Uba Sani, governor of Kaduna State, says his administration’s major achievements in the past two and a half years would not have been possible without the support of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Gatekeepers News reports that Sani made the remark while hosting social media influencers for Iftar, the breaking of the Ramadan fast, where he highlighted key projects and policy milestones recorded by his government since assuming office.
The governor revealed that Kaduna will be the first subnational government to benefit from the $200 million Nigeria–China poultry project, which he described as the largest in Sub-Saharan Africa.
According to him, the opportunity was made possible through the backing of the president.
“By the grace of God, in the next two months we will conduct the groundbreaking for the construction of the biggest poultry project in Sub-Saharan Africa,” he said.
Sani noted that the project is expected to generate at least 350 direct jobs and about 150,000 indirect jobs, while supporting around 10,000 small businesses across the state.
The governor also disclosed that Kaduna would become the first state outside Lagos to develop a light rail system, again attributing the progress to Tinubu’s support. He added that the groundbreaking ceremony for the rail project is scheduled to take place in May.
Sani thanked the social media influencers for supporting the state government’s programmes, describing them as professionals who have chosen to promote government activities out of a commitment to good governance.
He said the administration has recorded several milestones over the past two and a half years, achievements that the influencers have helped amplify.
In the education sector, the governor said the state government, in partnership with the Kuwait Development Fund, has built about 104 schools to address the challenge of out-of-school children.
He added that the government has also constructed 65 secondary schools and renovated more than 2,300 classrooms, while plans are underway to build an additional 55 secondary schools.
“We are also recruiting at least 2,000 teachers for our primary schools starting from next month, and we will continue this exercise every year,” he said.
Sani recalled that when his administration assumed office, Kaduna had about 580,000 out-of-school children.
“Today, by the grace of God, we have reduced that number to about 182,000,” he added.
The governor further said the state is leading in skills development, with vocational institutions established in Soba, Rigachikun, and Zangon Kataf.
He noted that the minister of education had commended the facilities, saying they are better equipped than some federal universities of technology in Nigeria.
According to him, the institutions will graduate about 32,000 artisans annually, all certified by the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), making them employable anywhere in the world.
Sani also recalled that his administration reduced tuition fees in Kaduna State-owned tertiary institutions shortly after taking office.
“Today, enrolment in our tertiary institutions has increased by over 200 per cent,” he said.
In the health sector, the governor said Kaduna is the only subnational government in Nigeria that has upgraded all its 255 primary healthcare centres from Level 1 to Level 2.
He added that the state has also renovated, rebuilt and equipped 16 additional secondary healthcare facilities.
“We are recruiting **1,800 medical personnel — from nurses to doctors — every year for the next five years. We have already started,” he assured.
On agriculture, Sani said Kaduna was the first state in Nigeria to conduct the groundbreaking for a Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zone.
He added that the state is also the second in the country to partner with the African Export-Import Bank to establish an Africa Quality Assurance Centre (AQAC) to enable farmers certify their produce for global export.
“When we came in 2023, the agriculture budget was only 0.5 per cent. Today, it is over 11 per cent, surpassing the Malabo Declaration target,” he said.
The governor also highlighted support for farmers, saying the state government has distributed fertiliser widely to boost food production.
“We are the only state that has distributed about 900 trucks of fertiliser free of charge to smallholder farmers,” he added.
