The Managing Director of the Kaduna Roads Agency, KADRA, Abdullahi Baba-Ahmed, has said the peace and security strategy adopted by the Kaduna State Government has opened up previously inaccessible rural communities for road construction.
Mr Baba-Ahmed said the improved security situation, particularly in areas previously affected by banditry, had enabled contractors to work more freely and allowed the agency to execute and complete projects within shorter periods.
He stated this during an interview with journalists on Monday.
The KADRA boss also said he had never experienced interference from Governor Uba Sani or any member of the state cabinet in the operations of the agency.
“Honestly, I have never experienced any interference from anybody, not to talk of my principal, Senator Uba Sani.
“He has given me a free hand. ‘Go and deliver this to the masses of Kaduna State.’ That has always been his charge to me,” he said.
According to him, the governor’s background as a pro-democracy activist had also influenced his emphasis on projects with direct benefits to ordinary residents.
“You also know his background as a pro-democracy activist. So, if a project is planned for execution, his first questions will be: Will this project reach the masses? Are they going to benefit our farmers, the less privileged and the downtrodden?
“If you answer in the affirmative, he will grant his approval. So, he has given us a free hand to operate. The only thing he wants is results,” Mr Baba-Ahmed said.
He added that the state government had continued to meet its contractual obligations to contractors, claiming that no road project initiated by the Sani administration since May 2023 had been abandoned.
“Let me shock you with this: from May 2023 till date, we do not have a single abandoned project initiated by His Excellency, Senator Uba Sani.
“I can also tell you this without fear of contradiction: Kaduna State is not owing a single contractor,” he said.
On the state’s improved security situation, Mr Baba-Ahmed attributed the development partly to the Kaduna Peace Model, which he said combines kinetic and non-kinetic approaches to security.
“Yes, the peace model in Kaduna — that is, the kinetic and non-kinetic approach — is paying off seriously,” he said.
He cited Birnin Gwari, an area previously notorious for insecurity, as an example of how improved security was facilitating infrastructure development.
“You know Birnin Gwari. Four years ago, you could hardly go to Birnin Gwari. Now, expatriates are constructing a 36-kilometre road in remote areas of Birnin Gwari, and we have not recorded a single incident of banditry or any security challenge,” he said.
Mr Baba-Ahmed said road projects were currently being executed in several parts of the state, including Birnin Gwari, Gwantu in Sanga and the Wusasa-Giwa-Yakawada corridor, without reported security incidents.
“His Excellency has done so much in terms of security in Kaduna State. We are working everywhere — Birnin Gwari, Gwantu in Sanga, and from Wusasa-Giwa to Yakawada. We have not had any incident.
“We thank Almighty God for enabling His Excellency to achieve this,” he said.
The KADRA managing director also appealed to residents of the state to support Governor Sani’s bid for a second term in the 2027 governorship election, citing what he described as the administration’s development achievements across the state.
