By Ankeli Emmanuel (In Sokoto State)
Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal has spent over 50 billion naira on schools feeding programme, students examination fees and other human development issues in the last seven years of his administration in Sokoto state, said Muhammad Bello.
Bello, who is the Special Adviser, Media and Publicity to governor Tambuwal, added that, the governor also urged Sokoto State University lecturers to resume academic activities without further delay or loose their salaries from now on.
Tambuwal who queried the justification for Sokoto State University lecturers to embark on solidarity strike with ASUU, added that they should either reconsider their position and go back to work, otherwise he will not pay them their salary until they go back to the classrooms henceforth.
'''Lecturers of the Sokoto State University are to resume work if indeed they have the interest of the state and its students at heart. We stopped their salary last month because we have been magnanimous enough by paying them more than five month salary without work'', governor Tambuwal said.
According to Bello, the governor spoke in his 62 Independence Day anniversary address to the people of Sokoto and Nigerians.
The governor revealed that his government, over the years, has remained consistent in the payment of students examination fees for the National Examination Council (NECO), West African Examination Council (WAEC), National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) and sundry fees.
Continuing, Tambuwal said while the ongoing crisis in Ukraine last, they are making serious commitments with the management of Sokoto scholarship board towards considering options such as taking their state sponsored students to other universities either in Turkey, Egypt or India; or even in Nigeria, where the displaced students will continue with their education.
On his administration’s achievements so far, the Governor said he would like to be remembered not for the many ongoing and accomplished constructions, flyovers, building of schools, but for his contributions to human capital development.
He said that is why he is building a girl-child, Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) focused academy in Kasarawa and the Sokoto State University Teaching Hospital, saying that his projection is that the STEM academy would produce graduates that would be enrolled into the state University of Medical Sciences in the future, “so that the girl-child can compete favourably with any girl in the world in-terms of education and preparation to face the challenges of life.”
Recalling what the situation was before, Tambuwal said Sokoto had over 800,000 out-of school children before, but that ratio has dropped to just about 285,000.
Speaking earlier, the Sokoto State Commissioner for Information and Orientation, and the overseer of the Ministry of Youths and Sports Development, Hon. Akibu Dalhatu, appreciated governor Tambuwal for carrying the youths along, especially in the various empowerment programmes of the state. NNL.
