ABU hosts Sabongari Chair, other stakeholders on security, transportation

The Vice-Chancellor, Ahmadu Bello University, Prof. Kabiru Bala, has hosted the Chairman of Sabongari Local Government Area of Kaduna State and other key stakeholders from the place and discussed issues bordering security and transportation. 

The other stakeholders at the meeting included Nigeria Police Force (NPF), Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Kaduna State Traffic Law Enforcement Authority (KASTLEA), National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN), and All Luxurious Busses Owners of Nigeria (ALBON). 

In his remarks, the Council Chairman, Engr. Mohammed Ibrahim Usman said that Ahmadu Bello University is one of the foremost stakeholders of the local government area and that was why he led other stakeholders to come to the University and deliberate on the issue of transportation in the area. 

Responding, the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Kabiru Bala, described the meeting as “better late than never”. “This kind of meeting was supposed to hold since”, he said. 

Prof. Bala explained that transport is a specialized area in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning in ABU and if the local government transport committee had earlier sought for the University’s advice, it would have been given more ideas. 

He urged the Kaduna State Government, through the Chairman, to do something for ABU in terms of transport/road networks, given the fact that ABU is the highest tax payer in Kaduna State. 

The Vice-Chancellor advised the committee to reflect on the larger world, to build on this initiative, considering the fact that the larger population of our students come from humble backgrounds. 

“The local council should try and make students life comfortable. For example, globally, for this kind of initiative to go down well, after a trek of about 5 to 10 minutes, you will meet a motor park. That will go a long way in easing the plight of passengers heading to the motor park” he said. 

The Vice-Chancellor lamented that the local government council is not doing much in terms of tree planting, stressing that the University would write to the Local Government on this. 

He also said that ABU would possibly donate seedlings to the Council, as it has been doing freely to the neighbouring communities.