Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani has pledged to support poor and vulnerable residents of the state with social intervention programmes.
This is as he expressed concerns that ongoing social interventions in some states are not reaching the intended beneficiaries, who are the poor and vulnerable members of society.
Sani made this observation when the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Prof Nentawe Yilwatda, paid him a courtesy visit at the Government House in Kaduna, on Saturday.
“The fact that the country’s poverty index has been increasing in spite of the several poverty alleviation programmes suggests that there is something wrong with the various social registers in the states,” he said.
He advised the minister to verify the authenticity of the social registers, citing alarming poverty index figures from the National Bureau of Statistics.
“A lot of the intervention programmes designed to help the poor and the underserved do not reach the rural areas because they are financially excluded,” the governor added.
To address this challenge, Sani said he signed an Executive Order on Financial Inclusion, which has resulted in over 2.2 million people opening bank accounts in the state.
“Our target is that everyone in Kaduna State should have a bank account so that the poor and vulnerable can benefit from the social interventions of both State and Federal Governments,” he said.
Governor Sani’s administration is also investing in skills acquisition and job creation programmes, including the construction of three vocational and skills acquisition centres in Rigachikun, Zangon Kataf, and Soba towns.
“We are remodelling the Panteka Market in Kaduna to become a major centre for skills acquisition by engaging over 38,000 artisans. We are also collaborating with the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) to provide certification for graduates of Panteka Market,” he added.
In his response, the minister commended the governor for his inclusive style of governance, which has brought peace to Kaduna State and attracted politicians from other parties to defect to the All Progressives Congress.
“Governor Uba Sani’s programmes and policies align seamlessly with that of the Federal Government. His commitment to reaching the poor and vulnerable is commendable,” Yilwatda said.
