Yusuf thanks Tinubu, APC for N8b donation to Singer Market fire victims

Zamfara State Governor, Dauda Lawal, has alleged that his state has not received any federal intervention fund since he assumed office in 2023 because he chose to remain in an opposition party.

However, his Kano counterpart, Abba Yusuf, yesterday, expressed gratitude to President Bola Tinubu and the governors of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for approving N8 billion for victims of the fire outbreak at Singer Market, Kano.

In an interview with Radio DW Hausa, Governor Lawal, elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), claimed that while some states had benefitted from substantial federal support, Zamfara had not received “a single kobo” besides its statutory allocation.

“The Federal Government has never disbursed any intervention, unlike other states. I have it on good authority that some states have received over N500 billion from the Federal Government, but my state has not received a single kobo,” Lawal said. “I believe it is because I am not in the same party as they; I am in an opposition party.”

Lawal maintained that despite the alleged lack of additional federal support, his administration has continued to execute projects across the state.

“Since I became governor in 2023, if not for the allocation we are entitled to, the Federal Government has not given us any additional intervention. But that has not stopped us from doing our best to execute projects for the betterment of our people,” he said.

The governor also stressed that his administration had not taken any new loans to run the state, noting that Zamfara was still servicing debts incurred by the previous administration.

On his political future, Lawal ruled out immediate defection to another political party despite internal challenges within the PDP.

The Kano governor’s gratitude was contained in a statement by his spokesman, Sunusi Bature, yesterday.

Vice President Kashim Shettima, who on Monday visited the scene of the fire incident in the company of the governors of Jigawa, Kebbi and Imo states, on behalf of the Federal Government, announced a donation of N5 billion for the victims. To support him, APC governors across the states added N3 billion.

A sudden fire outbreak last week destroyed goods worth billions of naira, leaving about 1,000 traders in distress.

Seven people, mostly traders, were declared missing in the inferno.

Governor Yusuf described the intervention as “timely and compassionate,” noting that it would significantly cushion the devastating impact of the fire on the affected traders and their families.

He defended his defection from the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) to the APC, insisting that the decision was driven by the need to strategically align the state with the federal government to fast-track development.

Addressing thousands of supporters at the 2026 Grand Rally held at Sani Abacha Stadium in Kano on Monday, the governor said Kano’s size and strategic importance made continued political disconnection from the centre unsustainable.

He stressed that the move was not motivated by personal ambition but by a sense of responsibility to the people of Kano, adding that the state must actively engage in President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda. (The Guardian)