By Idowu Abdullahi,
The Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has admitted the overwhelming effect of the coronavirus pandemic on the business of governance, saying the outbreak of the viral infection has rendered leadership positions difficult.
He said the effect of coronavirus on key decision making and the course of governance cannot be sidestepped, adding that it took courage for those in leadership positions at the moment to still be piloting the affairs of the nation and the respective states amidst the challenges occasioned by the pestilence.
El-Rufai, who revealed this while speaking to State House Correspondents after a private visit to Aso Villa on Friday, said that he had lost count of days and time following the outbreak of the deadly respiratory disease, to the extent that those elected last year into office hardly noticed they’ve spent one year in office.
According to him, having President Muhammadu Buhari as the country’s President at this turbulence time remains a blessing, noting that his honesty and uprightness have saved the country from impending disaster.
The Governor noted that he, alongside his state’s COVID-19 task force team had done brilliantly well in their emergency response against the pestilence, adding that the government will no rest until total control is gained against the virus in the state.
He added that the coronavirus outbreak had affected every sector of the country, and at such, the citizens need to give their unalloyed support to those in leadership positions, particularly the President and all the state governors as they steer the affairs of the country during the difficult times.
“Because of the global situation with this pandemic, many of us have even forgotten that we’ve even spent one year in the office. Many of us are celebrating it in a very low-keyed manner and I think what I will ask everyone in Kaduna State and indeed Nigeria, to do is to continue to pray for our leaders. To do better, to be righteous because when you have righteous leaders, you’ll have a righteous nation.
“We are lucky to have a great, decent and honest man as president and we should continue to pray for him and all the governors to be more like him so that the country can make progress.
“We are one year in office, we have three more years to go and I do hope that collectively, all of us that were elected and given this leadership responsibility will discharge this responsibility to the satisfaction of our people, we’ll do our best.
“Speaking for Kaduna State, my team and I are working very hard not to let our people down, we are very proud of the quality of the people in our team, they have done very well. Even when I was isolated for 26 days, the business of government in Kaduna State did not stop, things have continued. I’m very proud of our deputy governor and the work that she has done with our team.
“I think it’s the same all over the country, we are all dealing with a very difficult situation, the economy is going to go into depression, there’s nothing we can do about that, revenues have collapsed, yet you still have to invest in more public health facilities, you have to invest in treatment, you have to invest in security and so on.
“So it’s a very difficult time to be in a leadership position and that is why the people and the leaders must all work together and for the almighty God to end this pandemic. It is a major problem, but working together, we are a resilient nation and I’m sure we’ll overcome it,” he said.
