Why state governments must commend Tinubu for improved financial capacity to develop, Gov Sule

By Lateef Ibrahim, Abuja

Governor of Nasarawa State, Engr. Abdullahi Sule, has harped on the need for State governments to acknowledge President Bola Tinubu’s giant initiatives and efforts, which have led to the increased resources now available for infrastructure and other development projects across the country.

The Governor said this at the weekend in Lafia, the State capital, while welcoming members of the Renewed Hope Ambassadors and

Presidential Media team, led by Mr Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser on Media and Strategy to the President, to the State.

The team is on an inspection/monitoring tour of completed and ongoing federal and state projects in Nasarawa State, after similarly doing same in the neighbouring Benue State.

Engr Sule declared, expressly, that the removal of fuel subsidy and other reforms carried out by the administration of President Tinubu, on assumption of office in the year 2023, have largely improved the revenue available to Nasarawa, thus enabling his administration to undertake major projects without resorting to bank borrowing.

The Governor revealed that the state’s monthly allocation had increased from between N3.8 billion and N4.5 billion before the subsidy removal to an average of N14 billion to N16 billion currently.

Engr Sule thus challenged media practitioners to look beyond the physical appearance of projects and examine the policies and resources that made them possible.

His words, “All these projects we are doing in Nasarawa State today, without borrowing from the bank, are as a result of President Bola Tinubu and his support. So you must give him the credit for that”.

The Governor, nonetheless, stated that acknowledging the positive impact of government policies should not prevent the media from holding governors accountable where public resources were not properly utilized.

Engr Sule maintained that the media tour would help Nigerians compare the resources available to governments vis-a-vis the projects delivered.

The Governor pointed out that Nasarawa had moved from a period when it struggled to raise N5 billion through borrowing for a single market project, to one in which the state could execute infrastructure projects worth about N90 billion without taking bank loans.

Some of the projects listed for inspection included; the Akwanga Township Road dualisation and underpass, Shendam Road in Lafia, Kilema-Tudun Amba bridge and associated stormwater and river channels in Lafia, Keffi flyover and twin flyovers in Mararaba.

Engr Sule explained that the projects were selected not merely for their physical appearance but for their impact on mobility, safety and economic activity.

According to him, the twin flyover in Mararaba in Karu local government of the State, for instance, had contributed to an increase in property values in the area, while a state investment in a real estate development recently yielded N500 million in profit-sharing after an initial N270 million investment.

The governor said such initiatives reflected his administration’s approach to public resources, combining infrastructure development with investments capable of generating returns for the state.

Beyond infrastructure, Sule urged the visiting journalists to pay attention to the state’s interventions in skills development, healthcare, agriculture and mining.

He identified vocational and technical education as a major priority, noting that academic qualifications alone were not enough to guarantee economic independence without practical skills.

Nasarawa, he added, had established a skills acquisition centre offering training in electrical installation, machinery fitting, carpentry and joinery, cabinet making, welding, radio mechanics and agricultural mechanisation.

The programme, he said, also covers post-retirement skills acquisition, allowing older citizens to develop alternative means of livelihood.

Speaking on healthcare, the governor highlighted the expansion of tertiary medical services across the three senatorial zones, including the state’s specialist hospital, alongside the existing teaching hospital and Federal Medical Centre.

On food security, he disclosed that it’s over 10,000 hectares had been committed to rice production, urging the media team to inspect the project and assess its impact on agricultural communities.

Engr Sule similarly drew attention to the state’s growing mining industry, particularly lithium processing, which he linked to supportive Federal Government policies.

Nasarawa, he explained, now requires mining companies operating in the state to process their minerals locally rather than simply extracting and transporting raw materials elsewhere.

The governor pointed out that the broader objective of the media tour was to enable journalists to understand the connection between government policies, increased revenues and projects being delivered at the state level.

His words, “It’s not just to take pictures of flyovers and pictures of this and pictures of that. No. It’s to understand what is driving these policies, what are these governors doing with the resources that they are getting, and how is it impacting on the lives of the people”.

He tasked media practitioners on the need to report objectively, commending governments where they deliver results and criticising them where performance falls short of the resources available.

Engr Sule recalled his previous public criticism of some aspects of the Federal Government’s policies, including tax reforms, arguing that his subsequent support for the administration reflected changes he considered beneficial to the states.

He maintained that constructive criticism and recognition of good performance were both necessary to strengthen accountability and encourage leaders to deliver better results.

The team later inspected the newly built State Secretariat, completed and ongoing bridges and the solar farm among others in the State capital.