APC govs endorse Bauchi ex-gov as ministerial nominee, says aide

Samuel Luka, Bauchi

The immediate past Governor of Bauchi state, Mohammed Abdullahi Abubakar has secured the backing of the All Progressives Congress (APC) state governors to be nominated for a ministerial appointment by the Buhari administration.

An aide to the former governor, Michael Damina, who disclosed this on Tuesday in an interview in Bauchi, pointed out that the APC governors have unanimously endorsed his principal for a ministerial position in President Muhammadu Buhari’s second term cabinet.

Reacting to a petition said to have been submitted to the Presidency against Abubakar’s ministerial nomination described the petition as “uncalled for and unpatriotic.

“It is APC governors that came together and said Abubakar, Bindow and Ambode, these three governors that lost out in the 2019 general elections should be considered by the President because of their outstanding performances in their respective states.

“Some people don’t believe that Abubakar was performing because they had an agenda and he was not tailoring towards that agenda. He had his own agenda. I will stand by him until death do us part.”

While challenging the critics of the former governor, he added that “as far as I am concerned, Abubakar fought corruption in Bauchi state. Whether we like it or not, he performed. Until he left on May 29, there was no salary owed.

“No salary owed I repeat. When he was leaving, on May 28, he signed all the cheques for salaries that have not been paid to be paid. And today, somebody will say the man did not perform. Go to Katagum zone, go to local governments and see. He performed.”

The aide who called on people of the state to be politically civilized by supporting politicians who excelled and shun politics of division, ‎debunked claims by critics of the former governor that he is a non- indigene of the state.

“Abubakar was brought up, schooled and worked in different capacities in the state. He was a permanent secretary and he was solicitor general in Bauchi state, He was a commissioner in Bauchi state. He represented Bauchi state as a commissioner of INEC in Rivers state and many others.

“Where were those people when he was elected the governor of Bauchi state? Didn’t they know that he was a no indigene? Is it after he became a governor of Bauchi state that they knew that he is not an indigene of Bauchi state?” he asked.

Damina while expressing confidence that the former governor will represent Bauchi state in the federal cabinet maintained that “whether his critics like it or not by the grace of God, he will become a minister.”