GUSAU – The Minister of State for Finance, Mr Bashir Yuguda, said the government was doing everything to ensure that the nation’s wealth got to all sections of the society.
Yuguda said this in Gusau during a one-day working visit to the newly established Federal University, Gusau.
He said there was a conscious effort by Mr President to make the growth in the economy inclusive through the diversification and development of other sectors.
“The economy is growing from all indications and ratios from international agencies. But the important thing is how does it translate to financial inclusion, or more jobs.
“Firstly, the Federal Government alone cannot create all the jobs needed for the development of this country.
“So what we are doing is to create the ambiance for businesses to flourish. So that there will be more jobs coming out from the private sector,” he said.
Yuguda said that one of the key reasons the Federal University was situated in Zamfara was because the state was a mining area.
He said that the school was strategic in teaching specialised courses in geology and mining, to provide the needed manpower in the solid mineral sector.
“The University of Gusau is the next best thing that has happened to the state after its creation.
“Mr President has said that the best way to empower Nigerians and future generations is through education.
“Because of that, he created 12 new universities in the country, and out of them, nine are situated in the north.
“Today I have seen the progress and I am very happy with the level of work and commitment that I am seeing,” he said.
Meanwhile Prof. Ben-Chucks Okeke called on the Minister to appeal to Zamfara Government to redeem its N1 billion pledge to the university.
Okeke said that if the school was to grow and fulfill the mandate of its establishment, all the stakeholders must show adequate commitment in completing the school.
The Minster inspected some projects in the university, including the ongoing construction of the administrative block, ICT units, lecture theaters and hostels.