The Chairman of Birnin Gwari Local Government Council of Kaduna State, Dr Salisu Isah, has appealed to the federal government to reconnect villages in the eastern and western parts of the local government to the national electricity grid.
Speaking in an interview on Thursday, Isah expressed appreciation to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the reconstruction of the 122-kilometre Kaduna-Birnin Gwari Road.
He said the return of relative peace and renewed attention to infrastructure had created an opportunity to address several longstanding development challenges in the area.
The chairman therefore appealed to the relevant authorities to reconnect communities in the eastern and western parts of Birnin Gwari to the national grid.
He noted that communities in nine of the 11 wards currently remain without electricity from the national grid following years of insecurity and disruption of power infrastructure.
According to him, restoring electricity to the affected communities would have far-reaching benefits for education, healthcare, agriculture, small businesses, communication, and local economic development.
Isah also called for the completion of abandoned road projects in the area, particularly the Gwargwaje-Zaria Road through Farin Ruwa to Saulawa, which commenced in 2011 but was later abandoned.
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“We respectfully appeal to the relevant authorities to revisit this important project and bring it to completion. Its conclusion will reconnect communities, facilitate commerce and further open up the economic potential of the area.”
The chairman further appealed to the Federal Government, Kaduna State Government, development partners and international organisations to intensify efforts towards rehabilitating and upgrading educational and healthcare facilities in Birnin Gwari.
He said the facilities had suffered years of deterioration and disruption.
According to him, sustainable development in the local government could not be achieved without deliberate investment in human capital.
Isah, therefore, called for the establishment of higher institutions of learning in Birnin Gwari through collaboration between the federal and state governments.
He also appealed for the establishment of a JAMB examination centre and functional skills acquisition centres, with support from government agencies, national institutions and international development partners.
“The future of Birnin Gwari must not be defined only by the challenges we have survived. It must increasingly be defined by the opportunities we create for our children and young people.”