Sambo hands over to Yakowa

Written by Daily Trust Sunday, 23 May 2010

Vice President Mohammed Namadi Sambo yesterday formerly handed over the affairs of Kaduna State to Mr. Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa, the new governor of the state who was sworn in last Thursday following Sambo’s elevation. The ceremony took place at the Kaduna government house around 5.15pm.

Speaking during the brief handing over ceremony, the vice president urged the people of Kaduna State to extend the cooperation they gave him to his successor, Mr Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa for him to succeed in moving the state forward.

“I am presenting to you the status of affairs of Kaduna State in this executive brief. It contains the treasury position of the state in the ministry of finance. It also contains the level of activities in ministries, parastatals and government agencies in the state. I know you are very conversant with the policies, programmes and projects of the state,’’ he said

Sambo who arrived the Kaduna Airport on board Nigeria Air force plane with the number, 5N FGS at about 1.30 pm in company of his wife, Amina Sambo, said for the new governor to succeed in implementing his programmes, the people of the state must support and cooperate with him.

“My elevation to the vice president position was as a result of the cooperation the people of the state gave to me while I was the governor of the state. I am very happy with the level of developmental projects we were able to execute during my tenure,” he said.

The vice president, who also pledged to continue to promote peace, said he would always be accessible to the people of the state, saying he would put in place a machinery that would enable the people of the state have easy access to the presidential villa.

Responding, Governor Yakowa pledged to continue with the programmes, policies and projects initiated by the vice president while he was governor of the state. He said he enjoyed working with Sambo, stating that their relationship was very cordial and that he learnt many things from his former boss.

“You taught us the virtues of planning and hard work. I really enjoyed working with you. You have designed the work to be done in Kaduna in the next 10 years. What remains is implementation. If I run into problems, I know where to go because you are my boss,” he added.

Meanwhile, the race for the deputy governor of the state took a new dimension yesterday as Sunday Trust gathered that the former Group Managing Director of the NNP, Alhaji Shehu Ladan has been pushed  out of the race. He was thrown out of the race because of the controversies surrounding his sack at the NNPC, an impeccable source told Sunday Trust.