Gov. Bala Muhammed of Bauchi State has expressed the readiness of the state government to partner with the Federal Government to address socio-economic challenges facing the state.
The governor stated this when he briefed State House correspondents after a closed door meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the State House, Abuja, on Monday.
Muhammed, who defeated an incumbent governor under the platform of the All Progressives Congress, Mohammed Abubakar, at the last gubernatorial election in the state, said the people of Bauchi had no option than to support and cooperate with the Buhari administration.
To this end, the governor expressed the willingness of the state to participate fully in the Ruga Settlement scheme of the federal government.
“Ruga Settlement” seeks to settle migrant pastoral families.
It simply means rural settlement in which animal farmers, not just cattle herders, would be settled in an organised place with provision of necessary and adequate basic amenities.
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Such amenities include schools, hospitals, road networks, veterinary clinics, markets and manufacturing entities that would process and add value to meats and animal products.
The governor said: “Yes, there is no programme that will be done…because there are more Fulanis in the State, 60 or 70 per cent of the population in Bauchi are Fulanis, and therefore. we must leverage on all these.
“We have illiteracy, insurgency and so many things that are bombarding us in terms of social challenges and security challenges. Definitely we will do that.”
Muhammed maintained that the people of the state, whom he said, love President Buhari more than any other person in Nigeria, would continue to work with the federal government to ensure speedy socio-economic transformation of the country.
“We must work with the federal government. There are issues that are within our own purview and there are issues that are beyond our capacity and therefore, we must establish partnership.
“I have come to discuss very serious issues concerning Bauchi because the people of Bauchi have given me that leadership and I must establish relationship with the federal government because of the serious challenges that we have – challenges of development; social and security issues,’’ he added.(NAN)