- Nasarawa People Doubts His Projects As They Says He Is Still In Wonderland
He is more popular as political activist and a member of the Save Nigeria Group, SNG, but since he became governor of Nasarawa state, Tanko Al- Makura has even been more famous as a political activist and a member of the congress for progressive Change, CPC.
However, barely two years in office, Tanko Al-Makura who scored a major political victory as a populist aspirant with a lot of project to his credit and subsequently a clincher at the Supreme Court is not having it rosy.
However, just recently when Governor Al-Makura rolled out the drums in the State capital Lafia, and another rally in Keffi town to celebrate his two years in office; He reeled out a list of achievements which the opposition argues is a mere self-effusion.
A major issue that pitted the government against the people was land allocations in the state and the recent cult killing in Nasarawa state.
Al-Makura had in a wired and wild advertorial in selected Newspapers entitled “AL MAKURA’S JOURNEY OF CHANGE IN NASARAWA STATE” celebrated his achievements, which include Ultra modern primary school built by CPC administration in the state, Township Stadium, Akwanga township Road, newly constructed Specialist Hospital Road, AGIS office and one of the trucks that conveyed the transformers (to where?) among others.
As expected the purported “achievements” have begun to generate reactions in the state. A member of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP in the state described Al-Makura as a big disaster “can you see what he called his achievements even an uncompleted bridge at Mararaban Guruku in Karu Local Government Area and the moribund Karu international market that was there before he came in two years ago?”
Ahmed Yusuf, a staff of the Karu Urban Planning Authority, KAPDA, who spoke with our Reporter in his office, decried the recently commissioned Nasarawa State Geographical and Information service, NAGIS, a replica of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT as hocus-pocus by the governor. How do explain it, an empty office, no staffs, is he going to complement KAPDA or shut down the place?”
Continuing, he said “many people have been coming here to ask but we lacked the answer, because in the FCT most of the Lands are sold by the government. But in Karu and Keffi which you can say is the developed areas in Nasarawa state, the land are owned and sold by locals and indigenes, what we do are to ensure development and planning at KAPDA, so what are they going to recertify at NAGIS?”
He said, “the governor has abandoned his responsibility in the state otherwise how many local government do we have in the state? But his focus is just one local government, Karu instead of developing the state Capital, Lafia. Unfortunately, this where we found ourselves “he said.
Indeed since he became governor of Nasarawa state, Al-Makura has been embroiled in one scandal or the other. He is alleged to have acquired large parcel of land at Aso Pada, from the indigenes purportedly for a link road between Mararaba and the FCT. While the locals see nothing wrong in developmental projects in the area, they are up in arms as the land is believed to have been divided between the FCT minister, Bala Mohammed and AL-Makura.
A visit to the area shows that since the flag off of the link road, a year back, the project has been abandoned, collaborating the fear of the indigenes whose lands were acquired by Al-Makura, that the governor might have used his state might to rob them of their heritage.
The NAGIS project, apart from the controversy surrounding the alleged duplicity of functions, is also shredded in scandal. It is being alleged that Mallam Nasiru EL-Rufai, the former minister of FC T who is still standing trial for alleged role in allocations of land in the FCT was allegedly allocated about 150 hectares of land. Al makura and El Rufai are members of the yet to be registered APC.
At the commission of NAGIS, EL Rufai was not only there but was applauded by Al -Makura for the initiatives.
But the opposition party has raised alarm on the viability of the project and the land allocated to the former minister.
Specifically, the PDP is alleging that the land was meant to oil the presidential election of APC candidate in 2015.
While the embattled governor is yet to extricate himself of the allegation that the recent demolition exercise in Mararaba was meant to take over lands and raise money for his 2015 campaign, he is yet to explain his role in the murder of over 100 policemen and men of DSS in Alakiyo in Nasarawa State
