Members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), in Bauchi State have been urged to resist any attempt by the powers that be in the party, to impose former Governor of the State Barr. Mohammed .A. Abubakar, SAN, as the party’s gubernatorial candidate ahead of the 2027 elections.
The call was made by a chieftain of the APC in the State, Captain Bala Jibrin, while addressing a Press Conference at the Conference Hall of the NUJ Press Center on Monday.
He went on to say that if eventually he won the party gubernatorial ticket, people of Bauchi State should reject him during the elections as he has nothing to offer considering his first term between 2015 and 2019.
According to him, “his return as Governor in 2027, would amount to imposing a rejected harm on the state.”
Bala Jibrin asked rhetorically, “What is it that MA Abubakar, SAN, forgot at the Government House that he wants to go back to pick after 8 years?
Bala Jibrin who on a few occasions had aspired for the governorship of the State, cited the 2019 elections that got M.A Abubakar defeated as an incumbent by Sen Bala Mohammed, as a sign of failure to impress the people after 4 years.
He stressed that those events leading to APC’s loss of the State to the PDP should serve as a lesson for those pushing for his second return.
Bala Jibrin who served as Higher Education Commissioner during the tenure of Isa Yuguda as Governor, criticized MA Abubakar, SAN, for abandoning 38 Medical Doctors trained in Egypt under a state scholarship programme.
According to him, the programme cost the then Administration, the sum of $3.42 million, equivalent to about N5.3 billion at current rates, covering 23 female students at Ain Shams University, Cairo, and 15 male students at Alexandria University.
He alleged that MA Abubakar, SAN, refused to employ the Doctors after their graduation, despite them signing bonds to serve the State for a number of years before leaving if they do wished.
The retired Pilot and Aeronautical Engineer, said that Bauchi state urgently needs the Doctors, particularly the female graduates, in order to make up for the shortfalls of staff in the hospitals across the State and provide care for women.
He singled out the case of one female Doctor who completed her studies but could not obtain her MBBS certificate due to an outstanding sum of $8,000 fee for two repeated academic sessions after having children during the course of the study.
He said the failure to pay the amount nullified the $90,000 already spent on her training and delayed her entry into Nigeria’s medical system.
He however stated that it took the kind intervention of the Governor of Borno State, Prof Babagana Umara Zulum who paid the amount before the certificate was eventually released during a visit to Egypt.
He said the certificate was handed to the Doctor by the Minister of Foreign Affairs in Abuja in a ceremony widely covered by the media, exposing the State to ridicule.
He stressed, “Whereas, MA Abubakar, SAN, failed, refused to pay, but the neighbour with a large heart, filled with love, compassion, and devoid of envy, paid the $8,000.00.”
The APC chieftain also raised issues of abandoned road projects, including roads in Federal Low-cost, Jos Road through Zaranda Hotel to Miri, and questioned spending on agriculture and education during the tenure between 2015 and 2019.
He alleged that students in tertiary institutions were not paid stipends and that pensioners suffered during verification exercises.
Addressing former Governor Isa Yuguda, believed to be one of the strong advocates of the return of MA Abubakar, SAN, directly, he asked whether he was pleased with the loss of the sum of N5.5 billion spent on the medical training programme during his tenure.
He then urged Isa Yuguda to make an instant U-turn and avoid supporting MA Abubakar, SAN, return in 2027.
Also speaking of the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Mohammed Ali Pate, he recalled his 2018/2019 departure from APC to PRP following the primaries and questioned why he would now back MA Abubakar who was one of the reasons he left the APC then.
He said that Bauchi voters had supported and rooted for Ali Pate’s candidacy until recently and warned that his reputation was at risk if he continues with the backing of MA Abubakar, SAN, for a return to the Government House.
According to him, “We have bled enough. Do not kill us. Doctors save lives. You should be aiming higher ‘GCFR’ or at the minimum ‘GCON’.”
Bala Jibrin concluded that residents across Bauchi State’s 20 local government areas would resist any attempt to return MA ABUBAKAR, SAN, to office, saying “no amount of lobby would bring back Barr. M.A. Abubakar, SAN.”
He also called on former Bauchi state Gov. Isa Yuguda and Health Minister Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate should not short-change Bauchi people by supporting Abubakar’s candidacy.
He said that both men have a measurable level of integrity and risk damaging their reputations if they continue back the former Governor.
According to him, “The whole of Bauchi State will hold you individually and jointly responsible for what may befall us in the event of your insistence on pushing down our throats the man, Barr. M.A. Abubakar, SAN.”
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