Bauchi transition committee submits report, alleges huge debt

By Samuel Luka, Bauchi

With hours to the inauguration of the Bauchi state Governor-elect, Senator Bala Mohammed, Senator Adamu Ibrahim Gumba has disclosed that the outgoing government of Muhammad Abdullahi Abubakar ‎is leaving the state with a debt profile of N137 billion.

‎Sen. Gumba, who is the chairman of the transition committee made the disclosure while answering questions from reporters on the findings of his committee shortly after presenting their report to the governor-elect at the Command Guest-Inn, Bauchi.

Out of the amount, Sen. Gumba explained that N96 billion was inherited from the administration of former Governor Isah Yuguda’s eight- year tenure by the outgoing government of Mohammed Abubakar.

The transition committee chairman said that the huge debt figure of N41billion was accumulated within four years of the outgoing government in the state.

Sen. Gumba told the governor elect that “some ‎ministries, departments and agencies most especially, the State Universal Basic Education Board had initially refused to cooperate with us, denied the committee access to the required documents, but lately succumbed when they realised that our assignment was not a joke, when they realised that it is not their boss that will be sworn in. But, it was late.”

According to him, the committee observed that some officials of the outgoing administration have made away with property belonging to the government.

The committee chairman recommended that the incoming government consider all promotions, appointments and transfer conducted within the transition period as null and void and further urged the governor- elect to review the 2019 budget in line with the Peoples Democratic Party manifesto.

He said that the recent recruitment of over 2, 000 new workers by the outgoing administration was a calculated attempt to leave financial burden on the incoming government.

The‎ Governor-elect, Bala Muhammad had earlier while receiving the report said an asset recovery committee would be constituted as part of efforts to work on the recommendations made by the committee.