By Ikechukwu Okafoardi
Former Minister for Transport, Yusuf Suleiman, at the weekend gave an insight on how he intends to embark on massive agricultural programmes aimed at rapid job creation for the unemployed people in the state.
Speaking to journalists in Abuja, Suleiman, who is vying for the Governorship seat of Sokoto state in 2015 on the platform of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), said if elected by the people, his policy thrust would be fighting joblessness through agriculture.
He said Sokoto State has arable lands, which could be deployed in commercial and mechanised agriculture, regretting that no government has been able to tap reasonably into this gift of nature.
“We will invest on rural road infrastructures so that the farmers can evacuate their farm produce to the town, where people will be able to buy them because they will have the purchasing powers”, he said.
Suleiman, who was also minister for Sports, said he hopes to reclaim one thousand hectares of land for faming in every local government, saying through this, thousands of jobless youths in the state could be gainfully engaged.
While expressing confidence over his capacity to deliver victory to PDP if given the party ticket, he said that Sokoto remains a PDP state despite the defection of the governor to All Progressive Congress (APC).
Suleiman noted that if the PDP is desirous of victory in 2015 governorship election in the state, the party should consider the zone that would have candidate whom can be acceptable to the people of the state generally.
This is even as he called on the ruling PDP not to worry about the defection of the Speaker of House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, to the opposition APC, saying that if APC gives Tambuwal its ticket, that would make victory to come easier to PDP in 2015.
Meanwhile, he has pointed out that his experience and exposure as Minister for transport and sports, has given him the needed experience to administer Sokoto state on the part of growth and peace.
