The victory of Senator Uba Sani in the just concluded governorship primary election of the All Progressives Congress, APC, has re-affirmed the belief that he is the most popular and qualified candidate to succeed Governor Nasir El-Rufa’i of Kaduna state in the 2023 election. Uba Sani needs no introduction in Kaduna politics. He is a grassroots politician with wide support base across the state. He was special adviser to former President Olusegun Obasanjo in 1999. Uba Sani was also special adviser to Governor El-Rufa’i on political matters. In 2019, he contested the seat of Kaduna central senatorial district and won with a landslide. As chairman senate committee on finance, he has achieved a lot in various aspects of human development.
He sponsored the Federal College of Education, Giwa, Kaduna state Bill 2019 (SB 121) aimed at resolving the crisis in the education sector through the training of qualitative teachers. On March 9, 2019, constituents and key stakeholders from Giwa joined Senator Uba Sani at the public hearing on the bill, which was organised by the Senate Committee on Tertiary Education and TETFund.The Bill passed third reading at the senate on July 15, 2020, and was read for the first time in the House of Representatives on December 3, 2020. The Bill now awaits the concurrence of the House of Representatives before it will be transmitted to Mr President for assent.
Another bill worth mentioning is the Federal Medical Centre Rigasa, Kaduna State (Est., Etc.) Bill 2019 (SB169). The bill was sponsored in response to the cries of constituents, especially those in densely populated area who daily watch helplessly as women and children die due to lack of well equipped healthcare centres.The institution will provide services in specialised areas like neuro-surgery, cardiology, urology, orthopaedics, paediatrics, internal medicine, radiotherapy, ear, nose and throat treatment (ENT), gynaecology, psychiatry, nuclear medicine and other fields of medicine that may be required by Nigerians. On February 18, 2019, constituents and key stakeholders from Rigasa joined Uba Sani at the public hearing on the bill, which was organised by the Senate Committee on Health. The Bill passed third reading at the senate on December 3, 2020, and now awaits the concurrence of the House of Representatives before it will be transmitted to Mr President for assent.
Other bills listed include the Banks and Other Financial Institutions (Repeal and Re-Enactment) Act 2020, the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act 2004 (Repeal and Re-Enactment) Bill 2019 (SB178), which was sponsored to reinvent and reenergise the banking and financial sector in Nigeria, was assented to by President Muhammadu Buhari and became a law of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on November 13, 2020. The new Act updates the existing Act and brings it in line with global best practices. It will enhance the efficiency in the process of obtaining/granting banking licences. It incorporates the laws for enacting, licensing and regulation of microfinance banks in the country. It clarifies and delineates the regulatory functions of the Central Bank of Nigeria in the financial services industry. It regulates the activities of financial technology companies (FINTECHs), and imposes stiffer penalties for regulatory breaches in the financial services sector.
As President Buhari noted in his remarks, the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act 2020 is a historic and significant achievement that will enhance the soundness and resilience of Nigeria’s financial system. Another bill, Care and Protection of Child Parents Bill 2019 (SB198), was sponsored to provide succour to child parents and create a platform where they can be reintegrated into society after child birth and still fulfil their dreams. The Bill has passed 1st reading at the senate. Federal College of Forestry, Technology and Research, Birnin Gwari, Kaduna State (Est, Etc) Bill 2019 (SB201) was sponsored to tap into the potential of forestry related education in Nigeria. When established, the institution will increase federal presence in such a remote area thereby providing jobs and by extension alleviating poverty. It will also make significant contributions to economic diversification through expanding the frontier of agro-forestry especially now that cashew, shea butter, mango, guava etc. are becoming prominent in our export and local industrial crops. The Bill has since passed 1st and 2nd reading at the senate.
Similarly, Senator Uba Sani sponsored University of Technology Kaduna (Est, Etc) Bill 2019 which seeks to convert Kaduna State Polytechnic into a university, primarily sponsored in a bid to reposition the institution so it can contribute effectively to the production of skilled manpower needed for Nigeria’s industrialisation. The Bill has passed 1st reading at the senate. There is also Institute of Information and Communication Technology Kaduna South (Est., Etc.) Bill 2020 (SB.407) which was initiated to improve the education standard in Kaduna state in terms of information and communication technology (ICT), as well as place Northern Nigeria in a position to take full advantage of globalisation and the emerging digital economy.
There are many bills sponsored by Uba Sani which time and space will not allow me to mention here. Kaduna state needs a capable and resilient leader to fit into ElRufai’s big shoes the public sector reforms which entrenched accountability and good governance, the urban renewal projects and many more laudable policies implemented by the digital governor. Looking at his track record in the senate especially the numbers of important bills he sponsored,Uba Sani is equal to the task of governing Kaduna state. His choice for Hajiya Hadiza Sabuwa Balarabe, the current deputy governor, as his running mate will pave the way for consolidation of Governor El-Rufai’s much cherished legacies of socio-economic development. Uba Sani has the requisite political experience, spanning over a decade, to transform the state into eldarado of all sorts.
Hajiya Bilyaminu writes from Kubau, Kaduna state.
