Whereas governor Bala Muhammad’s making more money, thanks to Tinubu, he’s borrowing billions beyond belief.
To quote the Nation’s Sallah day editorial, while most states have significantly reduced their reliance on borrowing, with many of them paying off substantial chunks of their debt burden, Bala seems to be doing the opposite.
Bala borrowed over ₦26 billion between January and March this year while receiving over ₦47 billion from FAAC, as per the Budget Implementation Report Q1, 2025 (BIRQ1).
On this trajectory, Bala is poised to burden Bauchi more by borrowing over ₦100 billion this year alone, exceeding his ₦85.9 billion borrowing plans, as contained in his 2025 appropriation law. Last year, Bala borrowed ₦106.2 billion, over and above the budgetary provision of ₦95 billion. (BPRQ4 2024). These figures were preceded by another ₦97.6 billion being borrowings in 2022/2023, according to the budget performance reports.
Extrapolating Bala’s borrowing figures, he’s on course to add, at least, another ₦200 billion debt by the end of his 23 month unexpired term of office.
It’s valid to argue that public borrowing is not necessarily nuts. But not when Bauchi is awash with cash from FAAC, again, thanks to Tinubu’s reforms which Bala bad-mouths at every turn. Not when other serious states are doing more without borrowing a Kobo, à la Prof Soludo, the governor of Anambra State.
In the last 3 years, Bala’s borrowings breached ₦230 billion barrier, whereas Soludo stayed stainless within the same period, and did better.
To copiously quote the Vanguard of March 16, 2025, Governor Soludo, without borrowing one Kobo, “have commissioned over 750 kilometres of roads, with more than 400km already completed. Additionally, [Soludo] have recruited over 8,000 teachers and rehabilitated public schools to enhance the education sector.” With zero borrowing, Soludo said: “We achieved remarkable progress in youth empowerment, agriculture, security, and the health sector. Today, Anambra is leading in health in Nigeria.”
So don’t say Ƙaura is doing projects. Projects my foot!
It’s not only Soludo, Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna too has NOT borrowed a Kobo “from any local or international financial institution since he assumed office two years ago.” (Daily Trust, 29 May 2025).
Abdullahi Sule is another governor who isn’t borrowing to develop his State. Since 2019, when he assumed office, Nasarawa “had not secured bank loans to embark on developmental projects.” (This Day, 2024).
More, Abdullahi Sule’s doing flyovers, roads and other projects in Keffi, Akwanga, Lafiya and all over. Yet, “not one naira for the projects going round the state is borrowed,” according to Sule. He added, “We are doing it one hundred per cent from the improved IGR and the improved monthly subvention without borrowing any funds.”
Perhaps the difference between governors like Sule and Ƙaura is that the latter’s projects were phony or corruptly and grossly inflated. For instance, take the Bauchi Government House upgrade: A ₦16.1 billion boondoggle falsely reported as ₦6.6 billion project. We only know this because the state Audit Report exposed it.
Or he’s using consultants as a ruse to misappropriate public funds. Governor Bala’s has already paid his ‘financial consultant’ ₦6.1 billion from Bauchi State money, as reported in BIRQ1. This financial consultant got over ₦16 billion from Bala last year and over ₦22 billion in 15 months, (January 2024-March 2025). This financial consultant has eaten too much and must be let go and investigated and prosecuted.
To borrow Thomas Jefferson’s words, does governor Bala have the right to bind another governor to his dubious debts? Like Jefferson, I think not. Thus, Bala must stop borrowing money that he can’t repay in the dying days of his full term of office.
Bala should focus more on cutting fraud, waste and abuse in his government. He can establish Bauchi version of Musk’s DOGE to achieve that. He needs to start with the phony overhead costs of ₦112.6 billion, out which ₦33.4 is already (mis)spent in Q1 this year. (BIRQ1). And I’m certain he’s going to revise the 2025 budget and surpass the ₦138.7 billion overhead expenditure of last year.
Finally, since governor Bala’s now the bona fide leader of ‘Boko Shirme’ shrine , i’ll like to point out to him some Muhammadiyya prescriptions that emphasize fiscal discipline, warn against borrowing and debt overhang.
Firstly, Bala should start to pray the way Prophet Muhammad prayed: “O Allah, I seek refuge with You from sin and debt.” (Agreed upon). Secondly, he should reflect on the words of Caliph Umar (RA): “Beware of debt, for it starts with worry and it ends with war.” (Muwatta`Malik). Lastly, he should know that if Bauchi were a person and dies today with this debt burden, his soul will be “held hostage by his debt in his grave until it’s paid off.” (Tirmidhi). And even if he were martyred, “he would not enter Paradise until his debt was paid off.” (Nasa’i).
Hence, your excellency, stop the borrowings, liquidate your debt, (like Jigawa governor did), reduce sleaze, waste and abuse in order to not pass a bankrupt state to the next Bauchi governor.
Saadu Umar is the Chairman of the APC Publicity Committee, Bauchi State.
