Religious leaders across the state have engaged with Governor Uba Sani in a frank and fruitful meeting aimed at assessing the progress made in promoting peace and forging unity in the state and other emerging issues with strategies to address them.
Welcoming the personalities to the Sir Kashim Ibrahim House, Gov. Uba Sani expressed gratitude to the religious leaders for the invaluable advice and support they have been giving to the administration since inception. He said that their support and work in various communities have helped in stabilizing the state and refocusing attention on developmental issues.
The Governor reiterated what he termed the administration’s modest achievements in the areas of security, infrastructure development, education, agriculture, health, housing, poverty alleviation, youth and women empowerment, stressing that the rural transformation drive was also gathering pace.
In separate responses, the religious leaders expressed satisfaction with the developmental strides of the administration and made suggestions on priority areas going forward. They resolved to work with the state government to rebuild trust in their communities, enhance inter-religious understanding, and effectively implement the government’s Rural Transformation Agenda.
Also, another strategic engagement meeting with esteemed members of the Kaduna Elders Forum was held to review progress made in securing and stabilizing communities and chart the pathway to a more peaceful and prosperous Kaduna State.
The elders, led by the Co-Chairmen, Alhaji Abubakar Mustapha and General Zamani Lekwot (rtd), received applause from Governor Uba Sani for their continuing support to the administration and for rallying citizens to make contributions towards the growth and development of the state.
“The Kaduna Elders Forum is one forum we must sustain because of its strategic role in mobilizing and sensitizing our people on critical issues of peace, security, and development,” the Governor said. “All the so-called differences are created by conflict entrepreneurs in furtherance of their evil machinations. With the unity displayed by our elders, our people can now focus on real issues of development,” the Governor said.
“Our rural transformation drive is gathering pace. We are determined to close the infrastructure deficit and thus give our rural dwellers a better lease of life,” he further said, and informed the Forum of the signing into law of the private sector-driven Kaduna State Security Trust Fund Bill, aimed at securing sustainable funding for combating terrorism, banditry, and kidnapping in the state.
“We have made progress in degrading criminal elements, but challenges remain,” he said and urged the elders to continue to engage the State Government and security forces to fashion more effective strategies to degrade these agents of destabilization