Governor Sule Lamido decried the absence of Federal Government projects in Jigawa state stating that all the projects that have direct bearings on the people are being executed by his administration.
Receiving the Minister of Agriculture, Dr Akunwumi Adeshina said Jigawa State as an agrarian state with over three 300, 000 hectares of Fadama can feed the nation but has been abandoned for over thirty years.
The governor added that apart from structures like the ongoing CBN state office and other Federal Government establishments no federal government presence in the state.
He said President Gooluck Jonathan failed to complement the efforts of the state government in the execution of capital projects which would have improved the wellbeing of the people of the state, lamenting that the federal government “deliberately abandoned the state”.
Governor Lamido also accused the federal government of treating the state badly in the last five years despite all the support it gave to the president during and after the 2011 presidential election.
“I personally asked people of Jigawa State to vote for Jonathan in the interest of national unity, progress and the promises he made to do justice to the people of the state in terms of executing capital projects. The president and the vice president personally promised to continue with the Hadejia irrigation project to the extent that over N10billion was allocated to the project in a budget, but, three years after, nothing has been done. “The Hadejia Irrigation scheme has been there since 1980 under the Shagari regime, 34 years ago and is meant to prepare 2000 hectares of land for irrigational farming but has been stagnated, but with little capital allocation in the budget that area can (very) easily feed the Nation”.
“The federal government initiated a programme for the establishment of a seed processing centre in Birnin Kudu local government area; we paid our counterpart fund, but, two years after, the federal government has refused to release its fund to buy machines for the take-off of the centre. I believe you know what the provision of qualitative seeds means to my people in their agricultural practices?”
Governor Lamido added that all the other projects in the state were mere features defined as state but not projects specifically meant for the benefit of the people.
“In the last five years of the Federal Government Budget, I have not seen anything specifically for the state worth N20m, nothing. Of course we have Central Bank but that is also in Ogun, is in Osun, so is like national thing, those are National features and National attributes that define a state, but something coming to me specifically, nothing! But on my own I put about 13m trees in Jigawa state in the last six years no support, Dutse water works, no support, and it becomes our potentials, we put Dutse Airport for Agric export, which supposed to be designated as part of zonal seven perishable cargo airports by the federal government but nothing from the federal Government”
The Governor accused the federal government of paying leap service to issues that have direct bearing on the economy people of Jigawa State.
He urged the minister to use his vast experience and influence in Agriculture to revive all abandoned Jigawa State projects under his Ministry.
In his remarks, the Minister of Agriculture, Dr Akuwumi Adeshina said the federal Government is committed to revolutionizing Agriculture which is part of the cornerstone of the President Goodluck Transformation Agenda and that Jigawa state have potentials in agriculture with over 300,000 hectares of Fadama in the state pointing out that what informed his visit was how to rob minds to explore the huge resources in the state.
Dr Akunwumi, said his visit was aimed to in particular interact with officials on Hadejia irrigation Scheme especially in the cultivation of wheat, rice and sorghum, millet and sugarcane. The Minister while regretting the failure in completing the project despite its potentials said that the federal government under Jonathan is committed in bringing the project onboard and commended Governor Sule Lamido for his people oriented projects.
