By Muhammad Ibrahim, Sokoto
Sokoto State governor, Dr. Ahmed Aliyu, has expressed optimism that the efforts of his administration in tackling banditry across the state is already yielding positive results.
Governor Aliyu stated this in an address delivered by him at the presentation of the year 2025 budget to the Sokoto State House of Assembly on Friday, saying his government has procured and distributed over 130 patrol vehicles to security agencies so as to enhance their operations.
According to him, “Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members, I am to state here that, our effort towards tackling banditry is yielding positive results, as the successes recorded by our gallant security personnel is evidently very clear. “This is as a result of our firm commitment to secure the state against all forms of criminality”.
He added that in order to complement the good effort of conventional security agencies, they have established Community Guard corps, and provided them with all the necessary operational tools and logistics to enable them support in securing the lives and property of the populace.
“We have also supported the Nigeria Air force with logistic required for the operationalization of the Air Force unit in Sokoto”.
He said, the security challenges being experienced in some local government areas in the state remains his headache despite the tremendous achievements recorded in many of them.
In Islamic religious matters, the governor said they have constructed and renovated many mosques in the state, provided them with boreholes, carpets as well as solar system for the comfort of worshippers. And that they have also introduced monthly cash allocation to Juma’at mosques amounting to N90,000,000 per month as well as food and cash assistance to imams, deputy imams, Muazzins, malaman zaure and grassroots preachers across the states.
“We have also re-introduced, equipped, trained and operationalized the Hisbah board to address morale decadence and social vices in our society”, he said.
On infrastructure, Governor Aliyu stated that during the year under review, they have constructed and laid asphalt over 30 township roads, and all the roads were commissioned by eminent personalities while additional 40 are at various stages of completion and would soon be ready for commissioning.
In the area of housing, he said they are currently constructing 1,000 houses in Gidan Salanke and Wajake, and have purchased 137 housing units built by the federal government in Kwannawa area
On accumulated gratuity of over N15 billion, he said “We inherited from the immediate past administration, I’m happy to inform you that we have changed that narrative, because i have since directed the release of 500 million naira monthly to settle the backlog of the unpaid gratuity.
“Similarly, we set aside another 300 million naira monthly to pay those retiring during my tenure so that by the time we would have completed our tenure no retiree would be left unpaid”.