A Taraba State socio-cultural group, the Taraba Peoples Assembly, TPA, has condemned as wasteful spending, the flamboyant celebration of Governor Dairus Dickson Ishaku’s 100 days in office, warning the governor to stop showcasing achievements of the immediate past administration as his projects.
The Assembly, in a statement signed by its Coordinator, Martins Andekin, said Ishaku’s government has not achieved anything in its 100 days as none of the seven items ascribed to him was initiated, funded or completed by him.
“The most bizarre of the so called achievements is the brazen claim to the improvement of power supply to the state. It is common knowledge that the Federal Government, under President Muhammadu Buhari, had achieved the record breaking feat of over 4000 megawatts of electricity. Accordingly, power supply has improved nationwide.
“The credit for the expansion of power to the state goes to former acting governor, Alhaji Garba Umar. Umar bought and installed over fifteen transformers and electrified some towns and villages to boost power supply in the state. How many transformers has Ishaku bought?” the group queried.
According to the group, it is very important for Tarabans to note that the mini power project commissioned by Governor Darius on the Mambilla Plateau was fully completed during the tenure of Acting Governor Garba Umar.
“The Darius Ishaku administration did not contribute a single kobo to the project apart from the commissioning ceremony,” Andekin stressed.
They further pointed out that killings and cases of IDPs in the state has worsened as no adequate assistance is being sent to them by the government while refuse dumps, lack of water has crept back to the state capital.
“We are seriously wondering how the provision of water to Jalingo can be such a big deal. All that the water supply agency requires is the release of its monthly running costs to enable it continuously manage its operations. The truth is that the social services ministries and departments have been denied their monthly allocations since December 2014, thereby grounding their activities”.
“The 8 million naira said to have been released to the water supply agency is far below the millions of naira spent on the celebration of birthday and 100 days in office for Ishaku.”
According to the group, refuse dumps and blocked drains have continued to choke people around the state capital because the Ministry of the Environment has not been given running costs and the casual staff not paid for almost one year, since the departure of former Acting Governor Umar.
The group added that civil servants and pensioners in the state are been subjected to the harrowing and nightmarish spectacle of delayed salaries and benefits.
“Wages are now paid more than two weeks into the next month and the only reason for this is the boring tale of inheriting debts. If Darius has no solution to the problems he is claiming to inherit, there are many people who can do better. Other states have hit the ground running, but Taraba State has been tied down with trivial issues and unnecessary bickering,” Andekin said.
Below is the full text of the press statement:
Last week Saturday, Governor Darius Ishaku organized a lavished and ostentatious birthday carnival in his hometown, Takum. The occasion was also to commemorate his 100 days in office and to showcase his achievements within the period. During the occasion, glossy and expensive booklets were distributed to the guests, including all political appointees and Heads of government departments in the state, outlining Governor Ishaku’s supposed achievements in 100 days.
As usual, it is a farrago of lies and a fictitious claim of achievement that cannot be traced anywhere. In short, the government has not achieved anything in one hundred days, as none of the seven items ascribed to him was initiated, funded or completed by Governor Ishaku.
The most bizarre of DDI’s so called achievements is the brazen claim to improve power supply to the state. This claim was initially orchestrated by some gullible aides and desperate supporters; but we were seriously embarrassed and astonished to see it listed as his government’s achievement. It is common knowledge that the Federal Government, under President Muhammad Buhari, had achieved the record breaking feat of over 4000 megawatts of electricity. Accordingly, power supply has improved nationwide. Where is Governor Ishaku’s contribution in this development? We are completely dazed as to how the payment of electricity bills incurred by the Government House and offices can translate into “improvement of power supply to the state”.
Governor Ishaku’s government is simply engaged in a spurious campaign of deception to fool Tarabans into believing that the government had any hand in the improvement of power supply or distribution to Jalingo. This is a comical and crude lie. The credit for the expansion of power to the state goes to former acting governor, Alhaji Garba Umar UTC. Alhaji Umar UTC bought and installed over fifteen transformers and electrified some towns and villages to boost power supply to the state.
