Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, has defended his criticism of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s policies, stating that he has no apologies for speaking out against measures he believes are inflicting hardship on the people.
WikkiTimes reports that Governor Mohammed had criticised President Tinubu for churning out policies that leave many Nigerians in hunger and economic deprivation.
The Governor had slammed the President’s policies in the wake of the #EndBadGovernance protest saying he is implementing policies inflicting hardship on the people.
However, while condemning the federal government’s actions, Governor Bala has yet to account for funds the state received from the federal government, intended to alleviate these hardships.
During a State Executive Council meeting at the Government House in Bauchi on Wednesday, Governor Bala pointed out to recent protests as a wake-up call for all levels of government, stressing the importance of listening to public outcry against poor governance.
“It’s crucial that we listen when Nigerians raise their voices against poor governance, especially in areas where expectations have not been met,” he said, highlighting both national policies and global economic conditions as contributors to the struggles faced by the people.
“Whoever made harsh or critical remarks about me must understand that it’s the cost of leadership, and I have no apology for that. My comments were not meant to cause disaffection or insult anyone. This isn’t about partisan politics—it’s about responsibility.” he added.
However, Governor Bala has come under heavy criticism especially from the oppositions for his failure to transparently explain billions of naira President Tinubu said to have released to state governors to expand livelihood support for citizens.
The President in his nationwide broadcast on August 4, specifically addressed the nationwide protest – which commenced on August 1 – revealed that the federal government released over N570 billion to the 36 states to alleviate the hardship.
“Also, more than N570 billion has been released to the 36 states to expand livelihood support to their citizens, while 600,000 nano-businesses have benefitted from our nano-grants. An additional 400,000 more nano-businesses are expected to benefit,” Tinubu said.
Although the president did not detail what each state received from the amount, notably, each state, including Abuja would have received approximately ₦15.4 billion from these funds if it were shared equally.
Despite the governor’s persistent criticism of federal policies, he has not provided details on how these substantial funds have been or will be utilized to ease the hardships of Bauchi residents.
