By Ibrahim Hassan-Wuyo

Speaker of Zamfara State House of Assembly, Bilyaminu Moriki, has said the recent action of Governor Dauda Lawal to reduce the number of ministries in the state from 28 to 16 was to curb the systemic waste of the past administration.

While speaking to journalists in Kaduna at the weekend, Moriki said the state House of Assembly was in full support of the reduction of ministries by the governor.

He said: “The governor in our opinion has done the right thing, considering the situation Zamfara State has found itself in terms of security challenges, economic downturn and poor state of agriculture.

“The previous administration created useless ministries and they did it with impunity. Some of the ministries were created to have opportunity of wasting the state resources.

‘’That is why Governor Dauda Lawal reduced the ministries from 28 to 16, so as to properly manage the state resources and make the resources work for the people of Zamfara State.

“For example, the previous administration voted monies to some of these ministries, the monies were released, but nothing can be pointed to as what the monies were used for.

“The administration of Governor Lawal will be a departure from the previous government, by turning around the fortunes of the state and reversing the negative state of things in Zamfara.

“The governor, having realized the importance of education and the role illiteracy has played in the security and economic challenges bedeviling the state, has set out to prioritize education from primary to tertiary level.

‘’The governor has set out in the first instance to refurbish and re-equip over 100 primary and junior secondary schools across the state.”

He said it was no longer business as usual in the state as the new administration had set in motion the machinery to bring Zamfara back on the path of peace and development .