Politics
El-Rufa’i Reveals Kaduna State’s Financial Liabilities At Inauguration Ceremony
During the inauguration ceremony of the new Governor, Senator Uba Sani at the Murtala Square in Kaduna, former Governor Nasir Ahmad El-Rufa’i revealed the financial liabilities of Kaduna State as of the last financial year.
According to him, the state had N64.54 billion in domestic debt, N16.06 billion in other contingent liabilities, and a foreign debt amounting to US $577.32 million.
El-Rufa’i said “we have spent N818.9bn as capital expenditure between 2015 and 2022 in the prosecution of our first and second State Development Plans, attracting nearly US $5bn in foreign and domestic investments that created jobs, improved our tax receipts and laid a solid foundation for the future.”
In his remarks he said “I wish to express my gratitude to the people of Kaduna State for the support they have provided me as their governor over the last eight years. I thank them for twice electing me to this office, and for the prayers, advice and counsel they have offered us.
“At every step of the way during this journey of service, I have been able to count on the support and understanding of the people. In good times and in challenging moments, your support has buoyed us to serve you to the best of our ability. We have had to take difficult decisions, and most of our people have often understood that those steps were taken to uphold the common good. We are immensely grateful to the residents of our state.
“As we conclude our period of service, I am confident that we have made Kaduna State a better place than we met it. We have made Kaduna State proud as an investment destination, a place of innovation in governance reforms and a state of equal opportunity for all who call it home. Our Kaduna is a state where every resident is a citizen.
“We have made Kaduna State better prepared to address the challenges of today and tomorrow, and to harness the opportunities that are emerging. We have expanded access to education and health care. We have reformed our public school system to deliver free education for every child until they complete senior secondary school.
“We have placed primary health care at the heart of our health care delivery strategy. I am proud that we have guaranteed every child in Kaduna State the chance to climb the ladder of social mobility that a decent education and access to affordable health care offer. We have improved the chances of every child surviving infancy. We have reduced the chances that a woman would die from the perils of pregnancy.
“Our appointments have shown that we value women and youths. We believe that we have a duty to carry every segment of society along in governance. We initiated programmes to empower people, but we have rejected any attempt to create, foster or exploit dependence. We provide for our pensioners; we were the first state to pay the new minimum wage and we wish that we can pay our public servants even better than that.
“Under our watch, we have digitised the land registry, and laid the foundations for an efficient and fair tax system. We have built a government machinery that asserts the imperative of supporting business. We are changing perceptions and reorienting minds about the proper role of government in promoting social and economic development.
“We have put the people first as we promised. We have created metropolitan authorities to manage our cities and we have built more markets to expand access to commercial opportunities.
“I thank the people for supporting the delivery of the urban renewal projects for the benefit of the entire state. Many of our people have borne the inconveniences of construction, including longer commuting times, the removal of some buildings, adjustment of fence lines and other attachments in the public interest.
“Several have been constructive in their attitude to matters of compensation and in reporting saboteurs. We remain grateful to them all.
“Our government worked hard to firmly confront the security challenges that emerged. The measures we took ensured that we did not record any statewide crisis over the last eight years. We expanded the security footprint in the state, ensuring that more military bases and police divisions were established.
“We harnessed soft measures, like creating the Peace Commission, and we created a dedicated Ministry of Internal Security. We foresaw that banditry could mutate into a terrible menace. We galvanised neighbouring states for collaborative action to address the problem right from 2015.
“In 2017, I requested the Federal Government to designate the emerging banditry as an insurgency and to unleash on them the full weight of the military. Sadly, this was not done until 2022 acting upon the declaration of the Federal High Court.
“It is a matter for regret that the Federal Government did not appreciate the gravity of the problem until banditry had wreaked so much havoc to the lives, liberty and the livelihoods of so many people. Although coordinated military action began later in 2022, the job remains incomplete.
“I therefore urge the incoming government to sustain the pressure on the bandits, insurgents and terrorists and make the military action comprehensive and simultaneous across the seven frontline states, six in the Northwest and Niger, that are most impacted.
“As we complete our tenure, we have not relented in removing as many security threats as we can in order to help clear the deck for the incoming government.
“We have taken action against groups and individuals that are engaged in acts that are inimical to peace and lawful order in the state. We are removing the properties of identified sponsors of terrorism and those of unlawful societies that have been proscribed in this state.
“We have insisted on the primacy of law and order, and on asserting the prerogatives of the State in guaranteeing life and liberty. On security, I can say that we did all that is within the powers of a subnational to do, and resisted pressure to negotiate with or pay off the criminals.
“We are leaving behind a net cash balance in our Treasury Single Account of about N5bn after deductions for the payment of salaries, pensions and dues to the Local Government Councils, and US $2.05m in our Domiciliary Account as of yesterday 28th May 2023.
“Kaduna State has receivables for reimbursements of infrastructure and security spending from the Federal Government amounting to about N41bn, that will be paid to the state in due course.
