From Ahmad SAKA, Bauchi
Bauchi State Governor, Senator Bala Mohammed Abdulkadir has declared that the celebration of the 23rd democracy day is an indication that democracy is now firmly rooted in Nigeria and has come to stay.
The Governor also declared that there is no better alternative to democracy as a form of government that gives the people the right to choose who to govern them and how they want to be governed.
According to the Governor, “It is this democratic right of choice that puts elected governments at both the national and State levels on their toes so as not to incur the wrath of the electorate by being voted out of power during the periodic of elections” .
Bala Mohammed made the assertion in his goodwill message to the people of the state in celebrating the 2022 Democracy Day saying that, “That we are today celebrating the 23rd Democracy Day is a testimony to the fact that democratic governance has not only been firmly rooted but has also come to stay in Nigeria” .
He said that, “It is gratifying to note that the primary elections of all the political parties preparatory to the 2023 general elections were conducted peacefully. This is a testimony of the entrenchment of democratic values and norms in our political system” .
He added that, “It is my hope that this attribute would be replicated during the 2023 general elections. I appeal to political parties and contestants of various elective offices to prevail on their members and supporters to be law abiding and peaceful in the conduct of their electioneering campaigns”.
He reminded the people saying that, “As you will all recall, Democracy Day used to be observed on the 29th of May, of every year. However, the date was changed to 12th June in 2018 by the Federal Government in honor of late Chief M.K.O. Abiola as the truly democratically elected President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria during the election held on 12th June, 1993”.
“Without wanting to sound immodest, I make bold to say that since we came on board as a government in 2019 courtesy of the mandate given to us by the good people of Bauchi State we have justified the confidence reposed in us by executing various developmental projects for the social-economic wellbeing of the people of the State”, the Governor stated
While giving a synopsis of some of the developmental projects of his administration in the past three years, the Governor said that protection of lives and property of the people has remained a primary responsibility of his Government.
According to him, “We have therefore taken it upon ourselves to ensure security and guarantee a peaceful and tranquil atmosphere for the citizens of the State. To ensure prompt response to emergencies as well as for the maintenance of peace , the State Government procured 50 units of operational patrol vehicles to security Agencies in the State” .
He added that, “To this end, we have been working in synergy with security agencies. In spite of our effort to maintain law and order, however, some undesirable elements are trying to cause confusion and disorder in the State. Recent communal disturbances at Gudun Sayawa, Gudun Hausawa and Yelwa in Bauchi Local Government and Warji in Warji Local Government are matter of serious concern to the State Government”.
The Governor also said that a Committee has been appointed to investigate the remote and immediate causes of the disturbances and identify those behind them with a view to meting out appropriate penalty against them. I wish to appeal to you all to continue to be vigilant and report any suspicious movement of personsto the nearest authority.
In the area of infrastructure, the Governor said that his administration has constructed and rehabilitated roads in both urban and rural areas across the State saying that, “In addition to constructing new schools and hospitals, the dilapidated school and hospital buildings have been rehabilitated and provided with equipment.
“In the area of water supply, the upgrading of the Bauchi Urban Water Supply Scheme has been completed and commissioned. We have also rehabilitated boreholes and sunk new ones across the 20 Local Governments of the State”, he said .
On agriculture, he said that Government has been giving necessary support and encouragement to farmers through the provision of agricultural inputs like fertilizer, herbicides and agricultural machinery at subsidized prices.
The Governor added that Government is also working towards transforming the agricultural sector from subsistence to mechanized system so as to increase income generation for farmers thereby increasing the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Speaking on education, Bala Mohammed said that, “As a responsible and responsive government, we are committed to restoring the lost glory of the education sector. To this end, we have embarked on immediate, medium and long term measures aimed at turning around the sector” .
According to him, “We have accordingly embarked on training and retraining of teachers in order to improve teaching and learning. Relevant Agencies are being supported to enrol the out of school children into schools. Government is improving existing facilities in schools so as to ensure retention of students up to completion period”.
He stressed that, “Our tertiary institutions of learning are also getting the attention and support they need for the conduct of their various academic programmes” .
The Governor stressed that, “One of the cardinal objectives of our Administration is youth and women empowerment and development. This is for the purpose of encouraging and supporting our teeming youth and women to engage in the task of nation building and to become productive and self-reliant”.
He added that, “Consequently, the Kaura Economic Empowerment (KEEP) has so far been launched in fourteen Local Governments. A total of seventy five Million Naira is spent in each Local Government to provide Starter Parks, motorcycles, buses, livestock, sewing and grinding machines etc for selected beneficiaries”.
According to him, “The programme had earlier distributed 1,000 tricycles (Keke NAPEP) to the erstwhile communal motorcycles riders as soft and revolving loan. A total of 154, buses had also been provided and distributed to other members of the public also as soft and revolving loan”.
On healthcare delivery, he said that his Government has placed high premium on health care delivery service saying that Government has allocated 16.2% of the 2022 State Budget to the subsector which is above the Abuja declaration of 15%.
He also said that, “We have built four new General Hospitals at Azare, Dambam, Warji and Duguri. Primary Health Centres have been constructed and existing once have been renovated across the State , one each in the 323 wards . Hospital equipment, furniture and electro – medical equipment have also been provided to health facilities across the State”.
He further said that approval has been granted for the recruitment of 100 medical Doctors to run health facilities just similar approval has been granted for the engagement of 1,060 medical/paramedical students on pre-service scheme to bridge the gap in human resource for the health sector.
The Governor said that, “I want to reiterate the irrevocable commitment of our Government towards the provision of more dividends of democracy.
