Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso of Kano state said his administration has delivered on his campaign promises to the people of the state through the execution of people-oriented and development programmes since he commenced his second term in 2011.
Addressing the opening session of the 5th retreat for political office holders, top government functionaries and directors in the state, at the weekend in Kaduna, Kwankwaso revealed that the 2014 budget was primarily focused on completing ongoing projects with 90% of the capital expenditure earmarked for that while 10% was for new projects.
He said the purpose of convening the retreat, whose theme was ‘Mid-term review, consolidation mechanism and celebration of success’, was to take stock of the achievements recorded from June 2011 to date and identify challenges with a view to resolving them.
Governor Kwankwaso, who was represented by his Deputy, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, urged participants to participate actively throughout the retreat sessions expected to last for four days, so that at the end meaningful resolutions could emerge for the development of the state.
“The budget was tailored for infrastructural development, aggressive revenue generation drive, youth and women empowerment, health and education growth and development of human capital through capacity building,”
Governor Mukhtar Ramalan Yero of Kaduna state, represented by the acting Head of Service of Kaduna state, Mr. Habila Dogo Kyong, expressed appreciation that his Kano state counterpart deemed it fit to choose Kaduna for the retreat.
The Kano state Head of Service, Dr. Umar Shehu Minjibir said the state has recorded success in its programmes as a result of the sustenance of biannual retreat presided over by the Governor. He added that prompt payment of salaries and allowances, implementation of N18,000 minimum wage, house ownership package, employment of over 17,000 workers, provision of vehicle loans to civil servants including primary school teachers to the tune of N1 billion, among others, were evidence of responsive governance.