Zamfara State Government says the administration of Governor Dauda Lawal has successfully implemented several programmes and policies aimed at improving the welfare of residents across key sectors without contracting any local or foreign loans.
The Director-General, Media and Communication to the Governor, Nuhu Salihu Anka, disclosed this in a statement highlighting some achievements recorded since the inception of the Lawal administration.
Anka explained that, workers’ salaries are now paid promptly, pension arrears have been cleared, critical infrastructure rebuilt, and the dignity of public service fully restored in the state.
According to him, the administration has implemented a ₦70,000 minimum wage for both state and local government workers, permanently ending the era of ₦7,000 minimum wage.
He added that salary and pension arrears from 2011 to 2025 have been cleared, while regular and timely payment of entitlements has restored confidence among workers and renewed hope for families across the state.
On security, Anka said the Lawal administration has made it a top priority through the provision of gun trucks and other tactical support to security agencies.
He revealed that 10 bullet-proof Buffalo gun trucks have been procured and handed over to the Nigerian Army, alongside over 140 operational vehicles, including Hilux and Buffalo tactical vehicles, for the Army, Police, DSS and NSCDC.
He further stated that motorcycles were supplied for rural, forest and hard-to-reach patrols, while more than 4,200 Community Protection Guards were recruited across the 14 local government areas, trained, equipped and deployed to work alongside conventional security agencies.
Anka stressed that, the interventions are yielding positive results, including restricted mass movement of bandits, recovery of arms and weapons, improved security presence and the return of peace to many communities.
In the education sector, he noted that, hundreds of schools across the state have been renovated and furnished, with over 200 schools targeted in the first phase.
He added that more than 500 schools have so far benefited from renovation, repairs and upgrades, including the construction of new classrooms equipped with desks, chairs, water facilities, toilets, fencing and security.
He also expressed satisfaction that outstanding WAEC and NECO examination fees were paid, enabling Zamfara students to sit for their examinations after years of exclusion.
Speaking on healthcare, Anka said a State of Emergency was declared in the sector, leading to the renovation and equipping of all general hospitals, the revitalisation of over 50 Primary Health Care Centres, and the upgrade of several dispensaries to full PHCs.
The efforts, he said, have improved access to maternal, child and basic healthcare services, supported by free medical outreach programmes that benefited thousands of residents.
In agriculture, the Director-General disclosed that, the administration has taken deliberate steps to revive the agrarian economy by distributing 98 trucks of fertiliser in 2015 amounting to 59,205 bags free to farmers, alongside rice and maize seeds, herbicides, insecticides and seed-dressing chemicals.
According to him, these interventions have encouraged farmers to return to the land and boosted food production.
Anka further revealed that through the Zamfara Youth Sanitation Programme, ₦1.1 billion in SABER funds were disbursed to small business owners, while Internally Generated Revenue has increased from about ₦90 million to nearly ₦2 billion.
He added that major projects, including the Zamfara Cargo International Airport, road construction and urban renewal programmes, are nearing completion or ongoing across the state.
REL/AMINU DALHATU
