I’ve not bought vehicles for state officials since coming to office

Kaduna State Governor, Uba Sani, on Friday declared that since assuming office last year, his administration has not purchased any vehicles for state officials.

He also stated that he has been receiving half of his salary and has reduced the allowances of state commissioners.

Sani, who met with President Bola Tinubu to brief him on developments in the state, said the measures aim to reduce the cost of governance.

He said, “We embarked on a very serious adjustment. As you are aware, we made it clear that we need to reduce the cost of governance in Kaduna State. To date, we have not bought a single vehicle for any government official in Kaduna State. That’s really helping us.

“We have reduced the allowances of all our commissioners and advisers. Even my humble self—I receive half of my salary. Since I became governor of Kaduna State, I have not had a single new vehicle as governor. So, we have tremendously reduced the cost of governance, and that’s the way to go if we really want to address our problems and improve key areas like education, healthcare, and infrastructure.”

Sani also disclosed part of the reasons for his visit to the Presidential Villa, explaining that he briefed Tinubu on the state’s situation, particularly regarding security.

He noted that the state is making progress in curbing insecurity and that a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Huawei in China is yielding positive results.

“We are making a lot of progress. In the last few months, we have not had any major security problems in Kaduna. I also briefed him on the governance situation, some of the challenges we are facing, and the progress we’ve made in critical areas in Kaduna.

“Of course, I also discussed with him the progress we’ve made since our MOU with Huawei in China. I briefed him on the Committee that has been set up and the progress we have made. As we speak, we have completed the first phase of the MOU.”

He further highlighted developments in education, healthcare, and infrastructure, noting that President Tinubu was pleased with the progress in Kaduna.

“We also discussed our efforts towards addressing the issue of out-of-school children in Kaduna. I informed him that in the last six months, we have reduced the number of out-of-school children by about 300,000, as we built 62 secondary schools in Kaduna.

“We constructed 2,340 classrooms in primary schools and employed teachers. Additionally, we have reconstructed, remodelled, and equipped about 12 secondary healthcare centres in Kaduna State. Not to mention the 62 roads we are constructing, totalling about 700 kilometres across Kaduna State. Some have been completed and commissioned, while others are still in progress,” Sani stated.

On the much-discussed Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) program, Sani mentioned that the state has procured about 100 CNG buses, which are expected to be commissioned by President Tinubu.