Armstrong Allahmagani, Bauchi
Hundreds of constituents and supporters of the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, have disowned him and pledged their loyalty and support to the Bauchi state governor, Sen. Bala Mohammed.
NATIONAL ACCORD had reported that Dogara and governor Mohammed have been in a verbal war since he (Dogara) dumped the People’s Democratic Party and joined the All Progressives Congress last Friday.
In his letter of resignation from the PDP which he addressed to the Chairman of the PDP Bogoro ‘C’ Ward, Bogoro Local Government Area of Bauchi state dated 24th July, 2020, Dogara, who represents Dass/Tafawa Balewa/Bogoro Federal Constituency in the Lower Chamber, said he was resigning his membership of the ruling party in the state because governor Bala Mohammed was making the same mistakes the former governor made which led to his defeat in the 2019 election in the state.
He raised six issues of unfulfillment of campaign promises, mismanagement of resources, lack of respect to elders and traditional rulers in the state, in his letter.
But Governor Mohammed described Yakubu Dogara as a “pandemic” in politics following his defection.
He also accused Dogara of contract inflation in the project he is executing in his Constituency.
He said these when hundreds of his supporters from Dass, Tafawa Balewa and Bogoro local government areas where Dogara represents, paid him a solidarity visit at the Government House in Bauchi.
The governor said that the votes he got during his election as Senator and just recently as Governor have always been far more than the votes he has ever gotten in his own Constituency.
He said: “Besides Bauchi LGA, there is no place that gave me many votes like Dass, Tafawa Balewa and Bogoro and in the past, these same votes were given to me at the time I contested under ANPP, the votes I got then were 20 times more than that of Dogara.
“Now, that I contested for governor, the votes I got were also more than his votes as Member and because of that, whatever I will do to you, I won’t do it because of Dogara, I’ll do it because of God and because of myself.
“Those lies he said about me, he said that we don’t give allocations to the LGAs, but have they LGAs been like this before? Have you not been seeing what we are doing there?
“Was it not Dogara that brought the road project from his pocket from Bogoro-Dull-Burga at N17 billion and it has not been completed and it is just 45 kilometers. But I am constructing a road from Burga-Yelwan Duguri, a 56 kilometer project at N9 billion, who inflated contracts? And the project will soon be completed.
“The road projects we did in Azare, Akuyam, Sabon Kaura, Gombe road and even the ones that we didn’t start, we have all finished them. Where is the truth that you (Dogara) gave 50% mobilization and the person has said he has completed the project 100%, so what is his problem?”
“He is just talking because if you see a dog running, it is either it is running to get something or something is chasing it. We pity him because he has become an epidemic in politics but we, in our capacity as brothers, especially we the elders, he has become a disgrace. We only depend on God, you (Dogara) are nobody, imagine now that God made me your governor, should I now disrespect you?”
Mohammed said that during the last election, he supported Dogara to win despite the fact that the former governor refused to give him the ticket but chased him out of the APC.
“Mohammed Abubakar chased him out of APC even while he was four in the country (Speaker House of Representatives) but the person I chased out of government was the person that chased him out of his party. Dogara is a son to me because I served as a Senator and he is serving as Member of the House.
“God favoured him and that was why he became the Speaker and honestly, I do not look down on him, I used to see him as our leader because of that elevation,” he stated.
The governor said he cannot fight with Dogara because “he (Dogara) is too small) pointing out that those who are even more than him tried but they failed.
“(Former Governor) Ahmed Muazu is his godfather in politics and Mohammed Abubakar chased him (Muazu) out of APC, I also chased out Mohammed Abubakar and Dogara is too small for me to fight with,” he said.
He said wondered why he will not support Dogara, whom he alleged wants to become Vice President of he supported him while he was the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
He said: “The battle line has been drawn, we will reply him the way he wrote to us. He doesn’t peace in his Constituency and he is using small children who claimed to have supported, that are just like maggots in politics, they are too small for us to fight with in politics. He has become a prostitute in politics and it is a shameful to us.
“I respect Prof. Suleiman Bogoro who is Dogara’s godfather but since he has been fighting him (Bogoro) he will definitely fight me. He who fought his father will not leave his neighbour.”
He challenged Dogara who has said he will come to Bauchi and do a rally that “we are waiting for him to come and if he doesn’t do it, he has belittle God. I call on Security agencies not to relent and allow someone come from somewhere and cause us trouble, we will not allow that.”
Speaking earlier on behalf of the Dass, Tafawa Balewa and Bogoro communities, the chairperson, Bauchi State Orphans and Vulnerable Children Agency (BASOVCA),
Hassana Arkila, said they were at the Government House to show their solidarity with the Governor.
She said that “if we reject Bala Mohammed now, people will stone us” because of what the God has done to the people of Dass, Tafawa Balewa in his short time in office.
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