DESPITE THE SECURITY CHALLENGES, WHICH GOVERNOR SHETTIMA INHERITED, IT STILL DID NOT STOP HIM FROM WORKING FOR THE PEOPLE Since I became the Governor of Borno State I have never, for one day, failed to approve the payment of salaries to all workers, and that include myself, my commissioners, permanent secretaries, directors and all others in the legislature and judiciary. What this means is that our challenges in Borno didn’t stop us from collecting salaries. For that reason, the challenges should not stop us from working. I once told a group of commissioners that I will not entertain reasons of insecurity for non-performance. We can provide security for anyone to supervise projects like we provide for contractors and field workers, but as a rule, we must work for the people of Borno State. As a saying goes, ‘if you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.’ We are rebuilding most of our over 80 secondary schools. We are transforming the quality of education. We have changed the feeding system by reviewing upward the monthly feeding allowances of students from N20m to N100m under a committee of trusted retired educationists and parents. We are currently building 2,500 houses in different estates, including one for teachers that is said to be the first of a kind in Nigeria. It is made up of 300 houses. We also have a Doctors Estate and Nurses Village. I had earlier talked about agriculture. We are working on having food processing plants. We have revived the Neital Shoe and Leather Factory that was dead for over 20 years. Now, the company exports finished leather to Spain and Italy in addition to producing shoes for domestic patronage. The company made its first profit ever last year when it raised a million dollars from exports. We are doing so much on rural and township roads. We are investing in human capacity building. We have just sent our girls abroad to become doctors. We have sent teachers abroad too, same with petroleum geo- science students. Same with seafarers in maritime industry. Look, you just make your own enquiries on what we are doing. I don’t like speaking about projects at the moment because people have to be alive and safe to enjoy whatever project or programme in place. Our major concern is the security of lives and property… - Gov. Shettima (in the concluding part of his interview; todays SUNDAY TRUST, 11/05/2014)
Posted on: Sun, 11 May 2014 14:03:49 +0000
Trending Topics
© 2015