Bauchi state governor’s claims of probity and transparency remains a deceit from reports reaching 247ureports portraying the administration as under siege by fraudsters allegedly close relations and friends to the governor now gang-raping the state with his total support.
One of such cases is that of retainer of an Abuja based refuse collection company, Cosmopolitan Cleaners that was contracted by Isa Yuguda to maintain cleanness of specific cities within the state as well as train some youth in readiness for recruitment as sanitary inspectors.
Our source revealed that before Yuguda left office, the company was owed some money for ‘service’ rendered which Yuguda refused to pay on suspicion of fraud ignoring his closeness with the managing-director, one Babayo Tilde.
Loading ...On assumption of office on May 29, Governor M.A Abubakar hurriedly renewed the retainer and allegedly settled the suspicious outstanding debt while refuse continue to overtake major streets in Bauchi and other cities.
Our source revealed that Cosmopolitan receives a whooping N17million monthly from the state government while Bauchi State Environmental Protection Agency, BASEPA with more capacity to handle what Cosmopolitan was contracted to do at half of that amount is left to rot.
An impeccable source close to the office of the permanent secretary of BASEPA said, “Cosmopolitan is managed by a brother to the governor one Aminu Cola from Jos. The governor overlooked the company’s incapacitation to retain its service for undisclosed reason. It seems the governor is more interested in the survival of the company not the welfare of the people because his relation is involved. Let him give half of what he pays Cosmopolitan to BASEPA and see wonders”.
247ureports gathered from Bauchi that one of the reasons why the state is yet to have an executive council and other aides is for the governor and his close relations to remain in control of government to accumulate some money through contract awards and unnecessary domestic and foreign travels of no significant value to the state but to corner foreign currency while the State House of Assembly has compromised and now a rubber-stamp of the executive as the Speaker is alleged to be incompetent to check-mating the executive.
“The Speaker and majority of the Honorable Members were idling away lacking legitimate source of living while few were political miscreants and hangers-on. The executive knows where the shoe pinches and with token amount, the conscience of the members is bought. Bauchi state has missed the point this time around
“The governor has neither a focus nor vision to move the state forward. What he knows best is how to arrange his travels, deceive the people and award contracts at unbelievable amount. We thought PDP was corrupt but from what we are experiencing today, PDP was better. We are regretting our action of not voting the people we know” said the source.
In a related development, a chieftain of APC in the state, Alhaji Bappah Tafida who actively participated in the mega-merger that gave birth to APC, had alleged that majority of APC members are relegated in the scheme of government affairs by the M.A Abubakar led-administration despite their efforts to stabilize the polity.
Tafida said, “We labored from different fronts to defeat PDP and we are now victims of a systematic mal-administration. Bauchi administration is for family, relations and friends to the governor. The few appointments made indicate where the pendulum swings. Instead of a local government election, we are told that civil servants will be appointed to manage the local government councils which the PDP used to siphoning council funds against development. M.A Abubakar is now copying the same system against the progress of the councils.
“He promised to keep the people informed of the monthly generated revenue and expenditure of the state. We are yet to have that information even once. We only hear of N4billion loan from UBA, N4billion from Fidelity bank, N15 million bribe to members of the State House of Assembly and a wasted foreign trip to Czech Republic involving his biological son, his Chief of Staff, Chief Security Officer and hand bag carrier, Tahir Ibrahim Tahir. Nothing tangible is on the ground in the state to justify the loans and unnecessary domestic and foreign trips other than bogus claims. A road rehabilitation contract of less than 3 kilometres was awarded at over N2billion while renovation of the governor’s office and residence gulped over N900million in a poor state like Bauchi that needs prudency”, he said.
Meanwhile 247ureports reliably gathered that an Abuja based pressure group, National Congress for Democrats plans to organize a peaceful demonstration in Abuja against non-performance and suspected insincerity of the APC administration in Bauchi for a lasting solution to the on-going game of alleged siphoning of public funds.
