Nimake Earland
Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State has warned Local government chairmen conniving with criminals to wreak havoc in communities to desist from such as he will no longer tolerate incompetency from them
He warned them to brace up in order for them to be autonomous as he observe that most of the Chairmen do not have the capacity to rule.
Governor Mohammed who stated this while addressing some of the Chairmen on the security challenges bedeviling their Councils at Banquet Hall of Government House said “It would appear you don’t even have the capacity for the autonomy we are giving you. You are only after the money, not the challenges. You can see how we are using very small resources to do a lot of things.
He said “We have to do that in some cases you say I have not been given Money, the thing you have been given is what you have, that is what we have been given too at the state level.
The governor further states “The commissioners responsible for all these are here, especially local government and housing and environment, and culture and tourism, it’s unacceptable. Even if the commissioners are not there, the permanent secretaries were there.
That is why the head of the service is here. I want to know who is behind the destruction of our forest reserve especially in Ningi and Toro local governments. They must be fished out immediately. And those settlers that came without authority, I’m not saying people cannot come and settle, but we must know, we cannot destroy the forest, Nigeria is for everybody, people can come, but you cannot come and be falling trees.
In between them, there are criminals, hooligans, and charlatans. Honestly, we are going to discuss these three major issues with you and of course some of the projects and programs that we are going to do with you because we have Freed some resources which you are going to do.
From the way local government chairmen are behaving, it would appear that they don’t have the capacity to do it. Unless they give me assurances of the money I am taking I will return it back. It is not just the goody.”
He urged them to work in harmony with traditional institutions and the security agencies
“You must take the gauntlet of responsibility. The meeting is just going to discuss the issue of insecurity, land speculation, of course, projects and programs in the local governments including the issue of autonomy and the joint projects that you are doing, which is exclusively yours.
He assured them of releasing their funds if they convince him they can handle it.
“I want you to start paying your salaries. I am tired of the treasury micromanaging your salaries and you are blaming them for ghost workers. You will take responsibility for your resources. What you don’t know, we augment salaries of certain local governments, whereas some have enough.
We can not continue to take from Paul to pay Peter. We will be giving you your money and you should know how to utilize it. Where you can not then you have to do away with the excesses of expenditure.
The situation whereby Bauchi is spending about five hundred million nairas on salaries a month is unacceptable. Three hundred million nairas is not enough to pay salaries in Toro because there are dead people and the rest, people living in Abuja and collecting salaries and you know them and this should be stopped by the treasury, they have refused to do it, and you have given me assurances that you are going to do it.
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I will try so that you will be able to do it yourselves, one-two-three months, I have discussed with your commissioner. Let’s try that system, let us see.
I discovered this thing was migrated during the last administration of Malam Isa from the local government to the center.
And the fraud is perpetuated electronically now. The nominal roll is flawed, you cannot control them. I agree you cannot control what you don’t have access to. We are going to give you your destinies in your hands, let us see it as a trial of what will happen since you have given assurances. If you are able to do that, you will be able to do us proud.”
