Sokoto seeks education, healthcare support from Swiss govt

Governor Ahmed Aliyu of Sokoto State has solicited the support and cooperation of the Swiss authorities in the areas of education, healthcare delivery, and human development.

Aliyu made the plea when he received the Switzerland Ambassador to Nigeria, Nicolas Lang, on a courtesy call.

The governor appealed for Switzerland’s support for Sokoto State in the areas of out-of-school children, IDP camps, and vulnerable groups.

“All these groups need your serious support in line with the intervention you are giving to our country, Nigeria.

“My administration is always ready to collaborate with any country or body working towards making the lives of our people better,” he added.

He thanked the Envoy for the visit and assured him of his administration’s readiness to partner with his country in the overall interest of the state.

Earlier, Lang, represented by the Press Secretary for Humanitarian and Development Cooperation, Nicholas Martins, told the governor that Switzerland has been implementing humanitarian projects in close collaboration with the Nigerian government since 2014.

He said their focus had been extensively on North-East Nigeria, responding to the victims of the Boko Haram insurgency.

“But, we have not been blind to the fact that there are also humanitarian needs in the North West of the country arising from the raging banditry crisis.

“We are doing advocacy at our level here at our headquarters to enable us to go beyond our area of focus so far, which was the North-East,” he added.

Lang added that they were able to fund a project in Sokoto, partnering with Action Against Hunger, an NGO that will be implementing a one year project in Bodinga and Tambuwal Local Government Areas.

The project, he said, is focusing on nutrition, water, and sanitation, which he said is the first Switzerland’s project in the state.

He commended the governor for the interest and commitment shown in the collaboration with his country to tackle humanitarian issues.