BAUCHI: Appraising Governor Abubakar’s First 100 Days In Office

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Barrister-Mohammed-Abdullahi-Abubakar2-648x330I am writing this appraisal at the risk of incurring the wrath of political hirelings, riots and attack dogs that are warming up, waiting for public commentators to feast on. These favour seeking charlatans have apparently forget the political norm of appraising governments after their first one hundred days in office in order to determine the level of preparedness of leaders to brace up for the challenges of governance that may have been bequeathed to them by their predecessors.

The first one hundred days are very significant because it is a period in a lifetime of a government during which its popularity, power and influence are at their peak. As such, it is the best period used even by governments themselves, to measure successes and accomplishments and chart a clearer path for the effective delivery of their mandates.

The administration of Governor  Mohammed Abdullahi Abubakar cannot be an exception to this norm. Since May 29th, 2015 after its inauguration, the administration of Governor has being enmeshed in series of scandalous misadventures, the result of which is a dwindling popularity across the length and breadth of the state.

Some of the yet to be resolved scandals of the administration within the period under review are enumerated below;

The N565 Million Question

Immediately after its inauguration on April 22nd, 2015 by the then Governor elect Mohammed Abubakar, the Bauchi State Transition Committee was reported by online news medium 247ureports.com, to have allegedly sought and collected a whooping N565 Million from the outgoing administration of Malam Isa Yuguda for the purpose of executing its work. The medium further alleged that the lump sum was collected by the Committee’s Secretary Aliyu U. Tilde and transferred it to the account of the then Governor-elect.

However, this allegation was debunked by the Bauchi APC in a statement issued on May 12th, 2015 by the party’s State Publicity Secretary Auwal Jallah.

The statement as reported by a section of the press reads in part; ‘‘……to put the record straight as it is in the tradition, every transition committee receives little token from the outgoing administration, and that was the only money received……and it didn’t reach even one tenth of the amount quoted.’’

As people in the state became curious about the story, the Secretary of the Committee, who was alleged to have been handed down the money, was compelled to issue another statement on May 13th, 2015 via his Facebook page in which he stated thus; ‘‘My name is referred to in the article as having collected over N500 Million and transferred it to the account of the Governor elect.’’

Tilde added that, ‘‘Both assertions, I assure the public, are false.’’ However, he too admitted that indeed a certain amount of money was collected by him but fails to mention the exact amount. Hear him, ‘‘The amount we collected has remained in my custody as the Secretary of the Committee…’’

And then, he assured further that, ‘‘I will account for it fully at the end of our assignment.’’ As far as I know, Tilde is yet to give account of a single Kobo he collected from the outgoing administration of Isa Yuguda in the name of his Committee’s work.

This matter is still lingering in discussion circles, social forums and local radio talk shows in the state. The Contradictions On The Inherited Debt Profile Of Bauchi State

Shortly after he took over the mantle of leadership, the governor of Bauchi state, Mohammed Abubakar said that his administration ‘‘inherited external and internal debts totalling over N125 Billion from the outgoing administration of Malam Isa Yuguda in the state’’, as reported by Vanguard newspaper of June 3rd, 2015.

However, on June 9th, 2015, Daily Trust newspaper reported that the former governor, Isa Yuguda has debunked Governor Abubakar’s claim, saying that the debt profile he handed to the new governor was not up to N80 Billion and that the figure included the loan he himself inherited from the administration of Ahmadu Adamu Mu’azu. Yuguda, went further and gave a comprehensive breakdown of the debt profile he left in the state.

On June 21st, 2015, Thisday newspaper reported that the Transition Committee set up by Governor Abubakar himself has said that the actual debt it discovered in the course of its work was actually N96.9 Billion, contrary to the governor’s claim of N125 Billion and that of Yuguda’s N80 Billion. The people of Bauchi state were perplexed by these contradicting statements! Who should we believe in?

As at this time, nobody can tell how much the state actually owes creditors and the matter is yet to be resolved.

The Denial Of The FG’s Financial Bailout To States In July, 2015 President Muhammadu Buhari approved a comprehensive relief package to states that could not pay workers’ salaries in order to help them assuage the plight of thousands of their workers. The president magnanimously directed that funds be urgently made available for that purpose. Bauchi state was listed alongside 26 others states as those that could not meet up the obligation of paying their workers’ salaries.

Similarly, the Chairman, Nigeria Governors’ Forum and Zamfara state governor, Alhaji Abdul Aziz Yari confirmed the presidential palliative in a report in The Sun newspaper of July 30th, 2015.

But in a cheeky display of effrontery on the president, Governor Abubakar dismissed the entire financial bailout, describing it as a ‘‘mirage’’, in a report in Daily Trust newspaper of August 25th, 2015. The newspaper quoted the governor thus; ‘‘Bailout has turned out to be a mirage.’’

The Persistent Wailing Of Governor Abubakar Over The Misdeeds Of His Predecessor First, in his inaugural address on May 29th, 2015, Governor Abubakar made a loud cry that he ‘‘inherited a completely empty treasury.’’ Second, the governor constantly told the people of the state at the early days of his administration that he did not received a dime whether as federal allocation or through any other means. Third, the governor frequently accuses his predecessor of several acts of impropriety, apparently shifting blame for his actions or inactions. Fourth,

Governor Abubakar’s Transition Committee accused former governor Yuguda of ‘‘stealing’’ colossal sums of N114 Billion and N104 Billion, local government funds and security vote monies respectively. Fifth, in his latest wail, the governor in an interview he granted Daily Trust newspaper on August 26th, 2015 said that, ‘‘Bauchi got N1 Trillion under Yuguda but nothing to show.’’

One may think that, given his very strong allegations against his predecessor, Governor Abubakar should have since set up a judicial commission of inquiry to investigate the past administration of Isa Yuguda. But gosh! There is yet to be any attempt to probe the financial misdemeanours and reckless theft of  public funds alleged to have been committed under Yuguda, thereby lending credence to the popular accusation that he and Yuguda are indeed one and the same.

The Purported N4 Billion Loan Obtained Without State Executive Council Authorization And State House Of Assembly Approval On August 28th, 2015, an online news medium universalreporters247.com published a story that a group, National Congress of Democrats had petitioned the Speaker, Bauchi State House of Assembly requesting information about a purported loan of N4 Billion that was unlawfully taken from United Bank for Africa, UBA Plc on June 11th, 2015 prior to the inauguration of the state house of assembly and the state executive council which is yet to be formed. The group, according to the online news medium has also questioned the benefits of the governor’s recent trip to Czech Republic which gulped millions of tax payers’ money. The government is yet to provide any clarification on this matter.

Failure Of The Governor To Appoint A Credible Director OF Press/Media Aide As the clocks hundred days in office, he is yet to appoint a spokesperson who will manage the image making job of his administration, the fallout of which are series of image making crisis. Ordinarily, this ought to be the first appointment the governor should do but as at present day, there is no such in place.

Conclusion

The foregoing, among many others too numerous to mention due to space constraints, were sadly the stories of the first hundred days of Governor Mohammed Abdullahi Abubakar as the new number one citizen in Bauchi state. While other states have already hit the ground running, ours is a sad story of sheer lack of readiness, political will and competence, clear blueprint for governance, which resulted in the administration’s woeful underperformance and rendered it focus-less throughout its first hundred days.

However, I must confess that all hopes should not be lost. As the governor celebrate his first hundred days in office, I want to use this medium to wish him God’s guidance and protection, wisdom, courage and the ability to deliver good governance to the people of Bauchi state, as he sails the ship state affairs.

Musa Azare, wrote from Kafin Kuka, Azare, Bauchi state

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