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El-Rufai streamlines ministries to only 13

By Saxone Akhaine, Northern Bureau Chief
12 June 2015   |   2:37 am
AS a way of cutting cost of governance, Governor Nasir El-Rufai says the Kaduna State Government under his leadership would appoint only 13 commissioners instead of the 24 that served in the immediate past administration. In a statement, the Special Assistant, Media and Publicity to the Governor, Samuel Aruwan, said “the governor will also place…
El-rufai

El-rufai

AS a way of cutting cost of governance, Governor Nasir El-Rufai says the Kaduna State Government under his leadership would appoint only 13 commissioners instead of the 24 that served in the immediate past administration.

In a statement, the Special Assistant, Media and Publicity to the Governor, Samuel Aruwan, said “the governor will also place strict limits on the number of aides that the 13 commissioners can recruit to support the discharge of their duties.”

Consequently, the statement stressed that the machinery of government would now be driven by the Ministries of Justice, Agriculture and Forestry, Commerce, Industry and Tourism, Local Government, and Youth, Sports and Culture.

Others are Environment and Natural Resources, Women Affairs and Social Development, Water Resources, Health and Human Services, Education, Science and Technology, Budget and Planning, Finance, and Works, Housing and Transport.

However, “the erstwhile Ministry of Lands, Survey and Country Planning is being moved to the Governor’s Office as a department,” while “former Ministry of Rural and Community Development becomes a department in the Deputy Governor’s Office,” while the functions of the Ministry of Information have now being decentralized.

Meanwhile, El-Rufai has urged Nigerian youths to maximise their contributions to nation building and avoid indulging in crimes and other negative conducts that impede the country’s collective efforts.

Delivering a presidential address during the swearing-in of the 2015 batch ‘A’ (Stream II) corps members at the Kaduna State Orientation Camp, El-Rufai charged members of National Youths Service Corps (NYSC) to be ready to make useful contributions to the cause of national development.

The governor, represented by his Chief of Staff, Balarabe Musa, told them: “Take advantage of the highly beneficial youth empowerment schemes provided by the government. With our collective will and the determination of your vibrant generation, I am confident that we shall, in time, redirect and steer the course of our nation on the path of sustainable progress and development.”

According to him, the true change that Nigeria desires at this point must start with Nigerian youths. Necessarily, “we must all embrace attitudinal change. We must exercise self and personal discipline and the courage to do the right thing at the right time and in the right place.

“The collective on the part of citizens will in turn breed and inspire good conduct and accountability in the leadership. Greed, laziness and the lure for quick money without corresponding efforts breed corruption and other vices. I therefore urge you to be well guided at all times.”

El-Rufai urged corps members and all youths to participate fully and join all Nigerians to fight the scourge of corruption, while cultivating the spirit of hard work and selfless service. More so, they should be good “change ambassadors,” respect the culture and tradition of their host communities, and develop positive attitude so that they can leave a lasting legacy after their service year.

Earlier, the state NYSC Coordinator, Hilary Nasamu, appealed to the governor to restore the water sources at the camp, which had become a “major challenge,” as the four boreholes supplying water to the camp, for the first time in four years, have dried up.

According to him, the camp was in dire need of new boreholes to provide permanent solution to the perennial water shortage. He added that “the heavy downpour some days back brought sorrow to female corps members as the roofs of three of their hostels, which are yet to be renovated, gave in and drenched the occupants and their belongings.”

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