As Uba Sani Sets To Succeed El-Rufai… -By Haj. Sumaiyya Bilyaminu Kubau

The victory of senator Uba Sani in the just concluded primary election has re-affirmed the believe, he is the most popular and qualified candidate to succeed governor El-rufai in 2023 election. Senator Uba needs no introduction in Kaduna politics. He is a grass root politician with wide support across the state. He served as special adviser to former president Olusegun Obasanjo in 1999. Senator Uba Sani was also special adviser to governor Nasiru Elrufai on political matters. In 2019, he contested the seat of Kaduna central and won with landslide victory. As chairman house committee of finance, he has achieved alot in various aspects of human development.

Beginning with the Federal College of Education, Giwa Kaduna State, Bill 2019 (SB. 121). The Bill was sponsored in realization of the fact that the crisis in the education sector cannot be effectively tackled if priority attention is not given to the production of professional and quality teachers.

The Bill has scaled through 1st and 2nd Reading at the Senate. On the 9th day of March 2019, constituents and key stakeholders from Giwa joined Senator Uba Sani at the public hearing on the bill, which was organized by the Senate Committee on Tertiary Education and TETFund. The Bill passed Third Reading at the Senate on 15th July 2020 and was read for the first time in the House of Representatives on 3rd December 2020. The Bill now awaits the concurrence of the House of Representatives before it will be transmitted to the President for assent.

Another bill worth mentioning is the Federal Medical Centre Rigasa, Kaduna State (Est., Etc.) Bill 2019 (SB.169). 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 specialized 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 the 18th day of February 2019, constituents and key stakeholders from Rigasa joined Senator Uba Sani at the public hearing on the bill, which was organized by the Senate Committee on Health. The Bill passed Third Reading at the Senate on 3rd December 2020 and now awaits the concurrence of the House of Representatives before it will be transmitted to the President for assent,”

Other bills listed included 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 (SB.178), which was sponsored to reinvent and reenergize the banking and financial sector in Nigeria, was assented to by His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari GCFR and as such became a law of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on 13th November 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 Muhammadu Buhari GCFR 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 succor 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). The Bill was sponsored to tap into the potentials 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 sponsored University of Technology Kaduna (Est, Etc) Bill 2019 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 industrialization. The Bill has also 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 standards 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 globalization and the emerging digital economy.

There are many bills sponsored by him which time and space can not allow me to mention them. Kaduna state needs a capable and resilient leader to fit into Elrufai’s bigger 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 task of governing Kaduna state. His choice for Hajiya Hadiza Sabuwa Balarabe,the current state’s deputy governor as his running mate will pave the way for consolidation of governor Elrufai’s much cherished legacies of socio-economy development.Uba Sani has the relevant political experience spanning over a decade to transform the state into eldarado of all sorts.

HAJIYA SUMAIYYA BILYAMINU KUBAU, KADUNA STATE.