Deputy Senate Leader representing Kebbi South, Bala Ibn Na’Allah, has lamented what he called the lopsided senatorial distribution of federal institutions in Kebbi State.

The Senator was contributing to a report of the Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFUND on modalities of establishing federal polytechnics, federal colleges of education and universities across Nigeria, presented by Senator Barau Jibrin on the floor of the Senate Tuesday.

Na’Allah noted that the University of Science and Technology, Federal University, Aliero, Waziri Umaru Federal Polytechnic Birnin Kebbi, Federal Medical Center, Birnin Kebbi and the proposed Command Secondary Schools are all concentrated in Aliero, Birnin Kebbi and Ambursa, in Kebbi Central senatorial district.

According to him, “National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), the annex of Federal Medical Center are also concentrated at Dakingari, Suru Local Government in Kebbi North.

“While some states do not have the presence of any federal institutions, in other state like Kebbi where I come from, those institutions are concentrated in a particular senatorial district, thereby depriving other zone such as Kebbi South where I represent, from enjoying the presence of these institutions.

“This is not fair at all, because even the only Federal Technical College that has been in Zuru in Zuru Emirate for about 20, is still operating from a temporary site; not to talk of Yauri Emirate that is also affected.

“We have 18 serving and retired Military Generals in Zuru, and yet, even the two Command Secondary Schools recently allocated to the state were concentrated in Kebbi Central.”

The Senator called on the Federal Government to constitute a body to look at equitable distribution of such institutions to cut across all senatorial zones.

Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu, in his contribution, advised his colleagues to come up with a bill that will address the issue.

After much debate, the Senate approved, among others, the committee’s recommendation of a equitable distribution across all state and special funding to be made available to the new federal universities.

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