Ganduje

Kano state Governor, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje has extolled the leadership qualities of Niger Republic’s one time Head of State, Late Hamani Djiori for his contributions towards establishment of Lake Chad Basin Development Authority.

The governor stated this when a delegation from Niger Republic led by Minister of Culture, Art and Modernization, Asamani Malam Isa paid him a visit at the Government House in Kano, on Wednesday, pointing out that the project has over the years improved the lives of millions of Nigerians, Nigeriens, Cameroonians and Chadians, among others.

Governor Ganduje noted that Late President Djiori and late Prime Minister of Nigeria, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa as well as their counterparts from Chad and Cameron Republic collaborated and formed the agency with the aim of improving the economy of the region.

The governor pointing out that the gesture is a huge poverty alleviation initiative noting that people living around the lake Chad Basin and beyond have had their ways of life totally transformed owing to the vision of their departed leaders.

He described the relationship between Nigeria and Niger republic as that of brothers noting that if not for colonialism, both countries would have beeen one entity, stressing that despite the boundaries that separate them, their peoples remain one.

The governor congratulated the Nigeriens for conducting hitch free national elections recently, in which President Muhammadou Issoufou returned elected for the second tenure, noting that the country has made significant strides in promoting democracy.

Governor Ganduje recalled that Kano state government has established a French/English Bilingual School in Niamey, assuring that that the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the country and the state government on students exchange would be maintained.

Earlier, the Nigerien Minister, Asamani Malam Isa disclosed that his country’s President Issoufou mandated him to formally invite the governor to the Hamani Djiori Remembrance Day, scheduled for next June.

He thanked the state government for the support given to Nigeriens living in the state, hoping that the existing relationship between the two countries and especially with the Kano state would continue to flourish.