The Kaduna State Governor, Uba Sani, on Friday inaugurated blocks of 400-bed hostel at the Government Girls Secondary School, Kawo, and the office complex of Zaria Metropolitan Authority.
In 2020, a fire gutted the school hostel, displacing students of the all-girls school but the state government reconstructed it with additional blocks of classrooms which were inaugurated by the governor on Friday.
The governor while speaking at the event, said the completion of the project was a fulfilment of a promise made by the state government and a demonstration of the importance it attached to the excellence of girl-child education in the state.
In her brief remarks, an elated Principal of the school, Mrs Victoria Hassan, expressed excitement at the inauguration of facilities in the school by Governor Uba Sani, recalling that, the school hostels were burnt in a fire incident in 2020, but with the new facilities, students would now enjoy conducive environment for learning.
She said the facilities comprise 400-bed capacity hostels, new toilets of 35 numbers which were added to the old ones, a block of six classrooms, and a block of four classrooms being constructed and renovated under old blocks.
“The administration blocks of the senior section as well those of the junior section were also renovated. So we are praying to God to give us the grace and the spirit to utilise the structures and the materials we have here now,” she added.
Furthermore, as part of activities lined up for the celebration of his 100 days in office, the governor was also in Zaria to inaugurate the Zaria Metropolitan Complex.
While unveiling the complex like its Kaduna and Kafanchan counterparts, the governor said the complex was designed based on the Abuja model to “serve as city managers carrying out statutory roles of the local governments like road construction, waste management, and business environment regulation.”
He noted that the Metropolitan Authority in Zaria, Kaduna, and Kafanchan set up by the state government in 2021, was not designed to control the local government authorities.
According to the governor, the Zaria Metropolitan Authority which covers Zaria, Sabongari, part of Giwa and Soba since inception has performed creditably well in areas of road construction and maintenance, solid waste management
He said, “The Authority since inception has performed its role creditably well in the area of road construction and maintenance, solid waste management and supply and installation of solar street lights and regulation of the business environment.
“Let me reiterate the commitment of our administration towards rapid development of Kaduna State. We will not relent in our efforts to revamp infrastructure, build human capacity, and promote the economic growth of the state.
“This edifice we are inaugurating today is not just a physical structure, but a symbol of collective efforts of our administration, the Zaria Metropolitan Authority, and the People of Kaduna State.”
Earlier, the Administrator, Zaria Metropolitan Authority, Hajiya Balaraba Aliyu-Inuwa, said the foundation of the Brian Sherwood Smith House was laid on April 1, 1939, as a provincial office to house Zaria Province with 10 administrators before her.
“The Zaria Metropolitan Authority was created to cope with the population explosion which is usual with developing areas. Since inception, we have carried out five numbers of connected roads completed within Zaria and Soba, two roads with solar street lights,” she said.
