EFCC chair Olukoyede praises Lawal's Zamfara at state's 30th anniversary

The chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Olanipekun Olukoyede, has said Zamfara State is being run with a kind of leadership that changes lives, pointing to new roads, street lights and a new airport in Gusau as signs.

Olukoyede said this while giving the keynote address at the lecture marking 30 years since Zamfara was created, held at the Grand Chamber of Government House in Gusau. The sources differ slightly on the day: Vanguard and The Sun reported he spoke on Thursday, while Leadership said Friday.

He said he normally keeps away from political gatherings and government houses because of the ethics of his office, but accepted this invitation after looking into the state and its governor.

“I did a little due diligence on His Excellency and the state,” he said.

He added that he told President Bola Tinubu what he had seen and the President encouraged him to attend. It was his first time in Zamfara, he said.

What he saw in Gusau

On arrival, Olukoyede said the new airport stood out even to a first-time visitor, and that freshly paved roads lined with solar street lights had changed the look of the capital.

He said Zamfara had long sat near the bottom among Nigeria's less developed states, despite its potential, and that the change of the past three years stood out to him. He also said he was encouraged by reports that the state's results in NECO and WAEC examinations have improved.

He tied the progress to what he called deliberate reforms by Governor Dauda Lawal's administration, matching the lecture's theme, “Accountability and Responsibility in Transformational Government”.

For ordinary residents, the praise matters less than whether it translates into safer roads, working schools and jobs. Zamfara has struggled for years with insecurity that has disrupted farming and travel, and the governor said community involvement in tackling insecurity was among the issues discussed at the lecture.

What Lawal said

Lawal said the anniversary, themed “Reflections, Achievements and the Future”, was a chance to look honestly at the state's challenges and at what leaders owe the next generation.

He pointed to his Six-Point Rescue Agenda and the Zamfara State Development Plan 2025–2034, which he said provides a long-term framework for the economy, infrastructure, social welfare, human capital development, governance and environmental sustainability.

“We must turn these commitments into measurable improvements in people's lives,” he said.

Other speakers at the lecture included Professors Tijjani Muhammad Bande, Sulaiman Kura, Murtala Rufai and Taofik Aminu.

What happens next: The governor said the commitments in the plan must become measurable improvements in people's lives. Residents will be watching whether the roads, schools and security gains described at the lecture reach beyond the capital.