President Muhammadu Buhari never gave special treatment to his Katsina home state in the distribution of infrastructure, the state governor, Aminu Bello-Masari said in Katsina on Sunday.
Fielding questions at the flagship interview programme of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), NAN Forum, the governor said the president considered all the 36 states, including the FCT as one.
He said he was bemused when a certain governor alleged that the president gave preferential treatment to Katsina State in the distribution of Federal Government’s N6.25 billion fund for ranching.
“I laughed over the issue because in 2017, we had asked for N12.85 billion ranching fund under the natural resources fund so as to provide infrastructure for frontline local government areas in Katsina, but we did not succeed.
“The Federal Government said we should go and source for N6.25 billion. But in the end and only this year, the Federal Government gave us N6.25 billion to start the pilot programme.
“President Buhari is from Katsina State, but he has never done anything for Katsina State outside constitutional provisions because it is his home state.
“We should be reasonable in what we request. On our part, we should know what the government can afford and what it cannot afford,’’ the governor said.
He also told NAN that Katsina State had reached over 70 per cent completion of Ajiwa Dam and that the Malumfashi Dam had been completed.
He said when completed and the 7,000 boreholes being sunk were ready there would be adequate water supply in the state.
“The Federal Government has completed the Zobe Dam and we also completed our part. We have rehabilitated all the local governments urban and semi urban water supply schemes.
“Most of them have been rehabilitated, while some of them are still under rehabilitation.
We have managed to do what we have done knowing that there will be a day to account for our stewardship,’’ Gov. Bello-Masari said.
