The Commissioner for Information and Internal Affairs in Kano, Muhammad Garba, described his ministry as a key without which many things would not be achieved by the government saying ‘information is key’.
He made the assertion on Friday at a brief handover ceremony at the ministry, where he described some of the infrastructural developments achieved under his eight years as a result of support from fellow journalists.
According to him, “We are here today to hand over after serving my state for eight years. I want to believe that I have done my best and pray that whoever succeeds me will do even better in order to better the lives of our people.
“I believe I have worked very hard as a Commissioner working directly with the media. Honestly, I want to thank you for the cooperation you gave me without which much would not have been achieved,” he stated.
Making a rundown of some of his achievements as a journalist that became a Commissioner, he stated that he was able to influence the promotion of media personnel and include them in promotions and political appointments.
“Part of what we have achieved included the promotion of those from the media that have been promoted to various levels including directors and deputy directors.
“We have up to three practising journalists that are now permanent secretaries in the state.
“In 2016 we brought back triumph to life after it was shut down by a previous government. We are going to launch the printing press of Triumph tomorrow and will not have to rely on other printing presses for the weekly publications.
“The triumph company has now been set on a pedestal that will be able to make N45m annually with what we have on the ground today.
“Lastly, I masterminded the construction of 24 shops for the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) whose income directly goes to the union. It was 100 per cent sponsored by the Ganduje administration,” the commissioner declared.
He finally handed over the ministry to the Permanent Secretary, Alhaji Sani Bashir Yola.
In his address, the perm sec stated that he was very grateful to have worked with the Commissioner from whom he had learnt a lot.
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