Citizens of Zamfara State under the auspices of Zamfara Professionals in Abuja, have tasked the State Governor, Dr. Dauda Lawal, on good governance in order to salvage the State from underdevelopment and insecurity.
At a dinner with the Governor in Abuja on Wednesday night, the Professionals, who are mostly civil servants in federal ministries and workers in private establishments in FCT, asked the new State government to prioritise security, education and agriculture in order to improve Zamfara people’s standard of living and engender overall development of the State.
Responding to comments and questions from the Zamfara Professionals, Governor Lawal said that the state he inherited was bankrupt when he took over power on May 29.
The governor stated, “I believe in the history of our state, this is the first time where professionals and people of Zamfara State are here to interact.
“I am delighted to hear some of the comments made. It is indeed incredible.
“The Zamfara State we inherited is in a bad state. At the time we took over, Zamfara was bankrupt with nothing left.
“It is a state where we inherited so many bad things.”
The governor, however, gave assurance that things were going to change for better with new initiatives of his administration.
Lawal, who said that he inherited a backlog of three-month salary arrears with no single money to take care of the civil servants in the State, said as at the time he took over, the West Africa Examination Council (WAEC) Senior School Certificate Examination was already over and Zamfara students were unable to sit for it.
“Fortunately for us, NECO (National Examinations Council) is about to start and if we do not do anything, the children may not write the exam,” he said.
He said that though the state was owing WAEC about N1.6billion and NECO about N1.4 billion, which had made the students to be unable to sit for the examinations in the past, his government had recently paid off NECO’s debt.
“This is something that is verifiable. Outside security, education is key because without education, we are going nowhere,” the Governor added.
He said his administration had commenced reconstruction of primary schools and building the capacity of the teachers to boost their productivity.
He said when he came in, Zamfara had over-bloated government structure with 28 ministries, which had now been reduced to 16 in order to reduce cost of governance.
The governor, who also lamented the condition of the hospitals in the state, however, said that he was committed to change the narrative.
He, therefore, solicited the support of the Zamfara Professionals in order to build the state in the interest of the people.
Governor Lawal noted that as part of the efforts to tackle the security challenge in the State, he recently met with the Chief of Defence Staff, the Chief of Army Staff and the National Security Adviser (NSA) to solicit their support for Zamfara State.
He said he also met with officials of the European Union and the World Bank on issues of insecurity, education, health and infrastructural development, adding the global institutions expressed readiness to provide support to the State.
“I appeal to you to be our ambassadors, that in everything you do, Zamfara comes first.
“We can’t do it alone. We need the support of all to change the fortune of Zamfara State.
“I want to appeal to all of you to keep praying for peace and prosperity for our dear state
“I am open for discussion, I am open for advice and collectively we shall build a better Zamfara,” the Governor stated.
Permanent Secretary, Special Duties, Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Alhaji Aliyu Shinkafi, who is an indigene of the State, congratulated the governor on his election victory.
According to Shinkafi, “We on this side are ready to assist our state in whatever capacity we have found ourselves.”
He gave assurance that federal civil servants from the state would remain apolitical.
The Grand Khadi of FCT, Alhaji Ibrahim Rufai-Imam, urged the people of Zamfara State to be lovers of one another irrespective of local government of origin.
“Let us unite and see how we can move the state forward.
“We need to continue praying for the state to come out of the present predicament,” he said.
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