The Bauchi State governor, Mohammed Abubakar, has denied purchasing N96million horses for emirs in the state.
On Tuesday, the state commissioner for Local Governments and Chieftaincy Affairs, Nusriddeen Mohammed, reportedly told journalists in Bauchi that the state government had purchased horses for the emirs worth N96million.
But the governor said the commissioner was quoted out of context as the amount was cumulative expenditure on the traditional institutions for Sallah festivals in the last two years.
Read the full statement…
Governor Mohammed Abubakar has dispelled news a story published in some newspapers reporting the State commissioner for Local Governments and Chieftaincy Affairs, Alhaji Nusriddeen Mohammed, to have told journalists during a ministerial press briefing that the government had in the last two years spent N96 million on the purchase of horses for emirs.
According to a statement signed by press secretary to the governor, Malam Abubakar Al-Sadique, the administration treats the emirate councils with the highest of respects, but noted that “the Commissioner was clearly quoted out of context in the report in question, because the amount of money said to have been spent on the purchase of horses in the stories, was actually the cumulative amount disbursed in the last two years to the six emirate councils for the preparation of the past four Sallah celebrations, and not the purchase of horses as reported”.
The statement said the administration of Governor Mohammed Abdullahi Abubakar “accords priority attention to Sallah celebrations, which had been put on hold for some years in Bauchi State before the coming of this administration due to insecurity that ravaged most of the Northeast region and as well as its potentials of showing that normalcy has returned to Bauchi State, in addition to showcasing the tourism potentials of Bauchi, which the state Government is trying to harness as alternative source of revenue”.
The statement further explained that it was in realization of the assurance of peace and security in the State that 60,000 hectres of land was recently allocated for the cultivation of sugarcane and the establishment of 200 million USD sugar milling plant and refinery through public-private partnership with Geolo Global Company Limited as the Promoter of the plant and Horley of London as financiers of the project under a Memorandum of Understanding with the State Government on the establishment of the sugar milling plant, refinery and farm for the cultivation of sugarcane.
Under the MoU, the statement explained, the proposed sugar milling plant and refinery will produce 5,000 metric tons of sugar per day and create 5,000 direct and indirect employment opportunities in Warji local government area of the State, and generate 50 million naira revenue internally and 53 megawatts of electricity to be used by the plant and the entire state through the national grid.
The statement quoted Governor Abubakar to have said while signing the MoU, that the project was a “testimony to the administration’s resolve to attract investors to the State in the critical areas of agriculture, tourism and solid minerals, which were identified as areas of comparative advantage” and as a good alternative source of revenue to petroleum.
The statement also quoted the managing director of the Geolo Global Company Limited, Mr. Daniel Oluigbo to have explained that “Warji is the ideal place for siting the company because of its large expanse of land and suitable water source, said the company is glad with the warm reception it received from the state”, adding that the company is cooperating with the state and its people by contributing to building its economy.
The statement said 200 graduates are to be trained to take over the management of the plant in the future, as the State government takes 25% of stake in the company with the additional benefits of providing the host community with the needed infrastructures in schools, clinics, portable water, and electricity, in addition to producing 80% of sugar for exported while the remaining 20% will be left for the local market.
All these, according to the statement are some of the benefits derivable from the guarantee of peace and security of live and property of potential investors which the state under the leadership of Governor Mohammed Abubakar is struggling to attract.
According to the statement, it was also the same peace and security in Bauchi state that recently resulted in the signing of a partnership agreement worth 27.5 billion US Dollar investment in solid minerals with a Chinese Consortium of Investors to explore selected minerals and establish a Pithead Power Plant project that will contribute 3,500 megawatts of electricity to the national grid.
“In addition to generating over $250 million annually from the project, the Consortium will construct a 2,500 bed General Hospital with matching facilities worth $30 million to the host communities as its corporate social responsibility which will benefit the people of the State and entire Northeast region” the statement added, stressing that a special purpose vehicle, the Bauchi Mining Synergy and Exploration Limited, has been established to serve as framework for Public-Private-Partnership to acquire mining rights of virgin minerals terrain and take over all viable titles that failed to meet the Mineral and Mining Act of 2007 requirement.
The statement therefore maintained that it was in that light that the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Barrister Nasriddeen Mohammed, made the disclosure during the press briefing of the N96 million spent in the past two years on the preparation of the celebrations of four past Sallah in the six emirates of Bauchi, Katagum, Misau, Dass, Jama’are and Ningi.
Governor Abubakar therefore urges the people of Bauchi State to disregard the reported news as his administration continue to explore ways of improving the lives of the common man as promised during electioneering campaign.
Malam Abubakar Al-Sadique is the Press Secretary to Governor Mohammed Abdullahi Abubakar,June 7, 2017
