From Paul Orude, Bauchi
Some former aides and kinsmen of former Speaker of the House of Representatives Yakubu Dogara are at daggers drawn following a sharp division on who to support between two prominent gubernatorial candidates in the state in the March 18 election.
While one group is loyal to Dogara and aligned itself with the former Speaker to support the All Progressives Congress (APC) gubernatorial candidate, Air Marshal Saddique Abubakar, the other group has pitched their tents with Governor Bala Mohammed of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
The pro-Bala Mohammed group, who claimed to be former legislative aides to the former Speaker, berated Dogara and dissociated themselves from his political stance to support the APC Gubernatorial candidate.
The first group of kinsmen and former aides had announced that they had deserted Dogara because of his political antics which are heating up the polity in the state with regard to the gubernatorial elections.
Led by Barrister Kefas Magaji, who lost in the last election to represent Bogoro/Dass/Tafawa Balewa Federal Constituency, said Dogara had become a liability and criticized him for working against the interest of the incumbent governor who they said had performed well to deserve a second tenure.
Branding Dogara as a politician who has lost his electoral value, this group of former aides berated Dogara for his verbal attacks on Governor Mohammed saying they all amount to lies.
However, reacting to the development a second group of former aides to Dogara said that those so-called former aides were “disgruntled elements” some of whom were hangers-on that Dogara had been helping for almost 20 years
The former Aides led by Yau Dass who was reacting to some allegations levelled against Yakubu Dogara by Magaji and his cohorts during a press conference in Bauchi.
Dass said that ordinarily, they would not have responded to the allegations, but for the question they raised, they felt they should put the record straight.
“it was not surprising what we heard from Magaji yesterday, 14th March 2023 in a Press Conference. Those allegations were unfounded lies from the blues coming from someone nursing the pains of losing an election should not surprise any sensible person,” Dass said.
“The press conference by the so-called concerned Zaar and claimed ethnic groups of Tafawa Balewa and Bogoro Local Government Areas of Bauchi State was informed by the tears of Governor Bala after a series of failed media propaganda of what happened in his hometown, Duguri.”
On that premise, no segment of our community and the state should take those monumental lies with a pinch of salt.
“It is pertinent we ask them the following questions: Where were they when Governor Bala Mohammed constructed thousands of housing units and refused to allocate a single unit to Tafawa Balewa and Bogoro Local Governments?
” Why didn’t they fight for Zaar Land to get even a single unit? Where was Kefas Magaji when Bala Mohammed was busy developing the Bununu area while no single project was allocated to Tafawa Balewa town and Saghn Gami land? Did he ever fight for any projects anywhere near Zaar land, and if he did, where are the projects? Let them name the projects”
He added that “ask them to tell Zaar people where Bala Mohammed got the billions he used to build the biggest private residence in Nigeria in Bauchi at the time he failed and refused to pay workers salaries and pensions since 2019. Ask them to tell us if the reason advanced by the Bauchi Emirate Council for removing Wazirin Bauchi from his office is not disloyal to the governor. Further, ask where in any religious book is a father obligated to be loyal to his son.
Yau Dass further said that: “What are the consequences of dishonouring a father in the scriptures and if it’s a curse why would any reasonable person especially someone who is either a Christian or Muslim be engaged in leading a campaign to enthrone a cursed person as a leader on our people.”
“Ask them to tell the people where Bala Mohammed got the billions he spent in his failed run for the Presidency when workers and teachers were dying because he refused to pay their salaries and promotion arrears.
He also said that “ask Kefas Magaji and Iliya Habila to tell Zaarland what happened to LGA funds under their watch as chairmen. Can they, in all honesty, render an account to our people?
He further asked, “Are they not driven by fear of Rt Hon Dogara’s assertion that anyone who has stolen LGA funds or state funds would be made to face the music when Air Marshall Sadiq Abubakar becomes governor? Why are they lying to our people?
He continued: “We call our people to ignore these characters that are known serial liars and can do anything to defend the crumbs they pick from Kaura’s table against the larger interest of our people which Kaura is busy raping.”
According to him, “they failed to defend Zaar’s interest as highlighted above but they are busy defending Kaura’s many lies and deceit because they are Kaura’s co-drifters having given him unfettered access to our LGA funds and are now dead-scared of any change of government that will expose their crime against our people.”
He stated that: “We have the records of their sleaze while serving as Chairmen of Tafawa Balewa and Bogoro LGAs and thankfully it is before the EFCC too. We urged our people to ignore these characters who are prepared to sell our rights for a morsel of the meal. As smart people, we must look at the direction Bauchi people are going and join in so that we don’t waste our votes.”
“As a people, we urge our Zaar brothers/sisters to invest our votes rather than waste them on Kaura whose ambition is already doomed if signals from other LGAs in Bauchi State are anything to go by. Let us invest our votes in Air Marshal Sadiq, the man who brought Air force University to Bauchi state and more specifically Tafawa Balewa,” he stressed.
He claimed that “Regarding the issue of bringing Kauran Bauchi into Office in 2019, it is an open secret that Rt Hon Yakubu Dogara rallied support for him in numerous ways from the Fund Raisers in Abuja to the campaign and negotiations with other aspirants alongside other political gladiators in 2019 such as Baba Waziri, Sen Nazif Gamawa, Sen Isah Hamma, Sen Abdul Ningi, Alh Yayale, Hon Yakubu Wowo, alongside other illustrious sons of Bauchi State. It is on record that Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogra was given 51% of the party structure in PDP then but graciously decided to cast his weight behind Kaura who eventually emerged as the party’s flag bearer.”
Yau Dass concluded, stating that: ”Regarding roads, are they talking of proposed roads to be constructed or what? We hope the mirage roads would eventually be constructed when Air Marshall becomes the Governor.
It is unfortunate for a lawyer of Bar Kefas Magaji’s standing to state without concrete evidence that Rt Hon Dogara has built or bought houses overseas. Equally, he should name the neighbour who was required to sell his land in lieu of any assistance from Rt Hon Yakubu Dogara