Major Stakeholders of the Bauchi All Progressives Congress (APC) have reported the State Governor, Mohammed Abubakar to the national leadership of the party, as they accused him of not using the bailout fund collected he from the federal government worth over N8.6 billion for the benefit of the people.
Led by the Speaker Yakubu Dogara of the House of Representatives, the stakeholders who were at the APC national secretariat include Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, Senator Suleiman Nazif, Senator Ali Wakil and other members of the national Assembly from Bauchi state.
The meeting began around 5:00 pm lasted for one hour, also has the APC, National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegu as well as the National Secretary of the party Mai Mala Buni.
After the meeting, Senator Nazif Suleiman while speaking with newsmen said they were party’s secretariat to bring to its attention issues affecting the APC in Bauchi, even as he said that they are not fighting the Governor due to 2019 governorship election in the state.
Senator Nazif said it was wrong to say that they were fighting the governor, saying “Nobody is against the governor. The governor is against himself”.
Nazif said “As you are aware, we have come as united members of the National Assembly with some major stakeholders have come to the APC to address some major issues.
“Everybody know that APC in Bauchi is not okay and so, we needed the attention of the APC at the national level to come to the rescue of APC in Bauchi to come to our rescue.
“There are so many issues which are party issues and we felt that there was the need to come and discuss with our leaders. The issues are being handled and the national chairman has assured us that he will take drastic measures immediately to address the pending problems in Bauchi.
“The meeting is not about budget padding. The issue is about Bauchi APC and its politics. The problem also is not about 2019, but about solving the problem in Bauchi APC to ensure that the party remain united in the state.
“We are aware that APC strongest hold in the north is Bauchi and I can assure you that the national chairman is on top of the situation. We will also go back to Bauchi and address our key supporters and tell them exactly what transpired”.
Speaking also to newsmen, Senator Ali Wakil said that they were at the secretariat to report the governor to the party for failing to pay the salaries of workers in the state and to use the bailout fund for the purpose for which it was meant.
He said if other states can use their bailout fund to pay the salaries of their workers there was no reason why the Bauchi state governor should not pay the salaries of their workers.
Wakil said: “We did not come to speak about the governor; we came to speak about Bauchi state. But we know that when Bauchi state is mentioned, the governor will be involved
“The governor is not Bauchi state; the people are the determinants of history, not individuals. Individuals come and go. How many governors were there before.
“He might be part of the problem but it is collective problem we are trying to solve. He is our governor. the Constitution, if you look at section 176, 177 and others, he has the constitutional role of governing the state.
“So there are issues revolving around nonpayment of salaries, and non-utilization of bailout funds. That is part of the problem. You know that it is an agrarian and civil services state and we must do everything to see that workers are paid as, at and when due.
“We are not comparing ourselves with Osun or Ondo or other states that have backlogs of salaries. It is not our business. Our people must be paid as at and when due and the remaining balances of the stipends must be paid and all the unending verifications must end.
