Society Gists

The Governor of Bauchi State, Alhaji Muhammad Abubakar, has accused the administration of his predecessor, Alhaji Isah Yuguda, of withdrawing N1bn from one of the state’s accounts in a single day.
Abubakar said this during a press briefing in Abuja on Wednesday.
He alleged that the N1bn was withdrawn from one of the state government’s accounts with multiple N10m cheques.
Going by the governor’s submissions, the N1bn was withdrawn by the officials of the former administration who made 100 withdrawals on the day in question.
Abubakar, who constituted a panel to probe all contracts awarded by the previous administration, said while he had not been able to come up with the total amount allegedly looted by the previous administration, the ongoing probe would expose it.
He said, “I always feel shy of churning out figures I am not certain of. All I can say is definitely, there will be great revelations because the little I have seen, for example, I know of a situation in which in one day the sum of N1bn was taken out of one account of the government with N10m cheques.
“Several N10m cheques but I would not be able to put a figure on the total recovery because like I said, the work of the committee is ongoing.”
But the former governor has denied all these allegations.
One of his aides, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he had yet to get clearance from his boss to speak officially, described Abubakar’s assertions as part of a smear campaign.
He said, “This has become the strategy of the present administration, it wants to divert attention from its failings. Since it has set up a committee to probe, let them probe. We will advise them to avoid a witch-hunt.
“From what the governor has said, it is clear that a script has been prepared to ensure that the outcome of this probe indicts the Yuguda administration.”
But the incumbent governor said he would probe the immediate past administration because a lot of money that was paid into the coffers of the state could not be accounted for.
Abubakar stressed that there was nothing to show for the N2bn ecological funds which the Federal Government gave to all the PDP states during the last administration.
He lamented that the former administration which was in power for eight years did not do anything with the huge amount of resources that was received by the state during the period.