On Workers’ Day, Governor Uba Sani praised Kaduna workers and linked the approved Light Rail project to easing transport pressures.
Kaduna’s Workers’ Day message came with a clear promise: progress is meant to move with workers, not against them.
Speaking at Murtala Square during the celebrations, Governor Uba Sani said the Kaduna Light Rail Project, approved by the Federal Executive Council on Thursday, is expected to strengthen his administration’s efforts to reduce transport burdens for people who rely on public mobility.
He credited President Bola Tinubu for the approval and framed the rail plan as part of a broader response to economic pressures that have followed subsidy reforms, stressing that the government sees workers’ realities as a central concern.
Insight: When transport becomes more dependable, the everyday cost of getting to work and staying productive shifts, and that tends to matter most to organized labour and low- to mid-income commuters.
Uba Sani also pointed to steps already taken to cushion those pressures, including the Free CNG Bus Service, describing it as an initiative designed to ease transportation costs while the administration works on longer-term infrastructure.
In his address, he added that the Light Rail is intended to complement existing systems and improve urban mobility through options he described as safer, more reliable, and more affordable.
Insight: Infrastructure promises often sound distant, but linking them to immediate support measures is a way governments try to keep public trust while projects move from approval to delivery.
Beyond transport, the governor said his administration is prioritizing retiree welfare and continued payment of pension-related obligations, noting releases that bring total payments for pensions, gratuities, and death benefits to a higher figure.
He also turned to other sectors, saying the state is putting resources into health, including upgrades to primary care and additional specialized services, while also strengthening welfare measures for health workers.
In education and roads, he highlighted classroom construction and renovations, teacher recruitment and training, completion of secondary school projects, and ongoing work under an out-of-school children programme, alongside road projects aimed at improving connectivity.
Insight: These cross-sector promises are important because workers’ concerns typically span more than wages, touching on access to healthcare, schooling, and the condition of roads that shape daily life.
Concluding the remarks, the State NLC Chairman, Comrade Ayuba Magaji Suleiman, commended the free transport scheme and other initiatives, including resumption-related actions and payments of pension and retirement benefits.. While praising the administration for implementing the minimum wage, he urged the government to pay consequential adjustments for senior civil servants, underscoring that implementation details remain a key expectation for labour.