The fiscal problems plaguing the State of Bauchi under the leadership of the Yuguda administration appears unending as the appetite of the 1st family continues an open exhibition of insatiability towards the State coffers. This is according to information recently made available to 247ureports.com through sources within the Executive arm of the Yuguda administration indicating that the treasury of the Bauchi State administration may have gone dry owing to the unregulated spending behavior of the State Governor and his close associates.
The State financial administrators of Bauchi’s bank accounts at the Finbank/FCMB appear to have unleashed a fertilized recklessness towards the State monies kept in their care. As 247ureports.com inquiry revealed, the main bank account housed at the Finbank/FCMB with the account number 212430000642501 has repeatedly been overdrawn by the Yuguda administration to the tune of N300million on the average, monthly – for a period stretching over two years. The other two accounts operated by the State government are not faring well either. Specifically, the account operated under the Secretary to the State Government [SSG] at the Finland/FCMB with the account number 212430000677001 – and the account operated under the Treasury department at the same bank with the account number 212430000532701 are frequently overdrawn – to the tune of N100million and above. Of which experts in financial management who spoke with our correspondent indicates that the frequent negative balance was symptomatic of a griever problem within the state administration.
Adding gravitas to the financial maladies, State checks [cheques] issued the State contractors, upon completion of their jobs, have begun to bounce upon presentation at the payment counter at the bank because of lack of funds – the Bauchi State government, in effect, issued dud checks to contractors. A cursory count points to about six contractors. The contractors who have refused to be mentioned by name, told our correspondent [and shown copies of the bounced checks to our correspondent] that the checks issued to them bounced upon presentation. They added also that the incidence of issuing dud checks has become increasingly recurrent. The six checks were issued against the main Bauchi State account at the Finbank/FCMB with the account number 212430000642501.
The financial maladies appear worsened by the Chief of Staff, Alhaji Yusuf Musa Gumli whom Governor Yuguda virtually handed the day-to-day operation of the state government. According to one of the aggrieved cabinet level officials, the Chief of Staff was made in charge of receiving all correspondences from cabinet level officials addressed to the Governor. The Chief of Staff was authorized by the governor to sieve through the correspondences and to use his discretion to determine which correspondences required the governor’s attention. And so, all the Commissioner’s official correspondences to the Governor are channeled through the Chief of Staff – including requests for money. As gathered, the Chief of Staff tampers with the correspondences that has to do with requests for money – to the extent that he returns the letter/correspondence to the Commissioner ‘instructing/advising’ that the value of the money requested be adjusted upwards to include his share. This practice is said to have gone on for some time.
While the State government battles to stay financially liquid, the 1st in the State appear to be enjoying the fruits of Bauchi State’s labor. According to highly credible information received by 247ureports.com, the 2nd wife of the Governor, Mrs. Biodun Isa Yuguda recently completed the erection of an estate in Lagos [picture of estate to come soon]. The estate, valued in excess of N665million, was completed late last month. Mrs. Biodun Isa Yuguda recently purchased a home in a luxurious suburb near London in the United Kingdom. The value of the house is not readily known but it is certain the value far exceeds her income. Keen observers of the Bauchi polity who are conversant of the ongoings at the government house query Mrs. Biodun’s source of income.
The various Local Government Areas [LGAs] financial accounts are not spared by the operatives of the Yuguda administration. As gathered, the security operatives staged in Bauchi State, the-likes of the Joint Task Force [JTF] and the State Security Services [SSS] in connivance with agents of the Yuguda administration are reported by sources to have been collecting from each LGA Chairman monies for upkeep of the security in the State. Last month, the sum of N5million was collected from each of the LGAs and paid directly to the leadership of the security operatives for security maintenance. It is worthy of note that the federal government already provides for the financial needs of the security operative deployed to Bauchi State. The state government also had earmarked the sum of N17billion for security upkeep of the State.
Concerned citizens of Bauchi State who have a keen grasp of the activities surrounding the security upkeep of the state and monies earmarked for the project, point to the SSS Director as being fraudulent with his duties in the State. Some of the concerned citizens indicated that the SSS Director uses the threat of insecurity to ‘shake-up’ the state government and the various local government into ‘letting go’ untold sums of money to ‘maintain the peace’.
One of such ‘shakeups’ at the Tafawa Balewa LGA following the Bauchi State Government relocation of the Headquarters of the local government from Tafawa Balewa to Bununu led the Caretaker Committee Chairman of the Local Government Alhaji Idris Ibrahim Halilu to cry foul – stating that, “when we are relocated we moved some of the council properties to Bununu, but we left many in Tafawa Balewa based on advise. The security operatives advised us to stop moving the council properties for now in order to achieve sustainable peace, and as law abiding citizens we obeyed their advice”. The LGA present operates with temporally files without its archives or historic data.
Meanwhile the state government has awarded N11.6billion worth of contracts to firms believed to be fronting for the Secretary to the State Government. The sum of N2.6billion contract was awarded for the erection of a federal teaching hospital while N8billion was awarded for the erection of an International Airport. Seventy [70%] percent mobilization fee equivalent to N8.4billion were paid out before the start of the two projects. Source allege that a large portion of the money was shared among close associates of the governor.
