Alhaji Abubakar Nakwada, a 2023 governorship aspirant in Zamfara State on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) platform, has slammed the N12 billion restoration of the State Government House, calling it a waste of money.

He claimed that since the military reclaimed democracy in Nigeria, Zamfara State had made no substantial development due to uncommitted and self-serving leadership.

Alhaji Nakwada told reporters in Gusau, the state capital, that the state has been fighting a lingering insurgency for almost a decade and that armed bandits operate freely in the area.

Armed bandits caused many of our sons and daughters to escape their homes and seek safety in neighboring states, where they are forced to live in deplorable conditions," he continued.

"The crisis has also pushed many people, particularly in our rural areas, to forsake their farms and homes in exchange for an uncertain future in IDP camps." This monstrous unsecured scenario has affected nearly all other sectors of the economy as well. The conditions on the ground have determined our priorities. If we are elected, we will devote our full attention to tackling the many problems that exist.

According to him, the prolonged state of insecurity has caused the collapse of agriculture, which is the backbone of our economy, and he finds it disturbing that a country that once prided itself on agriculture and agro-industrial crops is now facing hunger and starvation as a result of armed banditry's effects.

However, we must recognize that the collapse in agriculture began long before the onset of instability, as a result of successive administrations' failure to make commitments to straighten the sector.

Our education system is in shambles and deteriorating on a daily basis; our health infrastructures are an ugly mess because they are in terrible shape; and hospitals frequently lack the most basic of resources and vital medical services to meet the growing demand for good healthcare, says the author.

The governorship candidate stated that "the majority of the state's population faces poor levels of education, widespread poverty, and an intolerable low quality of life."

"What benefit do government lodgings in all 14 local government regions provide when the youngsters are out of school?" he asks. How can a mother and her children, who have fled their homes and recently lost their spouses to bandit assaults, profit from N12 billion naira befitting a government house?

"Thousands of communities have been uprooted, homes worth millions of naira have been damaged or looted, and our youths are fending for themselves in neighboring states."

"Insecurity is on the rise, with the government's commitment being questioned, while our vast, fertile and productive terrain is of little or no advantage to our people as a result of the state's insecurity."