The gubernatorial candidate of the Action Democratic Party (ADP) in Kaduna State, Mr Sani Sha’aban has pledged to invest in large scale industries, Small and Medium Scale Enterprise (SMEs) if elected in the forthcoming general election.
He also said that if given the mandate his administration would implement sound employment generation programme sto provide job opportunities and livelihoid youth and women in the state.
The governorship candidate stated this during the One-On-One Policy Dialogue Series on Wednesday in Kaduna.
The forum tagged: “The Agender” is designed to provide platform for gubernatorial candidates to present their blueprint to the people of the state.
The dialogue, the third in the series, was being organised by Partnership for Issues-Based Campaign in Nigeria (PICaN) and Legal Awareness for Nigeria Women (LAWN) with the support of ActionAid Nigeria and Partnership to Engage, Reform and Learn, a United Kingdom Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office governance programme.
Sha’aban promised to transform Kaduna State into a hub for cash crops to meet the needs of local and international markets.
“If elected, I will run a government of consolidation, enhancement and innovation.
“We will continue from where Gov. Nasir El-Rufai has stopped, particularly on the development of critical infrastructure.
“I will continue to invest in infrastructure and create connect the rural and urban areas so that residents of the rural communities and urban centres will interact and transport their agricultural produce to the urban centers for market.
“My government will also be innovative, particularly on the issue of human capital development for the overall development of the state,” he said.
The governorship hopeful said that his administration would strengthen traditional institutions to promote inter religious harmony in the state.
Sani also promised to consolidate on the Open Government Partnership principle that the current government had signed to strengthen citizens’ engagement in governance.
Also speaking, Mrs Hanatu Ahuwan, Acting Executive Director, LANW, said she was excited with the candidates’ willingness to interact with the citizens, which she described as key to the democratic process.
Ahuwan, who is also the Coordinator, We-You Project, being supported by ActionAid, said that LANW has been advocating for the involvement of youth and women in politics and decision-making processes.
According to her, the candidates’ willingness to engage and work with the citizens shows that the country’s democracy is growing.
“We do hope that education, health, social protection, youth and women development, and the persons with special needs will be prioritise by whoever wins the election,” she said.
Earlier, the Lead Partner PICaN, Mr Yusuf Goje said the dialogue series would improve public awareness and facilitate stakeholders’ review of suitability of the candidates.
He said the dialogue would facilitate signing of a social contract with the candidates based on the Citizens Demand Charter.
According to Goje, one of the objectives of the dialogue is to provide an interactive platform for candidates to publicly present their blueprints beyond rhetorics.
“It is also organised to facilitate a multi stakeholder participatory review of the blueprints, assess capacity of each candidate and raise public awareness on the candidates’ blueprints for informed decision at the polls.
“We equally want to document key commitment made by the candidates as a basis for signing a social contract and accountability.”he added .
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the dialogue which includes signing of social contracts focuses on health, education, agriculture, social inclusion, information communication and technology, revenue, debt, and sustainability of reforms. (NAN)
