I Did Not Divert Intervention Funds to Bauchi- Sadiya, Under fire Minister

From David Kuvie Bauchi

Embattled Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouq, has denied diverting funds meant for the various government intervention programs to Bauchi state for political purposes.

The minister’s husband, former Chief of Air force, Air Vice Marshal Saddique Abubakar, retired, is the governor ship candidate of the All Progressives Congress in Bauchi State.

The Minister also denied abandoning her office and relocating to Bauchi to push the political interest of her husband who is contesting the 2023 governorship of Bauchi state.

Sadiya Umar Farouk was reacting to allegations levelled against her by a group, ‘APC Initiative for Good Governance’ that the Minister had diverted Social Investment Programmes funds meant for the entire country to Bauchi State.

The Minister who reacted through her Media aide, Nneka Ikem Anibeze dismissed all the allegations in a statement made available to Journalists in Bauchi late Friday evening.

She states that the Minister did not divert public funds meant for the country to Bauchi State.

“At no time did Umar Farouq divert Social Investment Programmes meant for the 36 states and the FCT to Bauchi, nor did she ever abandon the responsibilities in her office to relocate to Bauchi” the statement which read in parts stated.

“On the contrary, she has been working tirelessly and assiduously to ensure that no vulnerable Nigerian is left to go hungry, and to also lift them higher than where she met them” .

“Since the creation of the Ministry in August 2019, at least 20 million Nigerians have so far been empowered through various programmes and initiatives of the Ministry” .

“The Hon. Minister Umar Farouq wishes to categorically state herewith, that she will not be deterred by belly-aching detractors who will stop at nothing to derail the lofty Social Investment Programmes of His Excellency President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration whose declared agenda is to lift 100 million vulnerable Nigerians out of poverty by 2030”

She said that the Ministry , under the National Home Grown School Feeding Programme, fed a total of 9.9 million children from primary 1 to 3 in 53,000 public schools nationwide one hot nutritious meal every school day.

“This includes the upskilling of 1,064,774 youths in the graduate and non graduate programmes under the N-Power scheme, of which the number of beneficiaries in Bauchi state ranked 11th out the 36 states and the FCT,”it added.

“The highest number of beneficiaries are from Benue, Delta, Enugu, FCT, Kaduna, Kano, Lagos, Osun, Oyo and Rivers states before Bauchi” .

“Under the National Home Grown School Feeding Programme, a total of 9.9 million children from primary 1 to 3 in 53,000 public schools nationwide are currently being fed one hot nutritious meal every school day”

“Bauchi state is the 4th highest in terms of benefitting number of primary schools behind Kano, Benue and Kaduna states. In addition, Kano state has the highest number of children being fed, followed by Katsina, Kaduna, Niger, Jigawa, Benue before Bauchi,” Nneka Anibeze stated

“The Hon Minister, represented by the Permanent Secretary, recently flagged off the Cash Grant for Vulnerable Groups on July 4, 2022 in Oshogbo, Osun state. The faceless group may wish to explain to it’s followers, why Hajiya Sadiya Farouq did not start the distribution of Cash to Vulnerable Groups in Bauchi State”, he stressed.

“Sadiya Umar Farouq is a detribalized Nigerian politician, mother and wife. She spreads love evenly to the poor and vulnerable regardless of their state of origin, tribe or religion”

It further noted that Sadiya Umar Farouq is a native of Zamfara state and married to a former Chief of Air Staff, Air Vice Marshal Abubakar Sadique stressing that, “By virtue of her marriage to an indigene of Bauchi state, the full rights of any Bauchi woman have been bestowed on her” .

The Media Aide concluded that, “Therefore, the unregistered and unknown APC Initiative for Good Governance group cannot stop her from reaping or sowing the seeds of development in her husband’s state to the extent of its rightful share from the Ministry she heads, neither can their mischievous falsehood prevent her from supporting the political interest of her husband,”.

It will be recalled that the group had warned the Minister to steer clear of Bauchi politics and face her responsibilities as a Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.