By Abdullahi Yusuf
Senator Rufai Sani Hanga(NNPP) has strongly defended his decision to purchase clay pots and textile materials to donate to his constituents to enable them bury their dead.
Hanga, who represents Kano Central at the National Assembly, told newsmen in Kano on Monday that he had no regrets whatsoever for embarking on the initiative.
He was reacting to scatching criticisms by members of the opposition in the state that the lawmaker was honouring the dead instead of empowering his living constituents.
“I have no regrets whatsoever purchasing and donating burial materials to my constituents,for I did not use constituency project money to buy them; I used my personal money,” he said.
“Furthermore, the gesture is a tradition in my family as I grew up witnessing my Father carrying it out.
“And even before I became Senator so many people knew me with the gesture, and when I became Senator, some groups of persons came requesting that I should purchase materials for them to maintain their Graveyards.
“And I decided to spread the gesture to all the 15 Local Government Areas of my constituency,” the lawmaker explained.
He said apart from the purchase and donation of clay pots and other burial materials, he had been delivering a lot of other dividends of democracy to his constituents.
“Right now, as part of my constituency projects,we are building roads in about 10 Local Government Areas, and Women Centers in about 6 Local Councils.This is after giving the Women and Youths incentives of between N20,000 and N30,000 each to 5-5 selected beneficiaries from the 15 Local Government Areas.
“And one should know that even in the education sector,we have sponsored no fewer than 2000 Students to study at the Kano State Polytechnic, while we paid Scholarships to 1500 Bayero University,Kano(BUK) students as part of our support to their education,” Hanga said.
Similarly,the lawmaker said further, following a request by some Islamic Scholars, he built Islammiyya School (AhbabunNabiyi Islammiyya) at Dan Dishe town.
He said he had also distributed 450 bags of assorted grains such as rice and millet, as well as spaghetti to each of the 15 Local Government Areas of his constituency.