengthen and expand the contributory health scheme to reach more residents in the state.
“Increase public investment in a climate smart agriculture sector, which will be the key driver of economic development of the state.
Earlier in his remarks, State Team Lead of United Kingdom Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) PERL, Abel Adejor, said there’s need to engage and interact with the governorship candidates in Kaduna state to know what their programmes are, what their plans are, and what they have for the people of Kaduna State.
Also, the moderator of the program, Yusuf Goje, said, all the Governorship candidates in the state will be given equal opportunity to showcase their manifestoes and what change they will bring on board I elected Governor of the state.
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