By Umar Akilu Majeri, Dutse
The director of information Jigawa state under the Saminu Turaki administration and the former national coordinator of the PDP northern region campaign of the Late President Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, Alhaji Ishaq Hadejia, today, challenged the qualifications of the Jigawa State governor to vie for the office of the President in 2015. He challenged the governor to come clean on the allegation of forgery certificate and the poor quality of leadership rendered so far in Jigawa State.
Alhaji Ishaq Hadejia, who is now a member of the opposition party, All Progressive Congress [APC] in Jigawa state, stated that Governor Sule Lamido lacked the leadership quality to rule the country in 2015. He stated this in an exclusive interview with 247ureports.com.
Alhaji Ishaq Hadejia called on informed observers to compare the infrastructural development on ground in the State against the many billions “looted by the Lamido administration”.
Available information indicates that Governor Sule Lamido was a secondary school dropout – who following his rise to Governor’s seat quickly rose to the ranks of multi-billionaire. Allegations from competent quarters indicate that he may have gone beyond enriching himself – to enrich his sons and his extended family. While he served as the federal minister of foreign affairs, he owned no significant buildings or properties – but with his accession to the seat of Jigawa State Governor, he erected major structures scattered across the landscape of Kano State. According to Alhaji Ishaq Hadejia, “billions of Naira meant for Jigawa state government was diverted to his elder’s son account”.
Alhaji Ishaq Hadejia continued to reveal that one of Lamido’s commissioners diverted virtually all developmental projects originally earmarked to various regions in the State to the Governor’s hometown in Birnin kudu local government. Birnin kudu local government received projects worth over N30billion.
“Lamido’s government is a selfish government” lamented Alhaji Ishaq Hadejia – as he continued to add that “Jigawa people will not allow people like Lamido to continue deceive the people in the state. The government of Jigawa state is trying to play with our intelligence – to start executing project that will never be completed – in order to win the mind of the people – as part of presidential campaign. It will not be possible”.
Alhaji Ishaq Hadejia said he learnt that Jigawa state government is planning to execute N10billion worth of projects to the people of Hadejia at the tail end of his 8 years in office. “But the people of Hadejia can see why he is suddenly acting to placate them”. Alhaji Ishaq Hadejia cautioned that those who are advertising Lamido as a presidential flag bearer “are deceiving themselves because Lamido could not perform and he too knows that he cannot”.
He continued, “There are many Nigerians who are qualified to lead the country better than Lamido”, – that there is no need devoting time on “Lamido who don’t have even secondary school certificate, who is arrogant and lacking in language discipline”.
He urged Nigerian to make a better choice in the next coming election to elect leaders that could perform better and be useful to Nigerians – those who could protect lives and properties of the people not people like Lamido. “Lamido has lots of problem which everybody knows. His nature of rudeness is unrivaled”.
“How will Nigerians allow such people to lead them? I know if Nigerians mistakenly elect Lamido as president in 2015 they will regret it because poverty will increase in the country. Jigawa people are now in hardship. Many people were injected with poverty in the state. So how could we advertise such people to be elected as leaders in the country? We here in Jigawa we have made that mistake and we will not do it again and we will not allow Nigerians to copy it” he stated.
“If Lamido wants to help Jigawa people, he should improve the farming activities. He should use that N30billion spent in his local government for agricultural purpose. It will help the farmers boost farming activities in all the 27 local government areas in the state”.
Alhaji Ishaq Hadejia also commented on the recent effort by the Lamido administration to bring foreign investors to the State. In his words, “all the investors who attended the Jigawa economic summit to invest on various trades in the state have understood that anybody who mistakenly sinks his money in Jigawa will never make any profits because Jigawa people consider the summit as toothless”.
“The investors should be very careful of the 419 arrangement between the Lamido and his political father Obasanjo”.
