Kaduna Governor says He acknowledges citizenship
The Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El Rufai has said that his government acknowledges citizenship as what the Nigerian constitution advocates rather than ‘indigenship’ and ‘settlership.’
He stated this on Friday while signing the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Kaduna State Residents Registration Agency and the United Bank for Africa(UBA).
According to him, the divisions between indigenes and settlers has so far brought untold problems to the country and as well slowed down the pace of unity of the nation.
He noted that the Kaduna State Residents Card helps the government to recognize its citizens, better organise their access to social services like education, basic health care, and social interventions as well as to conduct business with the government without hindrance.
El Rufai also said that the resident’s card ‘“not only identifies someone as a resident alone; it enables you to use it as a bank card. You can use it as a debit card, as a credit card depending on the type of arrangement you have with UBA.”
He added that the card ‘’also enhances financial inclusion because its possession immediately gives you the opportunity to have a bank account if you didn’t have one and have a bank verification number.”
The Governor also revealed that out of a total population of about 10 million residents in Kaduna state, the Agency has registered more than 3.4 million.
‘’Kaduna State Government will soon demand the production of this residents card for you to enjoy some of our social services like education and basic health care. Having the resident’s registration card will also enable individuals and businesses to access interventions for small and medium enterprises as well as interventions related to poverty eradication.”
‘’This government has recognised citizenship as what the Nigerian constitution advocates rather than ‘indigenship’ and ‘settlership.’ We believe that the dichotomy between indigenes and settlers has brought untold problems to the country and has slowed down the unity of our great nation.”
El Rufai further argued that Kaduna state is ‘’concerned about citizens of Nigeria that are registered as residents, that pay tax and contribute to the economic wellbeing of our state.”
