The Kano State Government is collaborating with the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria, on the development of cancer management training programmes for the various cancer specialists expected to work at the newly established Kano State Cancer Centre.

Malam Auwalu Umar, Director, Public Affairs Directorate of the University, stated this in a statement issued on Thursday, in Zaria, after Gov. Abdullahi Ganduje, had approved the proposal by the university, to that effect.

According to the statement, the governor’s approval was conveyed when a management team from the University led by the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Kabiru Bala, paid him a courtesy call in Kano, on Wednesday.

He added that Ganduje, who warmly received the team at Africa House, described all the proposals put together by the University as a “basket of good things” for the state.

Umar noted that the state-of-the-art centre, located at Muhammadu Buhari Specialist Hospital, Giginyu in Kano metropolis, is currently under construction. When completed, it will be the first of its kind in West Africa.

He added that the state government also accepted another proposal by the institution to coordinate international partnerships to train the different oncology sub-specialists of the centre in the United States.

Ganduje also noted the institution’s request for one million dollars for the initial launch of the Cancer Drug Access Programme, saying that the government was willing to spend any reasonable amount of money for the realization of the project.

“The ABU cancer drug access and training programmes would be in conjunction with the African Access Initiative (AAI) and Bioventures for Global Health (BVGH),’’ Umar said.

Similarly, the university team also updated the governor on the establishment of a 20-hectare pasture seed multiplication plot, at Dudduru in Ajingi Local Government Area, to enhance livestock productivity in the State.

Umar said the pasture seed multiplication plot was a collaboration between the Kano State Agro Pastoral Development Project (KSADP), the National Animal Production Research Institute (NAPRI) and ABU.

He said the project also involved the production of quality pasture seeds or vegetative materials suitable for improved livestock production.

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In addition, it would lead to the development of the Dudduru grazing reserve, as part of the state’s RUGA project that would eventually address the incessant farmers-herders clashes in the country.

Ganduje, an alumnus of the university, having graduated from the Institution in 1975, assured that the state government would do everything possible to ensure the success of the collaborations.

Earlier in his remarks, the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Kabiru Bala, said that the courtesy visit was part of an effort by the institution to connect with all its alumni whom, he described, as its “greatest assets”.

Bala appreciated the governor for his administration’s commitment towards addressing cancer challenges in Nigeria, through the establishment of the cancer centre.

The vice-chancellor also acknowledged, with gratitude, the collaboration between the State and the university for the establishment of a 20-hectare pasture seed multiplication plot to enhance livestock productivity.