Occasion Of The Inauguration Of Several Projects In Zamfara

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SPEECH BY HIS EXCELLENCY, THE ACTING PRESIDENT FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA, PROFESSOR YEMI OSINBAJO, SAN, GCON, ON THE OCCASION OF THE INAUGURATION OF SEVERAL PROJECTS IN ZAMFARA STATE, ON TUESDAY 14TH AUGUST 2018

Protocol.

I am delighted to be in Zamfara State again, for the inauguration of projects executed by the administration of His Excellency, Honourable Abdul Aziz Yari Abubakar (Shattiman Mafara).

As Governor Yari has mentioned in his speech, this is my third official engagement here in Zamfara, I have been here every year since 2016, and on each occasion, I have inaugurated impressive infrastructure projects, health and educational facilities, roads, electricity and water projects.

It is greatly heartwarming to see the development projects being implemented by the Yari Administration. There is no doubt that Governor Yari and his team, are actively translating the vision of the All Progressives Congress (APC) into reality here in Zamfara.

At the Federal level, we are proud to be associated with these monumental achievements of Governor Yari, who as you know, is also Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, a role in which he has equally demonstrated extraordinarily committed leadership.

I will shortly be inaugurating an educational edifice put in place to cater for girl-child education, focusing on science and technology and the Government Girls College, Talata Mafara, is indeed a sight to behold.

Earlier today, I inaugurated a health facility at Bakura town. I understand that the facility used to be a Primary Health Centre with only 30 patient beds, but it has now been upgraded to a General Hospital of 150 beds, five times its previous capacity.

Also today, I have inaugurated a Water Works project at Gamji village, and a 12.8 kilometre road project, which is not only an aesthetically pleasing and economically beneficial addition to the town of Mafara, but also of environmental significance, as it is meant to control the perennial flooding that has afflicted the area.

I have also inaugurated a Modern Primary School, which I understand is the Governor’s Alma Mata, and which is named after a renowned son of Zamfara state, Mallam Abubakar Tunau. It is my earnest prayer that all the benefitting communities will make judicious use of all these facilities that have been put in place for their wellbeing.

Every time I have visited Zamfara State, I have been treated to the overwhelming hospitality and cultural richness of its people. Those who are familiar with Zamfara know it for its impressive ancient history and its status as a hub of commerce and learning. In more recent history, it joined the list of places privileged to have the national rail line run through it, further cementing its economic importance.

Let me commend the government and people of Zamfara for your resilience and confidence, despite some of the challenges of insecurity and lead poisoning that you have experienced in the past few years. And also to extend my sincere condolences to families of those who lost their lives in some of the recent waves of banditry, and herdsmen farmer crisis. I would like to reiterate the total determination of the Federal Government, to support and work with the State Government to permanently deal with and defeat these challenges, and to ensure that Zamfara remains a promising land of agriculture, commerce, tourism and hospitality.

I assure you that the Federal Government will sustain the tempo of its fight against all forms of criminality, and not just here in Zamfara State, but all over the country.

This fight will of course not be won until every hotspot and flashpoint in Nigeria is freed and secured. Every Nigerian life matters, and we will not relent in our efforts to completely subdue the perpetrators of bloodshed and violence.

I am pleased to note that there is now, on the orders of President Buhari, a Special Military Intervention Force now fully on the ground here in Zamfara, and which is supported by a Special Operation of the Nigerian Air Force, known as ‘Operation Diran Mikiya’. Just yesterday the Air Force announced the successful decimation of a large number of bandits in and around Sububu, Birnin Magaji and Rugu Forests here in Zamfara State, in operations conducted in the last few days.

Let me reassure all that we will keep up the tempo, and will continue to provide all the needed support to our law enforcement agents as they work hard to restore peace and security.

Regarding the illegal mining of minerals, which has poisoned several communities and claimed many lives, especially of innocent children, we are just as committed to charting a new future, free of poisoning and exploitation, for Zamfara and all other affected parts of the country.

A few weeks ago, I declared open, in Abuja, an International Conference on Lead Poisoning associated with Artisanal Gold Mining Activities in Nigeria, a joint effort of the Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel Development, and the international aid organisation, Médecins Sans Frontières. The Federal Government is championing the implementation of a coordinated action that will ensure that the kind of tragedy witnessed here in 2010, and in Niger State in 2015, never occurs again and that the remediation already accomplished is not undone. We owe it to our children and future generations, to bequeath to them an environment that will support, not undermine, their dreams and aspirations.

I would like to use this opportunity to call on all Nigerians to remain steadfast and committed to the unity of this country. Our dream of building a prosperous Nigeria, that will take its rightful place in the midst of the global community of states, cannot be realised in a state of acrimony, primordial divisions, and prejudiced thinking.

On our part, the Buhari Administration will continue to work to secure the country, upgrade its infrastructure, and ensure that the wealth of the country is not hijacked by a greedy few, but is instead used for the benefit of everyone, with special emphasis on the least-privileged. I am pleased to note that here in Zamfara, our Social Investment Programmes are already making a big difference in the lives of tens of thousands of people, and these numbers will surely increase in the months ahead, as we pursue our goal of ensuring that no Nigerian is left untouched by the dividends of good governance.

Already under our Social Investment Programme, we have 2363 graduates employed in our NPower Scheme, an additional 8448 have now been engaged. In our Homegrown School Feeding Programme, we are feeding 269,472 primary school children daily in 1223 schools. We have also employed 3248 cooks for the programme.

In addition, we have given 5329 loans to traders and artisans under our GEEP programme. In the next few weeks as part of our TraderMoni programme, we will be giving small loans to 30000 petty traders in this State. To help them increase their inventory, and make more money for themselves from their trading activities

Let me again thank the good people and government of Zamfara State for your unalloyed support to our administration. Indeed, the government of Zamfara State shares a common vision with the Buhari-led Federal Government, a vision to promote the well-being of our people and work dutifully towards leaving lasting legacies that generations past, present and future would be proud of.

Finally, it is my pleasure to inaugurate the reconstructed Government Girls’ College, Talata Mafara, to the glory of God, and the advancement of scholarship.

There is no limit to what our young people can achieve when we make the opportunity available to them. Indeed, creating and expanding the fields of opportunity available to citizens is one of the primary responsibilities of any Government. I very much look forward to the creative and innovative exploits that will be associated with the girls of the new Government Girls College, Talata Mafara, in the near future.

I thank you for listening. God bless Zamfara State, and God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria