The All Progressives Congress (APC) has described Governor Bala Mohammed’s comments over President Bola Tinubu’s speech as jettisoning of his own share of the responsibility to address hungry and poverty, while serving as state governor who receives billions of naira allocation monthly from the federation account.
WikkiTimes reports that Governor Mohammed while commenting on Tinubu’s nationwide speech following waves of mass protest in the country as being empty and failed to address the problems of hunger and poverty which necessitated the protest after fuel Subsidy removal.
However, reacting in a statement signed by Chairman of Bauchi APC publicity committee, Sa’adu Umar and made available to reporters on Saturday, said Governor Mohammed failed to put the billions of naira disbursed to Bauchi to solve issues of hunger and poverty over which he criticised the APC-led federal government.
He said the governor’s comment may indicate an inclination towards sustaining the protests, adding that the protest did not succeed in Bauchi as it did in other parts of the country.
“The governor parroted disparagingly the false claim of emptiness of President’s speech. It may be that understanding English, the course he studied in Maiduguri, is leaving him.
“For instance, Tinubu talked about removing taxes and import duties on food import to reduce prices of food. Aren’t high prices and availability of food part of the issues raised by the protesters? The speech also talked about how Tinubu is raising aggregate government revenues and was able to raise N9.1 trillion in the first half of the year. And has reduced the amount of revenue used in debt servicing by about 30%. Isn’t our debt burden and lean revenue affecting our Naira and restricting provision of infrastructure and social welfare?” the statement read in some parts.
Umar said governor Mohammed was an integral parts of administration of former President Good luck Jonathan when fuel Subsidy was first removed but vent angs against President Tinubu’s government for removing subsidy on fuel.
He added that, “Agreed,there are challenges, yet President Tinubu’s policies are wrong. For instance, the policies are the reason governor Mohammed now receiving billions and billions in monthly allocations-up to thrice as much as he used to receive.
“It’s sad to hear governor Mohammed blabbed that the billions and billions he is collecting from Abuja are valueless. He must be deluded or deceptive or both. Surely, the poor and hungry people he talked about can say the money is valueless.
“But the governor and his boys are getting value out of our money. If it weren’t so, he couldn’t have built the mansion he lives in now. His commissioners and appointees wouldn’t have built the big houses scattered all over Bauchi. They wouldn’t be buying and building property elsewhere.”
