Jega praises Nasarawa’s progress during state’s 30th anniversary

Former Independent National Electoral Commission chairman Attahiru Jega has praised Nasarawa State’s development since its creation in 1996, describing its progress as a movement from foundation to transformation. Jega spoke at the Nasarawa State at 30 colloquium in Lafia on Wednesday. He said the state had started with limited infrastructure and resources but had made significant advances over three decades.

According to Jega, Nasarawa was created with one tarred road, no water board and no secretariat. He said internally generated revenue accounted for 3.7 per cent of the state’s budget in 1997, compared with at least 11 per cent currently. He also said the state had about 1,500 kilometres of tarred roads in 2026, including federal and state roads.

Of that total, 639 kilometres had been completed during the seven years of Governor Abdullahi Sule’s administration, he said. Jega commended successive governors and identified urban renewal, health, agriculture, education, industrialisation and mining as areas in which the state had advanced. He described Sule’s record as transformational.

He called on future leaders to promote inclusive governance, balanced development, infrastructure, digital expansion, healthcare, mining and skills acquisition for women and young people. At the event, Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese Matthew Kukah blamed poor management of Nigeria’s diversity for continuing poverty and disunity. The source material did not provide further details of his remarks.