Kaduna gov donates buses to NUJ, NBA, others
Kaduna State Governor, Uba Sani, on Tuesday donated brand-new buses to the state councils of the Nigerian Union of Journalists, Nigerian Bar Association and Nigerian Medical Association, as well as Kaduna State University and the Nigerian Correctional Service.
Sani, who presented the vehicles to the beneficiaries in Kaduna, said the gesture was aimed at addressing transportation and mobility challenges confronting the organisations and institutions.
He described the beneficiaries as critical stakeholders whose contributions were essential to the development of the state.
“I’m only handing over the vehicles to the beneficiaries. All the five very critical institutions that were given these vehicles today are very important organisations and have done a lot in contributing towards the development of our state,” the governor said.
The Vice-Chancellor of KASU, Prof. Abdullahi Musa, described the donation as a historic development for the university.
“We wish to sincerely appreciate our very dear Governor, our home Governor, the Governor of the people, for his generosity, his care, for donating a brand-new bus for our university,” Musa said.
Receiving the vehicle on behalf of journalists, the Chairman of the Kaduna Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, AbdulGafar Alabelewe, said the union had requested the vehicle about six months ago during a Ramadan iftar with the governor.
He described the delivery as a major milestone, saying the union had not received a similar gesture from the state government in about two decades.
“Today, history is being made because we are not just getting a bus; we are getting a luxury bus, for that matter,” Alabelewe said.
He said the union’s previous vehicle had become unserviceable, adding that the new bus would facilitate journalists’ movement to assignments across the state.
Alabelewe said the media would continue to hold the government accountable while also setting an agenda for development.
“This is not because we want to be partisan, but because the media originally was not created to antagonise the government. The media was created to set an agenda for the government, which we have been consistent in doing,” he said.
On his part, the NMA Kaduna chairman, Dr Hassan Salihu, while receiving the vehicle on behalf of doctors and other healthcare professionals in the state, thanked the governor for the gesture.
“On behalf of all doctors and all healthcare professionals in Kaduna State, I want to sincerely appreciate you for this kind gesture. We have seen the commitment in advancing healthcare systems in Kaduna State,” Salihu said.
Also, the NBA Kaduna chairman, Baba Lawal, expressed appreciation to the governor, saying the donation would strengthen the branch’s operational capacity.
“On behalf of the Nigerian Bar Association, Kaduna Branch, I wish to express our profound appreciation to His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Kaduna State, for his generous donation of a bus to our branch,” Lawal said.
Also speaking, the Kaduna State Controller of Corrections, representing the Controller-General of Corrections, Sylvester Ndidi Nwakuche, thanked the governor for the donation.
He said the vehicle would be deployed for the transportation of inmates to courts, health facilities and other official engagements.
“On behalf of the Controller-General of Corrections, the officers and men, and the entire inmates of our custodial centres, I stand before you today with deep joy as we celebrate another milestone of success,” he said.