Buhari Praises El-Rufai After Commissioning Projects In Zaria

President Muhammadu Buhari with Governor Nasir El-Rufai while commissioning one of the projects by the Kaduna State government in Zaria on January 21, 2022.

President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday continued the inauguration of projects executed by the Kaduna State government, with a stop at Zaria, heaping encomiums on Governor Nasir El-Rufai.

“I am pleased to be associated with your (El-Rufai’s) successes and initiatives,” he was quoted as saying in a statement by his senior special assistant on media and publicity, Garba Shehu. “As they say in Hausa ‘Gani ya Kori ji’ (seeing is believing).”

Speaking at the palace of the Emir of Zazzau, Ahmed Nuhu Bamalli, the President stated that within the context of scarce resources and prevailing economic reality, the Kaduna State government has done well for the people.

The President, who is on a four-day official visit to Kaduna, had on Thursday commissioned projects in Kafanchan and Kaduna metropolis in the state.

On Friday, in Zaria – the northern senatorial district of Kaduna, he inaugurated the remodelled Sabon Gari market with 3,400 shops; the circular road with two spurs on River Road and Kufena Road; and the Queen Elizabeth Way.

At the Sabon-Gari market, President Buhari, while appreciating the governor for rebuilding one of the oldest markets in the state and paying compensation of over N300 million to traders, jocularly said he would consider opening a consultancy service in the market, where a ‘presidential block’ was named after him.

A crowd is seen at the entrance of the newly inaugurated Sabon Gari market in Zaria, Kaduna State on January 21, 2022.

In his remarks, Governor El-Rufai recalled that the President was in Zaria in August 2019 to commission Phase II of the Zaria water project, providing a basic amenity that was not available for the residents for over 30 years.

“Our state is an agricultural state, and this Emirate is associated with farming,” he said. “We know Mr President’s passion for agriculture, and we are grateful you appointed a son of the state to head the Federal Ministry of Agriculture.”

“We look forward to more agricultural interventions in the state,” said the governor who pledged that the people of Kaduna and their elected representatives would continue to stand by the principles and values associated with the President – honesty, integrity and commitment to public service.

The Emir of Zazzau, on his part, thanked the President for the intervention of the Federal Ministry of Health in providing a functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machine at Ahamdu Bello University Teaching Hospital (ABUTH), Zaria, in line with the desire of the people of Zazzau.

“Today, our people don’t have to travel to Kano, Sokoto or Abuja for medical screening with MRI machine,” he said.

The traditional ruler also commended Governor El-Rufai for the urban renewal projects of his administration, acknowledging that the Emir of Zazzau’s palace which has been in existence for centuries, was a major beneficiary of the projects.

While acknowledging the efforts of the government in the area of security, he solicited for more intervention by the Federal Government, describing Zaria emirate as a gateway to all the states in the North West, as well neighbouring Niger Republic.