President Muhammadu Buhari has commended Malam Nasir El-Rufai for committing himself to changing Kaduna, noting that the Kaduna State Governor has been successful in that quest.

The president, who is on a two-day working visit to Kaduna State to commission some of the state’s urban renewal projects, was speaking today at the Murtala Square in Kaduna.

He had arrived in Kaduna on Wednesday night direct from Banjul, Gambia.

From Kaduna, President Buhari, accompanied by Governor El-Rufai, flew to Kafanchan this morning to commission Emir Road, Katsina Road and Dan-Haya Road.

He returned to Kaduna around noon, and immediately commissioned the remodelled Murtala Square, a sprawling sporting, event and recreational centre.

Noting the impact of the urban renewal programme, President Buhari said that he can no longer find his way around Kaduna, even as someone who has lived in the city for long.

Commending El-Rufai, the president said: “You have committed yourself to changing Kaduna and you have been very successful and people throughout the country are appreciating it. You are writing your history in letters of gold. I congratulate you for your achievements so far.”

The president commissioned some of the 19 completed urban renewal road projects, including the reconstructed Kawo Flyover, an almost one kilometre long dual carriagew ay with three ground rotaries, the 5.6km Aliyu Makama Road, the multi-storey Basic Education Mega-School in Lokoja Road in Rigasa, and the dualised Yakubu Gowon Way and Leventis Underpass.

President Buhari also commissioned the Infectious Disease Hospital in Mando, after Dr. Hadiza Balarabe, Deputy Governor of Kaduna State, explained the thinking behind the project. He also commissioned the fertiliser blending plant of Barbedos Group.

El-Rufai launched the Kaduna State Urban Renewal Programme in June 2019, shortly after which the projects commenced in Kaduna before those of Kafanchan and Zaria started. “The goal of the urban renewal programme is to regenerate Kaduna, Kafanchan and Zaria, the three major cities in the state.”

According to El-Rufai, “These unprecedented investments in urban infrastructure is to consolidate the state’s position as an investment destination, improve its economic competitiveness and promote the welfare of the residents of the state.”

The president’s visit to Kaduna State continues on Friday. He will commission road projects in Zaria before being hosted to a state banquet in Kaduna.

TheStar