President Muhammadu Buhari has urged leaders at all levels to be transparent and exhibit the fear of God as they discharge their duties.
The President gave the advice on Friday, when he hosted Katsina State Governor-elect, Dr Dikko Radda at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
Speaking to State House Correspondents, Dr Radda disclosed that the President charged him and his counterparts in other States to be transparent.
“The President has always been advocating for transparency and accountability in government. And he has always urged us to be fair to Almighty God in discharging our responsibility, You know that it is very important to understand that apart from the questions from the press apart from the question from the people of Katsina State.
“Almighty Allah is going to ask you when you meet him, so I think we are going to do our work diligently and we’ll ensure that we are transparent and accountable to the people of Katsina as much as we can,” he said.
The Governor-Elect said on assumption of office in May, he will focus on security so as to make the atmosphere condusive for farmers and other citizens of the State.
“I think we have made our points very clear. And we have rolled out our strategic policy for the state and just the day before yesterday, we inaugurated our strategic policy review committees.
“We want to kickstart our work immediately we are sworn-in as Governor and Deputy. So I think we are doing everything now to ensure that we put everything in place so that we hit the ground running immediately after swearing-in.
“Yes, I have said it over and over that security is our first priority. This is what we are going to give much attention to because it is only when you have peace and security that you can be able to go to the farm, school, hospital and even the market.
“So security is very cardinal in the economic development of any society. And agriculture is one of the major areas of employment in our state. And it’s a major area of livelihood. So, we must provide security to our people.
“And we promise to involve the locals and we promise to involve the use of technology in tackling the security issues in my state,“ he pledged.
Dr Radda, who led to the State House by Katsina State Governor, Aminu Masari, said he was at the seat of power to show the President his certificate of return.
“I think we just came here with my Governor and our leader, to meet Mr. President and to thank him for what he has done to us as a nation and what he has done to us as a leader of the party.
“We came to appreciate him. We came to pay the glory to Almighty Allah for making this victory possible for us. And to also congratulate Mr. President, because the victory we got in Katsina, he has his own input because we leveraged on what he has done in Katsina state and to Nigeria as a whole.
“So we thanked Mr. President, and we felt that we should come and show him our certificate of return as issued to us by INEC,” he said.
Vice President-Elect Visits Former Military Heads Of State
Meanwhile, the Vice President-elect, Kashim Shetima has visited former Military Heads of State, Ibrahim Babangida and Abdulsalam Abubakar at their residents in Niger state saying the next administration will continue to tap from stakeholders’ wealth of experience.
Kashim Shettima while speaking to Journalists said that the elder statesmen as stakeholders, have a lot to offer to humanity and the nation especially on issues that affect the nation.
“Stakeholders are beacon of hope and will continue to reach out to them for their advice, inputs and perspectives on issues confronting us as a nation.“
He further commended the present administration in the state under the leadership of Governor Abubakar Sani Bello for ensuring relative peace in the state which he described as an essential ingredient for development.
The Governor of Niger State Abubakar Sani Bello in a statement by Mary Noel Berje his spokesperson later led the Vice President-elect and his entourage to pay homage to the Emir of Minna, Dr Umar Farouq Bahago where prayers were offered for the peace of the remaining electioneering process and success of Tinunbu / Shetima ticket.
