Following the outrage that greeted the proposed religious bill in Kaduna, the state governor has reacted to the public outburst.
Nasir El-Rufai
The Kaduna state Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has defended the system of governance adopted by State Government, saying that the criticisms trailing some of the policies of the administration were from mischief makers bent on politicising the religious bill and verification exercise.
According to The Guardian, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Political Affairs, Mallam Uba Sani, who spoke yesterday on the various policies embarked upon by the governor in the state, said that: “We are not going to get tired of explaining to our people that all the policies, programmes as well as legislations currently being implemented or about to be implemented by the El-Rufai administration will always be in the best interest of the state.”
He said that: “You may accuse Governor El-Rufai of anything, but you don’t even have to know him too well to deduce that he is not the type to be swayed by any form or shade of primordial religious sentiments.”
Sani, who shed light on the religious bill before the state House of Assembly said that: “The bill in question is not even a new law, as some persons are making it appear. This law has existed since 1984, with amendments in 1987 and 1996.”
He added: “Recall that at some point, Kaduna State became notorious for religious riots and there was the compelling need to resort to all legal means possible to tackle this matter that never does anyone any good.
“Hence the amendment of this law, that is aimed at stemming religious extremism. So, like we have severally explained, in further amending this law, the government is only seeking to discourage the use of religion for violence and division.”
Sani also debunked reports that the workers verification exercise in the state was targeted at labour, saying: “This is also another misinformation that is being peddled by some few persons.
“Everyone knows that both at the federal and state levels the issue of ghost workers is endemic. However, since we began the verification exercise, we have been able to save N500 million monthly and by the time we are through by April, I know much more money would have been saved.”