As the 2023 General election is approaching aspirants on various elective positions continue to emerge, with Politicians from all walks of life maneuvering and scheming to find ways that they will be acceptable to people ahead of lifting of political campaign by electoral body.
Minister of Humanitarian Affairs Sadiya Farouq allegedly is one of such politicians who is using her office to do what it seems Like campaigning for her husband Air Marshal Sadiq who is one of the gubernatorial aspirants in Bauchi State under the flatform of APC.To monuvered her way Farouq engaged the services of the biological elder brother of her husband and his Non Governmental Organisation pumping resources to him in the name of giving Humanitarian assistance to orphans and less privileged in the society.
In doing that not only elder brother to her husband has a say and many Bauchi believed that he sidelined them and sidelined all APC supporters except those in the camps of Air marshal Sadiq who are the only beneficiaries of gesture from the ministry of Humanitarian assistance.
When President Muhammadu Buhari was sworn in for a second term last May, he hinted at plans to strengthen his administration’s response to surging poverty and various humanitarian crises afflicting the entire country. As a result of that On August 21, last year, Buhari created the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management, and Social Development and nominated Sadiya Farouq to head it.
Part of the Ministry’s responsibilities is to coordinate the administration’s Special Intervention Programmes (SIPs), and superintend over the humanitarian policies of the government. In the ministry are subsumed six federal agencies, namely: the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Person (NCFRMI),; North East Development Commission; National Emergency Management Agency; Social Investment Program; Sustainable Development Goals and the National Agency For Prohibition And Trafficking In Persons.
Instead of the Minister to assist all manners of people without discrimination in the humanitarian sector and bring succour to citizens in Bauchi State she introduced politics of hatred and discrimination in support of only supporters of one gubernatorial aspirant. The Elder brother of her husband allegedly used to distributes food items and cash to the people he choose whom he called vulnerable citizens of Bauchi but in the other way round campaigning for Sadiq.
In some communities they construct boreholes and allegedly pledged so many bounties to them if Sadiq become Governor 2023. The minister turns public funds and maneuvered it the way she want without engaging relevant authorities and relevant stake holders who are the custodian of their communities as a result its given to only few selected individuals.
It was alleged that the minister sidelined Bauchi State Government, Traditional and community leaders when you sidelined real custodian of the communities and depend on one person how do you know the communities and vulnerable among them, you can’t enter a house that is not your own and understand everything in that House without the knowledge of the owners.”
We are the real indigenes of Bauchi State, the minister is not from Bauchi, and even the group she hired doesn’t know all the books and crannies of Bauchi. How can they cover the state without stake holders? Because of her divisive attitude she faced a lot of criticisms and controversies on the job. For example it was reported that , there is this persistent allegation of corruption especially in her handling of the N500 billion yearly funded Social Investment Programmes with many of its beneficiaries across social media calling for her resignation from office over delay or non-payment of their monthly allowances.
She has also been accused of nepotism over her distribution of federal government grants during the COVID-19 lockdown across Nigeria, a development that led to the leadership of the National Assembly calling for a total review of the process of distribution. In December 2019, Sadiyya was reportedly queried by the office of the President for exercising powers beyond her official briefs after she employed more aides than officially approved and for also delaying the payment of the monthly stipend of N-Power volunteers.
Social Investment Programmes SIP, the SIPs are Mr Buhari’s measures to help poor Nigerians especially unemployed youth and other vulnerable citizens alike to cushion the effects of poverty on them through cash transfers, cash-for-work, N-Power, and national school feeding program for primary school pupils.
Since the beginning of the programme, the scheme was domiciled in the office of the Vice president, Yemi Osinbanjo during president Buhari’s first term in office. It has since been moved to the Humanitarian Affairs Ministry at the inception of the President’s second term in office It was reported that , an since then the payment of the funds for vulnerable persons witnessed long delay.
In the interests of Justice and fairness to all Nigerians President Muhammadu Buhari should call the minister to order and anti graft agencies like EFCC and ICPC and National financial Intelligence agency should monitor the payments of the funds, and ensure that the funds always reach the real beneficiaries, because even the 20,000 funds claim to have distributed to Women many are yet to get their share.
The Independent National Electoral Commission INEC should also monitor the activities of the minister and her collaborators who started campaigning even before the time of campaign in order to stop Electoral fraud.
Mallam Bibi Dogo, Elder PDP Bauchi State.
