Kano State Commissioner of Works and Housing, Alhaji Abba Kabir Yusuf, yesterday explained the rationale behind government’s decision to erect of bullet proof gates and fence around the government house.
He said government decided to built a strong fence that was bullet proof to maximise security around the government house and avoid possible pull down of the fence as was attempted during the fuel subsidy strike.?
Critics of the projects said the cost of the project was on the high side,? as it was estimated to hhave cost? close to a billion naira, but the commissioner told a retinue of reporters that government was reasonable in its handling of the project.
Kano State government has recently come under severe attack from the opposition over the servicing of street lights and the cost of the government house fencing, but the state commissioner rose in defence of government’s action, saying the cost of the project and the servicing of street lights were reasonable.
According to him, the two projects are dear to the state government, explaining that while the fencing will cost N479million, the street lightening costs N700million.??
He said critics of the projects are only being mischievous, as they chose to rely on hearsay rather than on facts about the projects.
He said the state government had so far spent the sum of N700 million to fuel and service the 25 generators that provide street lights to the metropolis while the fencing of government house costs N479Million only in addition to the N176Million cost of the gates.
“From assumption of governor Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso to date, there was no iota of truth that a colossal amount of over N300million was being spent monthly on servicing the street lights”, he explained.