Leaders of the Concerned Northern Forum (CNF) have called and demanded the immediate relocation of the 3 Million Technical Talent Accelerator (3MTT) from Kano to Kebbi State.
The group’s spokesperson, Comrade Abdulsalam Moh’d Kazeem, made the request at a press conference held in Abuja yesterday.
Kazeem said the Digital Innovation Park in Kano, built to support President Bola Tinubu’s 3MTT set ablaze in Kano during the ongoing nationwide protests, should be relocated to Kebbi State because the latter is safe for such facilities.
He said Governor Nasir Idris of Kebbi State’s channelling of the state’s allocation into palliatives and other incentives for the people’s wellbeing, prevented the people from participating in the raging hunger protests.
Kazeem said, “It will be a grave injustice for the federal government to consider rebuilding such a strategic facility in a state where the governor works at cross purposes with the federal government and does not have a grip on his citizens.
“Kebbi State is also part of the North West, and it won’t be fair if this great comrade governor is not rewarded for his sterling leadership and support for the policies and projects of the government at the centre.
“With the youthful population, economic viability and eagerness for job creation by the governor, relocating this project to Kebbi will boost the state’s economy and increase its internally generated revenue by over N300 billion.
“Indeed, Kebbi State needs interventions like this more than Kano State, regardless of the governor’s high impact governance,” he said.
CNF also appealed to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) will probe the 36 state governments over utilising their huge monthly statutory allocations from the federal government.
It said the call was necessitated by some state governors failing to channel monies and other palliatives to vulnerable Nigerians in their states.
Blaming the situation for the nationwide protests, which led to the loss of life and property worth billions of naira across the country, the forum asked the authorities to consider punitive measures in states where sensitive government property and infrastructure were destroyed during the hunger protests.
“As one who has prioritised his people above his gains, Dr. Nasir Idris’ one year in office has been characterised by a transformation in the infrastructural landscape of the state.
“He has also revolutionized Education, Health Care, Agriculture, Security and other key sectors of the economy. No wonder, with his kind intervention, the people of Kebbi State felt an obligatory need to obey him and refrain from unleashing mayhem on their states as it is happening elsewhere.
” If all state governors and other elected representatives decided to act responsibly and avoid the temptation for primitive accumulation, Nigerians would have chosen to side with the truth as against the faceless, deceptive protest organisers.
“As we pass a vote of confidence on Comrade Dr Nasir Idris, the Executive Governor of Kebbi State, we call on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to always consider patriots and progressives in the sharing and handling of sensitive national assignments.
“He is a true leader and should be rewarded for his loyalty. Kebbi State should be remembered and included in more intervention projects as the governor sincerely works to lift his people out of poverty and suffering.”
