The governorship candidate of All Progressive Congress (APC) in Kaduna state, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai has assured that if elected in February’s election, his administration will revive the moribund Kaduna Textile Limited and other collapsed factories in the state.
At an interactive forum with members of the business community in Kaduna, El-rufai disclosed that one of the cardinal points of his manifesto will be job creation and industrial renewal, hence the need to actively involve the organised private sector in the running of his government if elected.
The forum, organised by the Kaduna state Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (KACCIMA) had in attendance captains of industry and professionals who are doing business in the state.
He further accused the incumbent administration of gross mismanagement of the economy, depleting the state’s resources and abandoning ongoing projects across the state, adding that the PDP led government in the state squandered over N700 billion accrued from federal allocation within a period of seven years; without much to show for it.
El-Rufai assured them that if elected governor, his government will make judicious use of the state resources to offer qualitative free education for primary and secondary school students, empower teachers with further training and incentives and also stop illegal multiple taxation being imposed on private investors by the present administration.
Meanwhile, the incumbent Governor Muktar Yero, who is also seeking for re-election has expressed his displeasure with El-Rufai’s torrents of criticism and allegations about his government, accusing the former minister of exaggerating the situation of things in the state for political gain.
He noted that the APC candidate was unfair in his assessment of the performance of his administration.
The governor through his spokesman, Mr Ahmed Maiyaki, described El-Rufai as one who deliberately ignored the facts on the ground by peddling lies to the people he aspires to govern. He also said there was no mismanagement of resources and corruption by the state government, while giving his administration a pass mark on security, infrastructural development, job creation and education.
The Kaduna state governorship poll has only three political parties, APC, Labour Party and PDP fielding candidates.
They are Nasir El-rufai, James Magaji and the incumbent governor, Mukhtar Yero.
