Kaduna Governor Uba Sani has expressed optimism about the nation’s transformation, addressing leaders at the 2025 Asia Pacific Cities Summit and Mayors’ Forum in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE).

At the summit, he also presented the Kaduna State’s transformation story to a global audience of over 150 mayors, governors, and 300 city leaders from across Asia, the Pacific, Europe, and Africa.

A statement by the Commissioner of Information, Mallam Ahmed Maiyaki, said that the summit, themed “Collaborate, Inspire and Transform”, served as a platform for global city leaders to exchange ideas and strategies for achieving sustainable, inclusive, and innovation-driven urban growth.

According to the statement, Governor Sani delivered a paper titled “Building Partnerships for Shared Prosperity,” where he further outlined Kaduna State’s progress in urban renewal, agricultural transformation, and social protection.

Sani said Kaduna’s development model is anchored on expanding opportunities, protecting the vulnerable, and empowering citizens to thrive.

The governor was also said to have featured on Expo City Dubai’s flagship podcast, where he discussed “Transforming Northern Nigeria: Leadership, Innovation and Social Impact,” stressing that “effective leadership and technology-driven governance remain critical to unlocking the potential of people and cities”.

The statement said during the summit, “the governor held a bilateral meeting with His Excellency Marwan Bin Galita, Director General of the Dubai Municipality. Their discussions centred on collaboration in waste-to-energy innovation, sustainable waste management, and modern urban planning. Both parties agreed to deepen technical cooperation and knowledge exchange to support Kaduna’s transition toward a green and circular economy”.

Meanwhile, the governor stated that Kaduna’s participation in APCS 2025 underscores the state’s readiness to engage globally, innovate locally, and position itself as a beacon of sustainable development and inclusive growth in Nigeria and beyond.

In other news, a former Minister of Aviation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, has stated that Governor Sani was appointed by divine intervention to save the people of Kaduna State from the misrule and carnage witnessed under the previous administration.

Fani-Kayode said that the coming of the governor has united the citizens in Kaduna and also healed the state of carnage, mistrust, and open discrimination against Christians in the recent past.

The former minister made this known at the 35th Anniversary of the Diocese of Kafanchan, Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) Synod 2025, held over the weekend.

He said that there was a time when the 17 security chiefs in the country were Muslims from the North and Christians were discriminated against because of their faith, especially in Kaduna State.

According to Fani-Kayode, with the arrival of Governor Sani in office, the situation in Kaduna State has started to improve, adding that “what he is doing should serve as an example to the rest of the country.”

“The governor that you have today came as a consequence of prayer. I have known him for many years. He is one of my closest friends. He is not an ordinary person,” he said.

“There was a time on this very ground you had a governor who despised Christians; I use the word ‘despised’ advisedly and with a capital D.”