Kebbi State governor, Nasir Idris, has decried a gang-up by some prominent personalities against his administration to sabotage his developmental goals for the state.

He stated this on Saturday at the Uhola Festival and Agricultural Show in the Zuru Local Government Area of the state.

Mr Idris, who was the special guest of honour, declared that he would refuse to be distracted by their antics in achieving his targeted goals of social and economic prosperity of the people.

He said, “Your royal highness, you spoke about the bad roads in urgent need of repairs in your domain. It might be of interest to note that I have submitted the rehabilitation of the dilapidated KoKo-Dabai road to the Federal Ministry of Works for quick action. But to our surprise, someone went and changed the submission from KoKo-Dabai road to Bui-Kangiwa-Kamba road up to the border with Republic of Niger.’’

According to him, KoKo-Dabai road is in need of urgent attention more than the Bui-Kamba road which is still motorable.

He said, “What I am pursuing now is the revocation of the contract from the contractor by the federal government for incompetence, and re-award it by allowing the Kebbi State Government to execute the contract for quick result and job satisfaction. I have already captured the construction of the road in the 2024 budget, whether the federal government reimburses Kebbi or not, my people are the beneficiaries. I feel sad whenever I come to Zuru because all the three roads linking the town to other places are in bad shape and an eyesore.’’

Mr Idris said that he would gather prominent personalities from the Zuru emirate including traditional rulers to meet President Bola Tinubu in Abuja for a rapid solution to the disturbing issue.

On security, Mr Idris announced that his administration expended N500 million monthly on security matters, adding that the amount covered logistics and other necessary things in equipping troops alongside vigilante groups to effectively tackle insecurity in the state.

This, he said, was with a view to enabling farmers anywhere in the state return to their normal business of cultivating their farmlands.

The governor also gave an order for immediate solution to the problem of water supply to Zuru town from the dam site.

At the Uhola festival, Mr Idris told the crowd that the staging of Uhola festival had now become an unstoppable annual event to be financed by the state government.

“We will make it a deliberate policy thrust of this administration to promote culture for economic growth and social integration,” the governor stated.

Earlier, the Emir of Zuru, Maj.- Gen. Muhammad Sani-Sami (retd), thanked the governor for providing moral and material support towards the successful hosting of the festival.

He requested the federal government to also provide funding for the festival. The emir announced that a permanent Uhola village would be constructed that would contain a secretariat, sporting facilities, motel and amphitheatre for the development of tourism.

(NAN)