Democracy Day: Join hands with me, Bauchi gov urges APC, NNPP politicians

From Paul Orude Bauchi

Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed has appealed to his opponents in the last general election to join hands with his administration to provide good governance to the people of the state.

Governor Mohammed made the appeal on Monday in a good will message on the occasion of Democracy Day saying the period of campaign is over and now is the time to work for the development of Bauchi State.

The governorship election was keenly contested by Mohammed of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) who defeated Air Marshal Saddique Abubakar of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Senator Haliru  Jika of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP)

“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,” the governor said.

“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”

Governor Mohammed the 24th Democracy Day of the country is a testimony to the fact that democratic governance has not only been firmly rooted but has also come to stay in Nigeria.

“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,” he opined.

“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 of elections.  

“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 wellbeing” 

He said the new mandate given to him by the good people of the State to preside over the governance of the State for another four years is a challenge to prove that his 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,” he said.

“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.

“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 myriads of challenges that have held the State backwards over the years. 

“Successive Administrations in the State had done what they could to move the State forward since its creation in 1976. 

“However, their best was not good enough to take Bauchi State where it ought to be when compared with its contemporaries. 

In order to improve on our 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.

“With the review of the blueprint, our second tenure, would witness aggressive execution of life touching projects across the State. All on-going projects would be completed and new ones would be embarked upon. 

“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. 

“Priority would also be given to human capital development through economic empowerment, especially of our teeming youth. 

“Security is also on our priority list.  We would therefore, continue to collaborate with and support security agencies to rid the State of crime and criminal elements”