President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday urged indigenes of Kaduna State to learn to live as brothers and sisters.
According to a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, the President made the call at the virtual opening of the fifth Kaduna Economic and Investment Summit, with the theme ‘KADInvest 5.0, Infrastructure, Industrialisation and Innovation.’
Adesina’s statement was titled “Let’s live as brothers and sisters because without peace, development cannot take place, President Buhari tells Kaduna indigenes”.
The President’s call came at a time parts of the state, especially Southern Kaduna, are witnessing bloody clashes that have left many dead while others have been injured or rendered homeless.
He called on the indigenes to cooperate with government and security agencies to secure peace and harmony.
According to him, it is only in the atmosphere of peace that development can take place.
“We must live together as brothers and sisters because, without peace, development cannot take place,” the President said.
Buhari was also quoted as commending the state government for making the state attractive to investors.
He urged the government to sustain the tempo and surpass its current record.
He said, “I wish to commend the efforts of the Kaduna State Government to establish its credentials as one of the new investment destinations of choice in Nigeria.
“These efforts have received just recognition in the response of the business community which has put in new investments in the state.
“This is a further affirmation of the ranking of the state as Number One for Ease of Doing Business by the World Bank’s Doing Business Report 2018.
“I call on the Kaduna State Government to keep up these laudable efforts and surpass the impressive results already attained.”
The President further noted that the success of state governments in attracting investments, creating jobs, and increasing their internally generated revenues would be critical to the development of the entire country.
“I am impressed that the Kaduna State Government has from inception used KADInvest as a serious platform for showcasing its investment potentials.
“The state’s commitment to consistent implementation of the Ease of Doing Business Charter is exemplary, including its ability to increase its Internally Generated Revenue to N44bn in 2019 from N13bn in 2015 without hiking tax rates. This is very laudable,” Buhari added.
The President congratulated the Kaduna State government for making KADInvest a regular fixture on the investment calendar, held annually since 2016.
Buhari promised that the Federal Government will continue to support efforts to attract job-creating investments.
