Bauchi State governor, Bala Mohammed has attributed the hunger in the country to some economic policies introduced by President Bola Tinubu, noting them factors responsible for the anger of the citizens that led to the #EndBadGovernance protests.
The Governor also explained that the President’s broadcast on Sunday failed to address the grievances of the youths, thereby fueling them to continue with the already embarked protest over hunger and hardship.
Mohammed, who spoke on Wednesday during the flag off ceremony of the local government election campaign of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at the Dr Rilwanu Suleiman Adamu Square, Bauchi State Government House, blamed President Tinubu for not taking inputs from state governors before the nationwide broadcast.
He said, “The youths are with us, and we are with them. We always have respect for people, especially their opinions. The protests have shown us many things. It appears that the All Progressives Congress (APC) leadership of the country has woefully failed.
“I listened with all attention to the speech of Mr. President, and I say with humility and courage, that what he said was empty! It did not agree with the situation. It did not address the problem and challenges bedeviling the country”, he said.
Governor Mohammed added that the problems of the nation cannot be blamed on the youths alone, but also on leaders from the Presidency to subnational and to the local government levels, “and we can see the manifestations with different colourations, from the North to the South.”
“In the North, there is a very big wake up call for us to bring good governance. There is hunger and anger. We have to really address our problem of development. Unemployment is everywhere, our educational system is not working”.
Governor Bala stressed that, “The new policies of the federal government are not working. They have to understand that. It is their problem. It is their programmes that have caused us these problems, so they have to change.”
He further explained that the state government was ready to change its ways to bring good governance and not pass the buck.
“I have heard, and with regrettable attention, some of the ministers of the federal government are saying that we have been given 70 trucks, N570bn, but how much did the federal government get?
“Why should they bring policies that are causing pain? On your behalf, I’m telling Mr. President Tinubu, to change his policy because it’s not working. Anything he does affects the subnational, the local governments in every corner, in every political party, as our leader,” he said.
He further said that, “If he continues like this up to 2027, I will invite him to be our campaign director because everywhere will then be PDP, and we are going to win because it will be a self-inflicted injury. We know it’s time for governance”.
“We, as opposition are keeping quiet because we don’t want to overheat the polity because the federal government is doing so many things to cause disaffection, and we want to say with humility, this must stop,” the governor added.
Mohammed, who is also the Chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum, said his counterparts in the PDP-controlled states have listened to the protesters, including the APC governors too, but lamented that the federal government has always given excuses.
As a way out of the row, Mohammed advocated dialogue, even as he said his administration has executed numerous projects in the state for the electorate to vote for candidates of the PDP in the August 17 election.
Governor Bala assured that his administration would continue to support the effective operation of all tiers of government to enable people at the grassroots benefit from the dividends of democracy.
