Kaduna State Government under the leadership of Malam Nasir El-Rufai has made progress in the last seven years and the remarkable results are there for all to see, Khalifa Muhammadu Sanusi II has said.
The former Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN) noted that ‘’it is not surprising that all over the country, when people are giving examples of good stories to tell, of governors that are doing what they are supposed to do, I’m always proud that my friend and brother Nasir, is number one on the list.’’
Khalifa Muhammadu Sanusi disclosed that Governor El-Rufai’s success is not surprising to ‘’all of us who have known him since we were 16, 17 year olds.’’
The foremost Economist confessed that he had reservations when El-Rufai decided to go into politics ‘’because I felt, like me, his temperament was not suitable for that environment. But he has done extremely well and he has left a legacy.’’
The 14th Emir of Kano said that his prayer is for the Kaduna state governor to have a worthy successor who will continue from where El-Rufai will stop on May 29, next year.
‘’We have Senator Uba Sani here. We hope that you are victorious in the election and continue to build on it,’’ he said.
Citing the Lagos state example, Khalifa Muhammadu Sanusi II said ‘’we have seen how just having one governor after the other, built on what the predecessor did . Anyone who knew Lagos 20 years ago, knows that it has changed in every respect.’’
Delivering the Keynote address at the 7th edition of Kaduna Economic and Investment Summit (KadInvest 7.0) on Saturday, he spoke on ‘’Improving Subnational Resilience Against Global Economic Shocks’’
Khalifa Muhammadu Sanusi praised Kaduna state for showing leadership in the proper implementation of the Treasury Single Account (TSA), adding that BudgIT said that it is the only state that has met the World Bank criteria for two consecutive years.
According to him, one of the criterion is running a functional TSA that covers more than 80% of revenues.
The Vice Chair of Kaduna Investment Promotion Agency (KADIPA) said that he is proud to be associated with the agency, ‘’and I’m proud to speak about Kaduna state anywhere I go.’’
The former Managing Director of First Bank said that whenever investors approach him for advice, he usually refers them to Kaduna or Lagos states because he does not want to invite investors that will be disappointed.
Khalifa Muhammadu Sanusi also advised state governments to ‘’free themselves of federal dominance. You have to free yourselves from relying on the federal government. Just assume that you are not going to get help from the centre.
‘’Build your infrastructure, and as Kaduna state governor promised to do, build your power supply, attract your own investors, educate your children and create your own jobs,’’ he counseled.
