The Zamfara State Government has urged the federal government to intensify efforts to address the severe security challenges bedeviling the entire state, which it stated is the major problem facing the region.
This was disclosed by the state governor, Dauda Lawal, who spoke through the State’s Commissioner of Project Implementation, Hon Nasiru Ibrahim Zurmi, during a town hall meeting organised in Gusau by the Office of the Personal Assistant to President Tinubu on Constituency Affairs, Ms Khadija Omotayo Kareem.
The governor further appealed to the Federal Government to construct the Gotawa Earth Dam in the Zurmi and Shinkafi axis, the Kwatarkwashi—Rawayya bypass, the Anka—Bagega—Mutunji federal roads, and other developmental projects in the state.
He explained that there was insufficient Federal Government presence in the state, apart from the ongoing construction of the Zaria—Sokoto road, which he said was initiated by former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.
“It is very clear that the people of Zamfara State contributed the highest number of votes to Tinubu in the last presidential election, more than any other state in the northwest zone,” the Governor added.
Recall that on Tuesday, while receiving Ms Khadija and her entourage in his office, the Secretary to the Zamfara State Government (SSG), Malam Abubakar Mohammed Nakwada, on behalf of the government and people of Zamfara State, promised to compile some demands for onward submission to Mr President.
“The people of Zamfara have spoken, and you heard them loud and clear. The Zamfara State Government has aligned with the position of its people here,” he added.
“On our part, we have some projects that we require from the Federal Government because, apart from the Zaria—Sokoto road which was awarded by former President Buhari before he left office, we don’t have a single project that was initiated by this administration.
“For instance, the Federal Government has constructed many bypass roads in other states like Kaduna and Kano.
“Based on that, we made a proposal for the construction of a bypass road from Kwatarkwashi to Rawayya to link up with the Gusau—Kaura Namoda road. We also made a submission for the construction of a federal road that starts from Anka—Bagega—Mutunji.
“We equally made submissions for the construction of Gotawa Dam, which has the potential of irrigating 18,000 hectares of land for dry season farming and generating up to 100 megawatts of electricity.”
In her remarks earlier, the PA to Mr President on Constituency Affairs, Hon. Khadijat Omotayo, appreciated the Zamfara State Government for their hospitality, reaffirming that all the submissions would be escalated to Mr President who, according to her, has Zamfara State in mind.
