Kaduna State Governor-elect Nasir El-Rufa’i has said the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has stolen so much from the national treasury and the new government will politely ask its members to return the money.
He said politicians both at the state and national levels, who have “soiled” their hands with public money, should be ready to make refunds as soon as the All Progressives Congress (APC) takes over power on May 29.
The governor-elect spoke yesterday when executive members of the National Union of Textile Garments and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria (NUTGTWN) visited him.
He explained that the recovery of the money has become necessary because the incoming government will inherit a bad debt situation, stressing that the APC government would ask politicians who stole government money to return such funds.
El-Rufai said: “We will politely ask those who stole government money to return the funds.
“This is because people who are in government now are there to work for themselves but the APC government is made up of people who are ready to work for the masses and for the country.
“We will work with the textile union to ensure that lives of Nigerians get better.”
The governor-elect decried what he described as the “shameful” state of the textile industry in the area, pledging that his administration will reverse the trend.
According to him, the textile industries in Kaduna used to employ about 33,000 workers and lamented that the current figure of 1,600 employees was unacceptable.
He said the APC government would revive the textile industries to generate employment and impact on the lives of the people.
He said: “We have met at a forum of northern governors-elect and we decided to ensure the revival of the textile industries.
“It is a shame that the largest economy in Africa imports textile materials from Senegal and other countries.”
President of the union Comrade Oladele Hunsu congratulated El-Rufa’i on his victory.
He described as indelible, El-Rufa’i’s activities as FCT Minister and urged the governor-elect to take steps towards reviving the textile industry.
He said illegal importation of textile materials had crippled activities of the local textile industries.
“The way you fixed Abuja, we believe you can also fix Kaduna with good roads and industries.
“All nations want to employ their youths, produce goods and services, overcome poverty and underdevelopment.
“Adequate security should be provided to protect the properties of the companies particularly in the light of criminal vandalisation going on in some closed textile companies namely Arewa Textiles, KTL among others” Hunsu said.
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