A PDP gubernatorial aspirant in Katsina State, Alhaji Ahmed Aminu-Yar’adua, says if elected, he will accord priority to commercial agriculture in order to reduce abject poverty. Aminu-Yar’adua, a cousin to the late President Musa Yar’adua, told the the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in an interview in Zaria, Kaduna State, on Friday that the sector had the potential to end poverty in the country.

“As far as agriculture in our country is not profitable, we will never get out of poverty; only agriculture can guarantee employment opportunities to people, regardless of qualification.

“My mission and vision is to effectively address unemployment, under-employment and non-employment by ensuring that people have something doing to earn a living.

“A responsible government should prioritise agriculture to address many issues such as abject poverty, youth unemployment and bring contentment to the life of the citizenry.”

Aminu-Yar’adua, an Architect by profession and ex-civil servant who rose to become Permanent Secretary, was also Secretary to Katsina State Government and later Director-General, Inland Waterways.

The aspirant said he would also give education the full attention it deserved, stressing that he would project the image of Katsina State, especially the education sector.

He expressed regret that his late cousin, as governor of Katsina State, had introduced an education master plan that was not executed.

He added and that the efforts of his successor, Gov. Ibrahim Shehu-Shema to consolidate on Yar’adua’s efforts were also not actualized.

He promised to ensure rural development, to give rural dwellers a sense of belonging and to avert rural-urban migration.

“People migrate from villages to urban centres because of the absence of amenities, hence the need to provide amenities in the rural areas to give them a sense of belonging.”

On infrastructural development, Aminu-Yar’adua said he would revamp the late Yar’adua’s infrastructural development programme.

“Almost 90 per cent of the infrastructural development achieved by late Umaru Musa Yar’adua’s administration had made an impact when I was Director, Building in the Ministry of Works, then Permanent Secretary in the same ministry.

“I believe if given the chance, I will build on the solid foundation laid by Yar’adua to bring more development to Katsina State.”

According to him, the crisis in PDP is an ingredient of democracy; political party is all about solving crisis and a party without crisis is not a party.

He said that the resolution of the internal crisis of a political party was part of growth from a group of people with different interests and ideologies, who come together to achieve a particular goal.

“Therefore, crisis in political parties is normal but it all depends on how best such a party resolves such crisis,” he said. (NAN)

– Feb.  16, 2018 @ 17:50 GMT |