Stakeholder of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Bauchi state have reported the state governor, Mohammed Abubakar to the national leadership of the party, accusing the governor of not using the bail out fund collected from the federal government worth over N8.6 billion for the benefit of the people.
The stakeholders who were led to the national secretariat of the party on Friday by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara included the Minister of a Education, Adamu Adamu, Senator Suleiman Nazif, Senator Ali Wakil and other members of the national Assembly from Bauchi state.
Loading ...The meeting which started at about 5.00pm and lasted for about one hour was attended by the National Chairman of the party,mischief John Odigie-Oyegu. And the National Secretary, Mai Mala Buni.
Speaking with newsmen after the meeting, their spokesman, Senator Suleiman Nazif said they were at the National Secretariat to draw the attention of the party to issues affecting the APC in Bauchi, denying reports that they were fighting the governor because of the 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 a 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”.
Also speaking, Senator Ali Wakil said 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 bail out fund for the purpose for which it was meant.
He said if other states can use their bail out 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 involded
“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. 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 non payment 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.