“This does not include the sums due to the State as share of the accumulated stamp duties receipts, estimated at over N100bn, that the incoming government will certainly receive before the end of this year. I am therefore optimistic that the incoming government will in due course be in a position to settle all inherited liabilities, complete ongoing projects and initiate new ones by the Grace of God.
“We governed under very difficult fiscal circumstances, surviving two recessions, collapses of crude oil prices, the Covid-19 pandemic and the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war. We therefore had to borrow extensively to spend our way out of recession and pursue our ambition to make Kaduna great again.
“As at the last financial year, Kaduna State has the following Domestic debt of N64.54bn, Other Contingent Liabilities of N16.06b and Foreign debts US of $577.32m.
“We have spent N818.9bn as capital expenditure between 2015 and 2022 in the prosecution of our first and second State Development Plans, attracting nearly US $5bn in foreign and domestic investments that created jobs, improved our tax receipts and laid a solid foundation for the future.
“I pay tribute to the extraordinary work of our team in the Kaduna State Government. The Deputy Governor, the members of the State House of Assembly, our honourable Judges, Kadis, and magistrates, our commissioners, Permanent Secretaries, Local Government chairmen, special advisers, assistants and other government officials have displayed imagination and demonstrated commitment to help the Kaduna State Government to achieve set objectives, and I applaud them for living up to their oaths of office.
“Our traditional rulers and religious leaders have been exceptional partners in mobilising the populace to understand our policies and support our efforts. Our partners in civil society have been critical in enabling the government to appreciate the concerns of citizens without a voice.
“Yesterday, I completed the administrative handover to my worthy successor, Distinguished Senator Uba Sani, and his able Deputy, Dr. Hadiza Sabuwa Balarabe. I call on the people of Kaduna State to support him and his team as he leads the next government. With your votes, you have vested in him the future direction of the state. Let us all pray for him to succeed in the service of the state and its people beyond our hopes and imagination.
“Several members of our governing team broke down in tears at the valedictory session of the Executive Council, overwhelmed by the reality of saying goodbye.
“But goodbyes are not necessarily bad. In fact, goodbyes are part of the order of nature. Everything that has a beginning must have an end. One era ends and another begins. New leaders take charge and life continues. That is the cycle of life. Our duty is to keep hope alive and do our best, and leave the rest to Almighty God.
“On my way to this inauguration, I entered the office of the Governor to leave on his desk a fold with three messages – a print of Desiderata by Max Ehlichmann, published in 1927, and the letter of the Fourth Rightly-Guided Caliph, Sayyidina Ali ibn Abu Talib, to Malik Ashtar when appointed the Governor of Syria over 1,000 years ago.
“The third is a hand-written note from me with some thoughts as he settles down to continue the leadership journey.
“My brother and friend, I commiserate with you. You have a huge task ahead but I am confident you will be luckier in the next eight years than I have been in the last eight years. Remember, you cannot do this job alone. Your team, if competent and capable, will focus on delivering results and little else.
“If you are unlucky enough to choose people you like that have no capacity, they will resort to blaming every other person for failures than the real culprit, which is the team itself. Be careful to watch out for this.
“May the Almighty continue to protect the people of Kaduna State. May He bless our endeavours and shower on this land peace, progress and prosperity. Farewell, thank you and God bless.
Former Vice President and African Democratic Congress presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has dismissed concerns about his age ahead of the 2027 presidential election, challenging critics to judge him beyond his age.
Atiku made the remark in an interview with BBC Hausa published on Friday while responding to concerns that his age could affect his ability to provide effective and healthy leadership for four years if elected.
The interviewer noted that Atiku would be “almost or nearly 80 years old” by the time Nigerians vote in 2027 and asked what he would say to those who consider his age too advanced for the presidency.
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Responding, Atiku referenced President Bola Tinubu before challenging the premise of the question.
“You went and voted for someone who is 80, I mean 90 years old. How old is President Bola, 90?” he asked.
When the interviewer corrected him, saying Tinubu was not yet 80, Atiku replied, “Do I look to you like someone who has reached 80 years of age?”
The former vice president is currently intensifying his preparations for the 2027 presidential election and seeking to rally opposition politicians behind a coalition aimed at challenging the ruling All Progressives Congress.
Atiku also rejected claims that he had become an obstacle to the opposition coalition, insisting that he was instrumental in bringing the group together.
“That is a baseless accusation levelled against me. I was actually the one who initiated the coalition. Nobody else…I, Atiku Abubakar, started it,” he said.
According to Atiku, most of the politicians who started the coalition remain together despite disagreements among some major opposition figures.
He identified Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso as the two major opposition figures who had left the group.
“It was just Kwankwaso… he was with us at first, then he left,” Atiku said.
Asked about Obi, he added, “Yes, and also Peter Obi. It’s just them, but the rest of us are still here continuing our work.”
However, Atiku said there was still a possibility that the opposition politicians could work together before the 2027 election.
“Nothing is impossible, by God’s grace.
