Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf of Kano State has urged his top officials to place integrity and public service at the center of their work, warning that governance is about leaving a legacy rather than pursuing personal gain.
The governor, represented by his deputy, Aminu Abdussalam Gwarzo, made the remarks on Friday in Kaduna while declaring open a three-day capacity-building workshop on anti-corruption, financial fraud, transformational leadership and ethical values for commissioners, special advisers, director generals and permanent secretaries of the state.
“Corruption is more than an economic crime,” Mr. Gwarzo said, speaking on behalf of the governor. “It is a betrayal of trust, a distortion of values, and an assault on society.”
The deputy governor described the training as a deliberate effort to reinforce the administration’s commitment to people-centered, transparent and accountable governance.
“This workshop is not just another training exercise, but a strategic investment in the very foundation of governance in Kano State,” he said. “Posterity will not forgive us if we squander the trust placed in our hands. Let integrity be our currency; let service be our culture; and let progress be our destiny.”
Mr. Gwarzo urged participants to move beyond rhetoric and apply the lessons learned to transform the way government is run in the state. He emphasized that continuity in governance depends on resilient institutions, not personalities.
Earlier, the Secretary to the State Government, Umar Farouk Ibrahim, who was represented by the Head of Civil Service, Abdullahi Musa, warned that corruption remains the single biggest obstacle to good governance.
“Corruption weakens institutions, disrupts service delivery, deprives the state of progress, and denies citizens justice by eroding public trust in governance,” Mr. Ibrahim said. He called on participants to “judiciously utilize the knowledge obtained from the training for the upliftment of Kano State to a better status.”
The workshop, which gathered senior officials from across Kano State, is part of the administration’s broader effort to strengthen institutions and entrench ethical standards in public service.