SOKOTO- The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar, has decried the high poverty rate in the country, urging those in leadership positions to take firm steps to tackle it.

Abubakar made the plea in Sokoto at a ceremony, where he ‘turbaned’ Alhaji Bello Abdullahi as the new District Head of Rabah.

“Majority of Nigerians are poor and are starving daily,’’ he said, adding that the ugly situation should be reversed before it assumed a crisis dimension.

Report says that the new District Head ascended the office, following the death of his Father, Alhaji Abdullahi Bello.

Rabah is the birthplace of the late Premier of the defunct Northern Region, Sir Ahmadu Bello.
The Sultan also said that the three tiers of government, traditional rulers and wealthy Nigerians should collaborate to fight poverty.

He advised that the poor in the society should be assisted to get over poverty to end the hardships they were going through. He stated that leadership was “God-given’’ and advised community, political and religious leaders to always exercise authority with the fear of God.

Abubakar asked the new District Head to steer clear of politics , adding, “you are a father to all the people of your domain.’’

The Sultan called on Nigerians to pray for peace, unity and security of the nation, noting that this was crucial, because nothing meaningful could be achieved without peace and security.