I, Dr. Farouk Sadi, Ph.D., write to state plainly why I support the continuation of Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf’s administration in Kano State and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration at the federal level. My position rests on the record of what has been started, what has been delivered, and what remains to be completed. I believe that governments should be judged by their policies, their implementation, and the measurable difference they make in the lives of ordinary people.
In Kano, Governor Yusuf made education his first priority. His administration declared a state of emergency on education in June 2024, committed about 30 per cent of the 2024 budget and 31 per cent of the 2025 budget to the sector, and recruited about 16,000 teachers in three years, including thousands of former BESDA volunteers now in permanent and pensionable service. Kano emerged as the best-performing state in the 2025 NECO examination. The administration halved registration fees for Kano indigenes at state-owned tertiary institutions, approved NGN 2 billion to support Kano indigenes in public universities nationwide, and sponsored hundreds of students on domestic and foreign scholarships. Workers have also benefited: Kano moved early to pay a minimum wage of NGN 71,000, and the Nigeria Labour Congress recognised the Governor as the most labour-friendly governor of the year in January 2025.
Beyond education, the Governor has invested in livelihoods and infrastructure. The monthly NGN 50,000 empowerment programme now supports 6,680 women across all 44 local government areas, helping them grow small businesses and sustain their households. Thousands of women received goats under a livestock entrepreneurship scheme, more than 1,100 graduates received start-up kits, and the Kano State Agro-Pastoral Development Project has reached more than 477,000 farmers. The administration rehabilitated 17 roads in the metropolis, committed NGN 27 billion to interchange projects, distributed 500 electricity transformers to communities in all 44 local government areas, upgraded maternity and paediatric units, and launched the planting of 5.5 million trees to combat desertification.
At the federal level, President Tinubu has pursued difficult reforms to stabilise the economy. The unification of the foreign-exchange market has been followed by a rise in external reserves to above USD 54 billion, the highest level since 2008, and inflation has eased to about 16 per cent by mid-2026. The national minimum wage rose from NGN 30,000 to NGN 70,000. The student loan scheme has disbursed more than NGN 370 billion since May 2024, helping students pay tuition and living costs. The Nigeria Tax Act 2025 zero-rates VAT on basic food, medicines, and education and exempts low-income earners from personal income tax; this is relief on essentials, not the abolition of taxes. The Presidential CNG Initiative offers cheaper transport, pipe-laying for the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano gas pipeline has reached Kano, the Kaduna-Kano rail section is targeted for commissioning in December 2026, and the Lagos-Calabar and Sokoto-Badagry highways are opening new corridors for trade. I acknowledge that many households still feel the weight of high prices, and the benefits of these reforms must be measured by evidence, not promised by rhetoric.
My position is therefore clear: I am committed to campaigning peacefully and lawfully for Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf to continue as Governor of Kano State and for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to continue as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. With both leaders now on the same political platform, Kano has a real opportunity for closer cooperation with the Federal Government on railways, gas, schools, hospitals, and jobs. That cooperation does not guarantee results, and the final judgement belongs to the voters. But projects that are half built should be finished, reforms that are beginning to work should be given time to reach every household, and leaders should be held to their promises at every step. Let us measure our governments by their delivery and build together a state and a nation where progress is felt by all.
