President Muhammadu Buhari has said his decision to give Kaduna and Kano states two senior ministerial positions was his way of appreciating the votes he received during the 2019 presidential election.
Kano gave Buhari 1, 464,768 votes – the highest in the February 23 election – while he had 993, 445 votes from Kaduna.
Buhari said this during a courtesy visit to Shehu Idris, emir of Zazzau, at his palace in Zaria, Kaduna.
“Before you push everything to me, I am just reminding you that I will do my best and I will make sure that the new cabinet is working for the good of Nigeria and Nigerians,” the President said.
“Kaduna and Kano are the only two states I gave two substantive positions in my council. So, I have appreciated your votes and paid you back by giving you ministers of environment and finance.”
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The president asked all tiers of government to be alive to their responsibilities to the people, including the hoards of unemployed youths in the country.
“I have been talking to the governor when we were driving, the young people, the population growth here is huge and those below 20 are the majority,” Buhari said.
“And they don’t seem to care how you make it, but they want the leadership to provide jobs, to provide security and all other things that are expected of government.
“A lot of them have not got the opportunity for further education, so let us study the constitution and see the responsibilities of three tiers of government.
Mohammed Mahmoud, who is from Kaduna, is now in charge of the ministry of environment, Zainab Ahmed, also from the state, is the minister of finance.
Sabo Nanono from Kano is the minister of agriculture while Bashir Magashi is the minister of defence.