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, Abubakar 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.”
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