The Kaduna State Elders and Senior Citizens have pledged their commitment to support the Kaduna State Governor, Senator Uba Sani to succeed in his efforts to free the state from the shackles of insecurity, poverty and hardship.
The Elders who expressed concern over the social and economic plight of the State, said they are determined to lend their support towards Governor Sani’s mission of revitalizing agriculture and boosting the rural economy.
Speaking on behalf of the elders after a meeting with the governor at Sir Kashim Ibrahim House, Kaduna, former Military Administrator of Rivers State, General Zamani Lekwot (Rtd),said Governor Sani has started well.
According to him, “As elders, our duty is to offer seasoned advice, building on our experience of the past. Today’s session was very vibrant, full of facts and hope.
“The key issues had to do with insecurity, and how to free Kaduna State from the shackles of insecurity. If that is done, the rural areas and urban centers will be free so that the citizens can freely move in pursuit of their happiness.
“The other crucial issue is the economic empowerment, how to resuscitate agriculture in particular. We know that agriculture is our cultural heritage. If enough food is grown and circulated, inflation will come down and every citizen will have something to eat.
“Another good area he (the governor) touched which impressed us is how to make sure that every school-age going child goes to school in order to lay a good foundation for their future progress. If that area succeeds, that will curb the current insecurity that we are facing. So, as elders, we have promised to do our best to support him to succeed in order to take our state to the promised land,” he stressed.
In his remark, Alhaji Abubakar Mustapha, former Kaduna State Head of Service and National Organising Secretary of the People’s Democratic Party, (PDP), noted that,
“We listened attentively to the submission of our governor on his 4-month scorecard. Very articulate, down to earth. We have seen in him a person who will transform the rural areas. By doing that, people will be employed, peace will be maintained, and less instances of insecurity.”
The elders called on the people of Kaduna State to give Governor Sani maximum support for him to succeed.
“We are appealing to everybody, to please give support to the Governor on what he intends to do. He is very detribalized. In his dictionary, there is no ethnicity, no differences or religion. Everything should be based on merit, need and the fear of God. So, this is our appeal to all our people in Kaduna State to give our Governor maximum support for him to succeed.”
Earlier in his remarks, Governor Sani stated that his government has been very lucky since it came in. He said that the senior citizens and the elders have been giving the government all the support it required.
“Today, you can see that they are the leading statesmen in our state. In the past, they held various positions. They contributed their quota towards the development of our state and Nigeria, that is why we identified them and we invited them.
“Today’s meeting was very fruitful. We talked about a number of issues, the issue of insecurity and how we can work together with them to address the problem of insecurity.
“We also discussed the issue of infrastructural development, particularly in our rural areas. We listened to their own advice, their input, and of course, we are going to use their advice because most of them held positions like I said in the past.”
