ARMSTRONG ALLAHMAGANI, Bauchi
The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Bauchi state has questioned the State government on the whereabouts of 118 trailers of foodstuffs donated to the state by the federal government since the government claimed that hoodlums invaded the COVID-19 palliative warehouse and found it empty.
Recall that Governor Bala Mohammed on Sunday tweeted on his verified Tweeter handle that hoodlums invaded the warehouse where COVID-19 palliatives were kept but were disappointed because it was empty.
The governor in the tweet said that all the palliatives received by the state government were shared to the beneficiaries across the state.
He added that the Chief of Staff, Government House, Dr. Ladan Salihu, ordered that the warehouse be opened to the hoodlums but they left disappointed because there was nothing inside.
But the APC said, in a statement signed by its State Publicity Secretary, Adamu Aliyu Jallah, and made available to journalists in Bauchi on Tuesday, said it observed with dismay the claim by the PDP led government in the state that it distributed all palliatives received from the federal government to the people of the state describing it as “a baseless claim.”
The party said that the state government shared only the palliatives donated to the State by the Coalition Against COVID-19 (CACOVID).
It added that if the government claims that it had distributed the palliatives across the 20 local government areas of the state, then, it should publish the names of beneficiaries of the palliatives from the federal government through the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs.
The APC said: “We recall that within the week, the government claimed that hoodlums attacked the warehouse of the state to cart away the foodstuffs but went home disappointed having allegedly found an empty store.
“If really the hoodlums found an empty warehouse, then the government should tell us the whereabouts of the 118 trailers of foodstuffs donated to the state government by the federal government.
“Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Sadiya Faruk, brought the palliatives to the state on 6th September, 2020 for distribution to the needy and the items were received on behalf of the government by the Deputy Governor Baba Tela.
“The question is where are those foodstuffs and to whom were they distributed? Of course, the state government claimed that it shared foodstuffs in some local governments, but the ones they shared were the ones donated by wealthy individuals and donor agencies.
“What happened to 118 trailers of foodstuffs donated by the federal government?
“The foodstuffs donated include 1,728 metric tonnes of maize, 235 metric tonnes of millet and 1,668 metric tonnes of sorghum.
“We challenge the state government to publish the list of beneficiaries of the first tranch of palliatives sent by the federal government and the second tranch of 118 trailers received on behalf of the state by the deputy governor.”
The opposition party said that if the state cannot publish the names of the beneficiaries, “then the governor should withdraw his claim that he has distributed all palliatives received and bring out the palliatives from wherever he is hiding them and start sharing it to the people of Bauchi state without delay.”
But in a swift reaction, the Publicity Secretary of the PDP in the state, YayaNuwa Zainabari, dismissed the APC’s allegations saying that the palliatives were shared across 19 of the 20 LGAs in the state.
He said: “The people of Bauchi are witnesses that since the state started receiving assistance of donations, the government has never delayed and refused distributing these palliatives to the people they were meant for.
“It was even not to politicize this that the Governor appointed the Emir of Bauchi to head the palliation Committee. Let the APC go and meet their governors to know why they refused to share the palliatives and kept them and have been playing politics with it because they are not performing in their states.”
On the governor’s tweet, he said it was true that hoodlums actually invaded the warehouse and it was opened for them to see that there was nothing inside.
Zainabari directed our Correspondent to go to the Emir of Bauchi, Suleiman Adamu who is the Chairman of the Palliation Committee to get the names of the local government coordinators and subsequently get the names of all this who benefited.
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