Kaduna State governor-elect, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, has promised to do all that is humanly possible to move the state forward in spite of its high indebtedness.

In an acceptance speech during the presentation of Certificate of Return to him by the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) in Kaduna on Wednesday, El-Rufai said he was aware of the high expectations of the people, assuring them that he will do his best to meet their expectations.

He however appealed to the people for patience, sacrifice and support as the institutions in the state are reformed to instill a culture of probity and personal responsibility.

“We will do what is humanly possible to fulfill the promises in our manifesto-the Kaduna Restoration Programme-that we have published, circulated and discussed with diverse constituencies of the state.

“The campaign period is now over. We have no time to exult in our victory. There is so much to do to make the state great again.

“We need to begin the hard work of change. As leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, I assure you that we shall do our best to restore the state effectively for you”.

He noted however that his administration would be operating under serious constraints as “our state is heavily indebted at a time when oil prices are low.”

He lamented that the state “has not seen significant development in the last eight years,” stating that: “We must work twice as hard with half the resources of the last eight years just to catch up with our contemporaries.

El-rufai stressed the need for discipline, stressing that: “We must be disciplined, focused and prudent to achieve set goals.

“In accepting my election as governor-elect of the state, I pledge to do all that is humanly possible to move our dear state forward, beginning from today.

“As soon as I am sworn in, and I constitute a state executive council, we shall begin to work to meet your expectations of positive change.

“We are aware of your justifiably high expectations of our government. We will do our best to meet them. But we shall need your patience, sacrifice and support as we reform the state institutions to instill a culture of probity

“We will do our best to fulfill the promises in our manifesto-the Kaduna Restoration Programme-that we have published, circulated and discussed with diverse constituencies of the state.

“Our commitment to transparency will be manifest as we reform the public sector to be an efficient deliverer of services.”