President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday in Kaduna said he narrowly escaped being bombed near the Kawo bridge, while travelling to Katsina State in July 2014. Buhari is on a state visit to Kaduna State.

Speaking at the newly constructed Kawo bridge executed by the Governor Nasir El-Rufai administration, Buhari recalled, “There was an attempt to bomb me here…there was a market nearby….” adding that his security escorts were vigilant.

As part of the visit to Kaduna, President Muhammadu Buhari commissioned the ultra-modern sports and shopping complex at Murtala Square Kaduna.

The president reiterated the likelihood of making Kaduna his home after leaving office.

The president’s entourage was led by El-Rufai, and he would commission other projects in Zaria, the northern part of the state.

Buhari has, however, always used Kaduna as his home state before winning the election in 2015. This is the first official visit to the state to commission public projects since his election.

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Meanwhile, Buhari while commissioning the Murtala Muhammed Square, one of the Urban Renewal Projects, in Kaduna State “ I can hardly find my way” in Kaduna because of the massive constructions and urban facelift the state capital has undergone.

“You have committed yourself to change Kaduna, and you have been very successful and people throughout the country are appreciative, so you are writing your history in letters of gold. I congratulate you on your achievement so far” he told Governor Nasir El Rufai of Kaduna state

Buhari thereafter commissioned Infectious Disease Hospital, Mando, LEA Model Primary School, Rigasa, inner-city road, that is, Aliyu Makama Road, Barnawa, and Leventis overhead bridge on Yakubu Gowan way.

Earlier, the President was in Kafanchan to commission Emir Palace Road and other projects there. Today, the President is billed to commission some other projects in Zaria within the state.

The Urban Renewal programme was conceived by the El-Rufai administration in 2019 “ to bridge the infrastructure deficit to accelerate the urbanisation of Kaduna city and major towns like Zaria and Kafanchan, where more than 2/3 of the population live”.

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The Urban Renewal Projects has 14 components which include, Roads, Mass Transit, Housing, improved land use, Streetlights, Parks, and Recreation Centres, including Markets, Neighbourhood, and Waste Management Centres.

The Urban Renewal Projects, the administration said, has become necessary because “ the population has already reached about 10 million, with over 4 million people living in the Kaduna urban areas alone”.