The towns and villages included Marraba Apawa, Pantinapu, Suntai, Dogo Yalli (Karim Lamido LGA). Other locations in Jalingo, the State capital are the PDP State Secretariat, Jalingo Motel, Presidential Lodge, Deputy Governor’s residence and Yegai Academy. How many transformers has Ishaku bought?
It is also very important for Tarabans to note that the mini power project commissioned by Governor Ishaku on the Mambilla Plateau was fully completed during the tenure of Acting Governor Garba Umar. The project was ready for commissioning more than two weeks before he was removed. The Darius Ishaku administration did not contribute a single kobo to the project apart from the commissioning ceremony.
One sector which enjoyed generous propaganda from the Darius regime is the issue of water supply to the state capital. We are seriously wondering how the provision of water to Jalingo can be such a big deal. All that the water supply agency requires is the release of its monthly running costs to enable it continuously manage its operations. The truth is that the social services ministries and departments have been denied their monthly allocations since December 2014, thereby grounding their activities. The 8 million naira said to have been released to the water agency is far below the millions of naira spent on the celebration of birthday and 100 days in office for Ishaku.
One of the case points of the non-release of running cost to ministries is that refused dumps and blocked drains have continued to choke people around the state capital because they cannot be removed and cleaned as the Ministry of the Environment has not been given running costs and the casual staff not paid for almost one year since the departure of former Acting Governor Umar.
Despite the fictional claim of restoring water to Jalingo, most residents still have no water and those that receive supply, do so only once a week and under one hour. The water vendors are still in business in Jalingo and the situation has even become worse as most of the vendors have gone home to their farms.
We are also aware that Governor Ishaku has been paying regular inspection visits to the new housing estate along the UMCN Junior Seminary, Mile Six, with the aim of not only commissioning it but also claiming it as his own achievement. In fact, the commissioning ceremony was scuttled because the government under Ishaku had failed to approve funds for the extension of electricity and water to the estate.
As usual, he has refused to acknowledge that the project was initiated by the Umar administration and was almost completed at the time of his court sponsored removal. While we agree that governance is a continuing project, deliberate attempts should be made to recognize previous contributors.
Similarly, the Ishaku regime has announced the release of N300 million to the contractor handling the completion of the Bali-Gembu Road from Gashaka. All along, the reconstruction of the road from Bali, for which the Umar UTC administration had paid N11.9 billion, has been conspicuously denied.
Where does this culture of denial take us to? Tarabans, who have not been beclouded by religious or tribal sentiments, can see for themselves that nothing is happening in the state, except the unusual barefaced propaganda. Never in the history of our dear state had civil servants and pensioners been subjected to the harrowing and nightmarish spectacle of delayed salaries and benefits as they are seeing today. Wages are now paid more than two weeks into the next month and the only reason for this is the boring tale of inheriting debts.
If Darius has no solution to the problems he is claiming to inherit, there are many people who can do better. Other states have hit the ground running, but Taraba state has been tied down with trivial issues and unnecessary bickering.
If leakages have been blocked as the government is claiming, then the government ought to have saved enough money to pay wages on time. During his sent-off as minister for Niger Delta Affairs, Architect Darius Ishaku told his audience that political and communal killings in the southern and central part of the state will automatically stop, once he assumes duties as Governor of Taraba State.Tragically, the killings are still going on after his one hundred days in office.
Just like week, the District Head of Namnai was killed with his aides on a peace mission. The case of IDPs in Taraba State has worsened, as no adequate assistance is being sent to them.
Governor Ishaku claimed in his list of achievements that he provided logistic support for the military and police in the state. Also, to the best of our knowledge, no single security vehicle has been bought by the government except the 10 patrol vehicles donated to the state government by Zenith Bank, as part of its corporate social responsibility.
As part of his achievement, Governor Ishaku said he “signed” a N700, 000,000 {seven hundred million naira} loan agreement with Bank of Industries. How can this be his achievement when the counter fund of N350, 000,000 {three hundred and fifty million naira} was paid since last year by the Garba Umar administration? Governor Darius will need to tell us his actual achievements in one hundred days. So far, we have not seen any.
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