Obasanjo in Kebbi
By Sam Adzegeh, Birnin Kebbi
Monday, April 17, 2006
President Olusegun Obasanjo tours Kebbi State and praises Adamu Aliero, governor, for initiating people oriented projects
President Olusegun Obasanjo completed another whirlwind working visit to Kebbi State last Tuesday, April 11, during which he commissioned many projects across the State. The three day visit was the President's fifth to the state since assumption of office in 1999.
Obasanjo arrived the newly constructed airport in Birnin Kebbi, the state capital at about eleven o'clock Sunday morning and proceeded to commission the airport. He was welcomed by thousands of people in the state who had defied the dusty haze that suddenly descended on the state capital that day to meet the president at the airport located in Ambursa, a settlement on the outskirts of the state capital.
From there, Obasanjo proceeded to witness the coronation of retired Major General Muhammadu Iliyasu Bashar, the newly appointed emir of Gwandu who is the 20th emir of the Gwandu Emirate Council.
That afternoon the President, in company of Adamu Aliero the state governor, also commissioned three other projects including the new library complex, the second phase of the state's secretariat at Gwadangaji and the water works at Ambursa town.
By the time the visit ended on the afternoon of Tuesday, April 11, President Obasanjo had commissioned more than twelve projects across the state. Some of the projects included the Government Girls' College, Argungu, the Argungu water works, the Natsiri-Augie road, the Kidney Dialysis and Diagnosis centre as well as a cassava processing plant. Others included the Bunza-Daking road, the Government Girl's College, Suru, the Suru water works; the Koko-Bagudo electrification project as well as the Koko water works. He also commissioned the Rijau-Dirin, Daji- Ribah-Wasagu road at Ribah town and distributed water pumps to farmers at Zauro folder to flag off the 2006 dry season farming.
The president was hosted to a well-attended dinner, Monday night which featured several cultural dances from both indigenous and non- indigenous tribes in the state.
Aliero, while speaking at the presidential dinner, disclosed that the state had received about N102 billion since he assumed office in 1999. Giving a breakdown, the governor said that N79.6 billion of the amount had accrued to the state as its share of statutory allocation from the federation account, N5.9 billion was generated from internal revenue sources while N17.2 billion was realised from VAT as well as grants from various sources. Aliero said the state expended N52.7 billion on capital projects, N33.8 billion on recurrent expenditure and N15.9 billion on consolidated revenue charges.
The governor said the state had concentrated its development efforts on education, agriculture, water supply, road construction as well as rural electrification.
In the education sector, Aliero disclosed that on his assumption of office, the state had only 62 secondary schools. He said his administration had not only concentrated on the rehabilitation expansion and equipping of these schools, but had also built an additional 130 new ones, bringing the total number of secondary schools in the state to 192. He said his administration had also recruited 3000 teachers and increased feeding allowance of post- primary school students to 150 percent.
While commending the federal government for assistance in several areas, the governor, however, complained that the state remains one of five states in which the federal government have not established a higher educational institution as well as a federal secretariat. Other problems, he said, still confront the state. "We are still being confronted, by problems associated with poverty, illiteracy and the scourge of HIV/AIDS, shortage of housing in the face of increasing population growth, and environmental degradation," he noted, adding that these constitute serious threats to the state's efforts to achieve the millennium development goals.
Responding, President Obasanjo commended the state government for establishing the airport, noting that it was sure to boost the tourism potentials of the state. He also commended the quality of work as well as facilities in the second phase of the states secretariat. He added that the girls' secondary schools established by the state government would help the country achieve the millennium goal of ensuring that all children of school age were enrolled in schools by the year 2017.
The President also expressed joy at the various projects he commissioned in the state, noting that they would enhance the quality of life of the people and enable them to become more self- reliant.
He announced that the Federal Government would take over the State Polytechnic, promising that the institution would be upgraded to ensure that it has all facilities that would enable all graduands to meet the challenges of contemporary society.
The President's aircraft finally departed the new Birnin Kebbi airport at exactly 1.40 pm Tuesday afternoon amidst thunderous applause from thousands of people who were on hand to bid him farewell.
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