“One day you’ll see… we have agreed to work together to save this country and its poor citizens, Insha Allah,” he said.
On the removal of the petrol subsidy, Atiku criticised the Federal Government, questioning how the savings from the policy had been used.
“I did not oppose the removal of the oil subsidy, but where is the money? Where did it go?” Atiku asked.
He said the funds were expected to help reduce poverty, improve education, tackle insecurity and create opportunities for young Nigerians.
“Where is the money now? It seems they are just stealing it,” he said.
Atiku also promised to restore the petrol subsidy if elected president and demanded that anyone who had stolen the money should refund it.
“If elected, I will bring back the oil subsidy, and whoever stole the money must refund it,” he said.
He argued that the subsidy could have been removed without causing the level of hardship Nigerians are experiencing if the savings had been properly utilised.
“The government successfully removed the subsidy, but we do not know where the money went.
“If they had used the money for development, to solve security problems, for education, and to create opportunities for the youth, it would be different,” Atiku said.
The ADC presidential candidate also defended his decision not to sign a peace accord involving opposition politicians, questioning why the incumbent government was not included.
“Why is it always only us in the opposition that you bring to sign, but you never bring the incumbent government to sign as well?” he asked.
Atiku added that he saw little value in signing the agreement if the ruling party was excluded.
“So, if you don’t bring the incumbent government to come and sign, I see no point in going to sign it,” he said.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Thursday met with governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, as political activities ahead of the 2027 general elections intensify.
The meeting, involving members of the Progressives Governors Forum (PGF), commenced shortly before 4:00 p.m., following a separate session of the National Economic Council (NEC) chaired by Vice President Kashim Shettima.
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As of the time of filing this report, the meeting was still ongoing, while details of the agenda had not been made public.
The engagement comes amid heightened political activities ahead of the 2027 elections, eight days after the official commencement of campaigns in line with the timetable released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The meeting also comes five days after the APC released the list of members of its Presidential Campaign Council for the 2027 elections.
The campaign council is headed by former Zamfara State Governor, Senator Abdulaziz Yari, who was appointed Director-General.
Tinubu’s meeting with the APC governors is expected to provide an opportunity for discussions on political coordination, mobilisation and other issues concerning the party as it prepares for the 2027 polls.
Thousands of residents and supporters of the Peoples Democratic Party trooped into the streets of Ogun Central Senatorial District on Wednesday as the party officially commenced its campaign for the 2027 presidential and National Assembly elections.
The campaign train moved through the three federal constituencies in Ogun Central, with residents and party supporters gathering in large numbers to welcome the party’s candidates and leaders.
The campaign began at Agbado Station in Ifo/Ewekoro Federal Constituency, where supporters welcomed the PDP governorship candidate in Ogun State, Ladi Adebutu; his running mate, Alhaja Yemi Sowunmi-Kolapo; the party’s Ogun Central senatorial candidate, Senator Iyabo Obasanjo; and other party leaders.
In Abeokuta North Federal Constituency, where Dele Olaleye is the party’s House of Representatives candidate, a large crowd gathered at NTA Junction, Totoro, to receive the campaign team.
Residents and supporters chanted solidarity songs as the candidates promised purposeful representation at the senatorial and federal constituency levels.
The campaign train later moved to Abeokuta South Federal Constituency, where thousands of supporters received the team and followed the convoy to Ake Pavilion, venue of the Ogun Central flag-off rally.
Speaking at the rally, Adebutu urged residents to support Obasanjo, describing her as a tested and trusted candidate whose track record while representing the district had not been matched.
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He urged the people of Ogun Central to reject what he described as non-performance and vote for the PDP in the 2027 election.
Adebutu said, “I want to remind you that the best times of Nigeria have largely emerged under the leadership of our great party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), exemplified by what Baba Obasanjo did as a cornerstone for his successors. Happy days are coming again, very, very soon. In January, a new dawn will break for the betterment of our people.”
He also urged voters to reject the All Progressives Congress government, saying, “I therefore urge you all to make up your mind to reject this oppressive APC government with your vote. You must chart a better tomorrow for yourself and your children. You must all turn out in your large numbers to vote for the PDP in the coming 2027 elections.”
Adebutu further called on supporters to protect their votes and resist intimidation during the election.
“Be ready to stand by your votes, resist intimidation and use the power of the ballot to say enough is enough to misgovernance and maladministration,” he said.
The PDP governorship candidate added that the party would restore what he described as the country’s best times if returned to power.
On her part, Obasanjo said she was encouraged by the fact that residents continued to remember her contributions during her time in office.
She represented the district from 2007 to 2011 and served as Ogun State Commissioner for Health from 2003 to 2007.
The daughter of former President Olusegun Obasanjo promised to do more to ensure that the people benefited from the dividends of democracy.
She also appealed to residents to support the PDP’s return to power, saying the party would work towards making life more comfortable and rewarding for people across the state.
Residents and supporters who spoke during the campaign pledged their loyalty to the PDP candidates and assured them of their votes in the January 2027 elections.
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