By; SAMSON YAKI, Lafia
Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State has lauded President Tinubu’s initiatives towards reviving the economy of the country, saying that if there is any person that has the capacity to fix the economy of the country, that person is President Ahmed Bola Tinubu.
Governor Sule stated this when he hosted a delegation from the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Nasarawa State chapter, who were at the Government House on a solidarity visit.
According to the Governor, President Tinubu has comparative advantage in the area of economy because that is his area of expertise.
“I always say it privately and openly. If there is anything I believe this president has a comparative advantage, it’s in the area of the economy. I am always hopeful even with the hardships that if there is anything that this President shall get right first, it should be the economy,” he stated.
Governor Sule pointed out that if Tinubu does not get the economy right then Nigeria is in trouble because nobody then could be able to fix the country’s economy.
“If this President does not get the economy fixed, then I don’t know who else is going to get it right. Honestly speaking, that I believe is his area of expertise. It is the area he has done well in the past. And it’s the area we are hoping he will fix,” he added.
The governor explained that his conviction is further strengthened whenever he had the opportunity to sit one on one with President Tinubu.
“Whenever I had the opportunity to sit with him, I saw the conviction in him that he was working on fixing the economy. It gives me comfort,” he said.
He noted that since the removal of the fuel subsidy, the 36 states of the federation have received improved revenue because the money that would have gone in paying subsidy is now coming to the states and local governments.
“Our money has improved. I am very transparent about this. It has improved from the over four billion that we used to receive to now six or seven billion since the removal of subsidy,” he said.
Governor Sule said his administration is using the money to build needed infrastructure.
“The bulk of our money is going into infrastructure. Everywhere we are building infrastructure, we pay between forty to fifty percent upfront. Because the cost of material are going up daily. But I am not doing that to the point of leaving the people hungry,” he added.
The governor said his administration has distributed food items as palliative across the state twice and is already stocking up more food items to be distributed again across the state.
This is just as he called on the Christian leaders to go back and use the church to unite the people.
Governor Sule lamented that the 2023 general election has torned Nigerians across religious lines, with election further dividing the people of the state along ethnic lines.
“I want you to use the opportunity to call on you as leaders to use the church and go back to unite the people. The question of Muslim/Muslim ticket is over. For whatever reason, God said they are the winners. They won. They are there. We have no other option than to pray for them to succeed,” he said.
He emphasized that the time of opposition is over and that it’s time to support governments at the federal and state levels in order to succeed.
“We must continue to pray for the government. My message to you, is to use the church to unite the state because Nasarawa State is bigger than one individual, no matter who that individual is. Before I came here, there were three governors there were elected and served. There were two other governors who were military. All of them have left. Another time A. A Sule will be gone and somebody else will come. And they will continue. I am mature enough to know that. I am faithful enough to understand that. I believe that is what is going to happen,” he said.
Governor Sule reiterated his resolve to put in his best and not to pay attention to any form of criticism.
“My business is that God has put me in a place to provide leadership, and leadership is what I will provide,” he stated.
He also spoke on the issues regarding the protesting PDP women that were arrested and later released, as well as the controversy surrounding the alleged Fulani vigilante group.
Governor Sule said even when the women abused him and said all manner of things about him, he refused to respond, while awaiting the outcome of the litigation challenging his election into office for a second term.
“Every day, there was a programme at the PDP secretariat where some women were exercising their freedom. Part of the exercise of their freedom was to abuse the Governor. I had never responded. I felt it was not time for me to respond. And the only day that God now says it’s done, it’s finished, A. A Sule is the winner, on that day, we knew it was over,” he said.
He added that the women were only arrested when they took to the streets after the Supreme Court judgment and in the process, infringed on the freedom of other people when they blocked the roads.
He said his administration later reviewed the bail conditions to enable the women secure their release from detention.
On the issue of the Fulani vigilante group, the Governor said he came to Nasarawa State with two major dreams, with the first being to bring industrialization to the state so that people can gain employment with a view to reducing over dependence on politics.
“Security is key to the state. I have come from a background of entrepreneurship, the background of businesses, the background of building empires. That is the background where I came from. For me, I believe in industrialization. I believe in the independence of people. I know definitely if in Nasarawa State we have places where lots of people can work and become independent, many people would pay less attention to politics.
“A lot of people pay attention to politics because of not knowing what to do. As long as the government is moving smoothly, government is doing what it is supposed to do, providing what it should provide, and people are doing their work and feeding their families, they care less about what is happening or who becomes what. And that is the dream I cane with into Nasarawa State,” he stated.
The governor said that informed the policy thrust of his administration to provide vocational and technical education to afford the people opportunity to set up their small scale businesses.
He assured that his administration is making every efforts to ensure that the people are safe and comfortable and they are not afraid of anybody attacking them.
“We have never engaged the nomadic vigilante to go on any assignment anywhere. To form a group that we are establishing to be state funded vigilante, we have never done that. And they never said we did that either. And I have no intention of doing that. I want you to be at peace,” he told the Christian leaders.
In an opening remark, Reverend Sunday Emmah, Chairman CAN, Nasarawa State chapter, said they were at the Government House on behalf of the entire Christians in the state to congratulate Governor Sule over his recent victory at the polls and also at the supreme court.
Reverend Amah used the opportunity of the visit to speak on the prevailing economic hardship being experienced by the people, urging the Governor to intervene by bringing succour to the people.
He equally commented on the controversy surrounding the alleged Fulani vigilante group, calling on Governor Sule to take further steps to investigate the group led by Bodejo of Miyetti Allah.
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