The Kaduna State Governor, Uba Sani, said on Friday that attacks by armed groups have reduced in the state.

Mr Sani, who spoke in Abuja after a meeting with President Tinubu, also said his administration has successfully reduced the number of out-of-school children in the state.

“In the last few months, we have not had any major security problems in Kaduna,” he said.

“I was in Birnin Gwari last month, and of course, I was informed by the Emir that in the last few months, we have not had a single incident of insurgency or banditry in Birnin Gwari local government,” the governor added.

Birnin Gwari is one of the most terrorised areas in Kaduna. The local government bordering terror-ravaged Niger State has a heavy presence of local terrorists known as bandits and Ansaru, an Al-Qaeda franchise in Nigeria.

The governor said the reduction in attacks was due to the activities of his administration.

“We have had a very robust collaboration with security agencies in Kaduna State,” he said. “We also increase the level of synergy between the security agencies, government and other relevant stakeholders that have been helping the state in terms of intelligence gathering and sharing.”

Mr Sani said his administration has addressed the scourge of out-of-school children by building more schools and classrooms in the last six months.

“I informed him that in the last six months, we have reduced the number of out-of-schools to the tune of about 300,000 because we built about 62 secondary schools in Kaduna, 2,340 classrooms in primary schools, we have employed teachers,” he said.

Foreign partnership, education, infrastructure… Other matters discussed
The governor said he also briefed the president about his administration’s partnership with Huawei, an ICT infrastructure and smart devices company in China.

“I also discuss with him the progress we’ve made since our MOU with Huawei in China,” he said, saying a committee set up to handle the partnership has made significant progress.

“As we are speaking, we have been able to achieve the first phase of the MOU,” he added.

Mr Sani said President Tinubu was happy about the level of progress made “in the area of education, healthcare and infrastructure.”

The governor also boasted that his government has revamped about 12 secondary healthcare centres in Kaduna State.

He added that about 62 roads “totalling about 700 kilometres across Kaduna State” are under construction.

“Some of them have been completed and commissioned. Some are still in progress,” he said.

To cushion the social impact of subsidy removal, the governor said his administration has procured about 100 CNG buses awaiting commissioning by the president.

Mr Sani claimed that his government has not “bought a single vehicle for any government official in Kaduna State.”

“That has really helped us. We’ve reduced the allowances of all our commissioners, advisers, and even my humble self, receiving half of my salary. Since I became governor of Kaduna State, I’ve not had a single new vehicle as a governor,” he said.

According to him, this is part of his administration’s efforts to cut the cost of governance.