Governor of Bauchi State Bala Mohammed has voiced his dissatisfaction with President Bola Tinubu’s recent countrywide broadcast, claiming that state governors were not consulted before the speech.
He said that the President’s address did not accurately represent the situation on the ground and that there is a significant divide in the nation between the ruled and the governed.
Following an emergency security council meeting on Monday at Government House in Bauchi, the governor addressed the media.
It was reported that the state government declared a 24-hour curfew in Katagum LGA on Monday following the escalation of crisis in Azare, headquarters of Katagum, where hoodlums took advantage of the protest to vandalise the Government House Annex and the house of a former deputy governor of the state, broke shops, and looted properties.
Mohammed, when asked what he has to say about the President ‘s message, replied, “I’m not a spokesperson of the Presidency but I certainly know that the speech of the President was very empty.
“It has rather escalated the whole situation because he would have listened to the governors who are his first line of charge, first line of commanders at the sub-national level so that we can give him what is going on because we also listen to our local government chairmen.
“All the President’s commanders, the Police commissioners, Brigade commanders, we are working together with all of them.
“However, they went and spoke in a manner that has not shown empathy or sympathy to the youth.”
Mohammed added that the state administration called a lengthy emergency security council meeting to discuss the destruction of government properties in Katagum Local administration Area. The meeting included representatives from security agencies, traditional institutions, and religious groups.
He gave the state’s citizens assurances that his administration would not permit the national demonstration against poor governance, which goes by the hashtag #EndBadGovernmentinNigeria, to get worse.
In doing so, he asked the people of the state to uphold the law, show restraint, and maintain the state’s long-term peace and stability.
He claims that the nonviolent action demonstrates unequivocally the failure of all levels of government to fulfill their constitutional and legal obligations.
