Dogara leads six parties to unseat Bauchi governor

Six political parties and their governorship candidates in
Bauchi State have formed a coalition with the aim of defeating the
state Governor, Mohammed Abubakar.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara; and
an elder statesman, Alhaji Bello Kirfi, led a delegation that
announced the development at a press conference which held on
Sunday in Bauchi.

The governorship candidates in the coalition are those of the
Peoples Democratic Party, Bala Mohammed; People’s Redemption Party,
Prof Ali Pate; Advanced Congress of Democrats, Baheejah Mahmoud;
Green Party of Nigeria, Adamu Jumba; and People’s Democratic
Movement, Ahmed Iliyasu.

Other stakeholders who signed the statement were aggrieved All
Progressives Congress’ governorship aspirants, Dr Yakubu Lame,
Senators Abdul Ningi, Nazif Gamawa, and Isa Haman Misau as well as
members of the House of Representatives, Ahmed Yerima and Salisu
Ningi.

They hinged their merger on the grounds that the incumbent
governor had failed to deliver any tangible development to the
state in the last four years.

Kirfi, who read the text of the press conference on behalf of
others, said the task to unseat the state governor during the
forthcoming elections must be accomplished.

He said, “The reason for this unanimous decision is because of
the widespread and increasing poverty in Bauchi State during this
administration, as evidenced by statistics from the National Bureau
of Statistics.

“There is lack of any meaningful infrastructural development in
the state to fuel economic revival, despite significant capital
inflows amounting to more than N50bn from the Federal Government
and other sources.

“There is also poor educational infrastructure, resulting in the
worst record in out-of-school children in Nigeria.”

He said the stakeholders had expected the APC national
leadership to support the people’s yearning for genuine change
through due process and internal party democracy.

He regretted that the APC failed and compounded its mistakes by
further misguiding President Muhammadu Buhari to recognise Abubakar
as the party’s candidate despite his emergence through alleged
unjust and anti-democratic means.

He added, “This blunder by the national leadership of the APC
has heightened the risk of Mr President losing significant number
of his loyal followers in Bauchi State.

“Consequently, members of the coalition have resolved to work
hard together to ensure M. A. Abubakar is defeated during the
governorship election holding on March 2, 2019.”

Dogara alleged that the billions of naira the state received
from federal allocations had been misappropriated.

“Instead of using the money to ensure infrastructural
development in the state, they decided to use it to produce
billboards and using the remaining balance to pay youths to guide
these billboards,” he alleged.

He further alleged that the state governor was planning to
remain in power by causing violence during the elections.

“They should desist from planning to kill our relations because
if anyone is killed, we will not only defeat him, we will get just
one bus and send him away so that Bauchi will have peace. We will
defeat him so that he doesn’t continue to destroy the state,” he
said.

The Press Secretary to the Bauchi State governor, Abubabakar
Al-Sadique, who spoke on the telephone said the governor had
performed excellently, adding that the APC was strong in the
state.

He said, “The major drivers of the major political parties in
the state such as the former Deputy National Publicity Chairman of
the PDP, Senator Babayo Gamawa; two former governors of the state,
Adamu Muazu and Isa Yuguda; former secretary to the Government of
the Federation, Yayale Ahmed; two former deputy governors and
several others from the National Assembly and those who have held
top positions have all joined the performing governor.

“The beauty of democracy is that it is the people that decide
who they want to lead them, and if somebody feels otherwise it is
his rights; but in the end, it is the majority that have their way
and the minority their say.”