June 12: No better alternative to democracy as form of government — Bauchi Gov 

As Nigeria marks another Democracy Day, Bauchi State Governor, Sen Bala Mohammed Abdulkadir, has posited 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.

The Governor stated that 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 periodic elections.   

The Governor said this while speaking in a goodwill message to mark the 2023 Democracy Day celebrations on Monday, set aside by the Federal Government in honour of  late Chief M.K.O. Abiola as the truly democratically elected President of  the Federal Republic of Nigeria during the 1993 election.

“That we are today celebrating the 24th 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.

According to the Governor, “As you all know, following my recent re-election  as the Governor of the State,  I was sworn-in on 29th   of May, 2023 to serve in this capacity for another four years.

“Without wanting to sound immodest, I make bold to say that my re-election is a testimony of the confidence reposed in our Administration by the good people of Bauchi State as a result of the execution of various developmental projects for their social-economic well being.”

Continuing, the Governor noted that “Having been re-elected to serve the state for another four years, I wish to extend my hand of friendship to my co-contestants for the office of the Governor of Bauchi State to, in the spirit of sportsmanship, join me in the task of taking our dear State to greater height.

“Bauchi is the only State we can call ours.  We must therefore forget about whatever happened during the electioneering campaigns and come together to collectively  work for its economic, social and political development. We owe the  current and  future generations the duty of making  Bauchi State a better place to live in. We cannot afford to do  otherwise, as posterity will not forgive us.”

Bala Muhammad stressed that the “new mandate given to me by the good people of Bauchi State to  preside over the governance of the State for another four years, is a challenge  to me to prove that my performance during the last four years was  not a fluke. 

“We would, during the next four years, by the grace of God, prove that we have a plan to continue to work for the betterment of the socio-economic condition of the people of Bauchi State.  Indeed, our intention is  to positively make a difference in the lives and  livelihood of our  compatriots, and at the end of it all to  leave the State a much better place  than we found it. 

“With all sense of humility,  I want to state that during the last four years, we performed creditably in various spheres of human endeavour, ranging from construction of roads in both urban and rural areas, construction and rehabilitation of  schools and health facilities, water supply, supply of agricultural inputs and machineries, human capital development through economic empowerment, among many other initiatives under our Greater  Bauchi Project,” he stressed.

According to him,”The various projects we executed in the last four years were in line with a blueprint we had  developed even before  our election in  2019.  The blueprint which is called “My Bauchi Project” was produced after painstakingly studying the myriad of challenges that have held the State backwards over the years.”

The Governor said that successive administrations in the state had done what they could  to move the State forward since its creation in 1976 saying, “However, their best was not good enough to take Bauchi State where it ought to be when compared with its contemporaries.”  

He said that in order to improve on the performance during the last four years, a  technical committee was constituted to review the blueprint on “My Bauchi Project” with a view to assessing the level of delivery of dividends of democracy and recommend how to address any grey areas and the way forward.

He further assured that with the review of the blueprint, the second tenure would witness aggressive execution of life touching projects across the state. 

He also assured that all on-going projects would be completed and new ones would be embarked upon stressing that infrastructural development in the areas of road construction, construction and rehabilitation of  educational and health facilities, water supply, agricultural inputs and machineries would continue to receive the desired attention.  

The Governor added that Priority would also be given to human capital development through economic empowerment, especially of our teeming youth adding that security is also  on the priority list of the administration assuring that,  “We would therefore, continue  to collaborate with and support security agencies to  rid the State of  crime and criminal elements.”  

Bala Mohammed said that, “Like most other States, Bauchi State Government depends almost entirely on funds from the Federation Account as its source of revenue.  Due to uncertainty in the global oil market, there is the need for us to   look  inwards to diversify  our  economy.  This will entail boosting agriculture through provision of adequate  inputs, encouragement of farm mechanization and deployment of extension workers to guide our farmers for improved crop production and animal husbandry.”

He said that the solid minerals and tourism sectors would also be given the priority they deserve while the Government would also provide an enabling environment to facilitate the ease of doing business  for  the establishment of new commercial enterprises and improve the existing ones.  Small and medium enterprises would also be supported to thrive.

He then reiterated the commitment of his Administration to accountability and transparency in governance saying that, “the resources at our disposal would continue to be judiciously used for the common good of the people of the State. We would  continue to  ensure value for money for the projects that would be executed.” 

“To this end, the resources we have, would be deployed for maximal effect on the socio-economic development of the State. We cannot afford to embark  on projects that have little or no effect on the wellbeing of the generality of the people of the State,” the Governor assured.

According to him, “In the spirit of participatory democracy, inclusiveness would continue to be the hallmark of our Administration. We would carry along the various segments of the State to give them a sense of belonging.” 

He assured that, “Inputs for good  governance of the State would be welcomed from individuals and organizations through appropriate channels. We consider each and every one resident in the State a stakeholder. Although we have undertaken to serve you to the best of our ability, we don’t have the monopoly of knowledge or wisdom. As stakeholders you have roles to play either as individuals or groups,  in the socio-economic development of our dear State.”

The Governor then used this occasion to reiterate the  commitment of his administration to address the lingering problem of  omissions in the payment of salaries and pensions in the State.  

“As a responsible and responsive  government, we cannot afford to allow the  civil service and civil servants to suffer.To do this would mean  grounding  Government activities, as the civil service is the vehicle for the implementation of Government policies and programmes,” he said.  

Bala Mohammed assured that,”We would  therefore,  take  holistic and far reaching measures to, not only bring  to an end the problem  of omissions in the payment  of salaries and pensions, but to also enhance the welfare of staff generally.  With  the  adoption of the Contributory Pension Scheme, the problem of payment of pension and gratuity would soon be history.”

The Governor concluded by thanking the good people of Bauchi State for giving him the opportunity  to serve them for another four years saying,”The trust and  confidence reposed in us would not be taken for granted. We have restrategized to faithfully justify the confidence by providing more dividends of democracy across the State in the next four years.  I humbly appeal  for your continued support, cooperation and understanding as we strive to make Bauchi State a place  that we will all be proud of.”