By Our Reporter, Lafia
Nasarawa State Governor, Engineer Abdullahi Sule has called on the people of the state to support his administration as it works toward making the state self-reliant in terms of revenue generation.
Engineer Sule made the call while speaking at the educational and entrepreneurship summit, organized by the Nasarawa State Students Association (NASSA), which held in Lafia, on Wednesday.
According to the Governor, until Nasarawa State wakes up to become independent of the federal allocation, the state will remain in danger.
Engineer Sule, who used the moment to particularly appealed to elders in the state to support his administration in this area, stressed that governance entails more than collecting federal allocation and paying salaries.
“We should not just be satisfied and happy that we are getting money free.
“For some of us that spent our lives in the oil industry, this oil is going down. Whether we like it or not, one day all this federal allocation that is coming, will not come.
“We have to wake up to be able to say we are independent and that we are generating our revenue by ourselves,” the Governor said.
While being optimistic that the state is at an advantage, having being endowed with mineral resources, agriculture, as well as its proximity to the federal capital, Engineer Sule called on the elders to not only identify with but support the vision of his administration aimed at taking Nasarawa State to the next level of development.
Speaking on the summit, with the theme: Improving Education and Developing Entrepreneurship, Engineer Sule highlighted on the plan by his administration to improve on public schools structures, as well as ensure that only competent and qualified teachers are employed to teach, particularly at the primary school level.
While lamenting the prevailing decay in both structure and quality of education in public schools, the Governor said he would have failed if with his present position, he didn’t do something to bring back public schools to its past glory.
“Schools are more than structures. We have to be able to provide them with the right teachers, trained teachers, who will be able to train these students, especially at the primary school level,” he said.
Engineer Sule further urged people of the state to support his administration as it moves to address the challenge facing public schools in the area of unqualified teachers, stressing that already a committee has been put in place to take needs assessments across all public schools.
In a welcome address, state Commissioner for Education, Hajiya Fati Sabo Jimeta, described the theme of the summit as apt and significant, as according to her, it captures two fundamental factors in the development of any country.
Hajiya Fati commended the Governor for being physically present at the event, saying it’s a testimony of the seriousness the administration attaches to the issue of youth development.
Organizer of the summit and NASSA National President, Comrade Faruk Tanko Tunga, noted that in today’s society, personal skills are the selling points, which explains the theme of the summit.
Tunga who commended the Governor to allocating 26 percent of the state’s 2020 budget to education, prayed that at the end of the summit, ideas will emerge to throw more light on how to further improve education in the state, as well as provide students with entrepreneurial focus to have alternative prospects in careers and professions after graduation.
The summit was attended by top government functionaries, including the Nasarawa State First Lady, Hajiya Silifat Abdullahi Sule, traditional rulers, students and pupils from across the state, as well as resources persons drawn from across the academia and business community, including Professor Muhammad Akaro Mainoma and Dr. Suleiman Nchi , all of the Nasarawa State University Keffi (NSUK).
