‘Bala Mohammed will only serve a term in Bauchi’

Shehu Baba Ningi is the Chairman of the People’s Redemption Party (PRP) in Bauchi State. He spoke with David Adenuga on the performance of the party in last year’s governorship election, how his party and its plans for the future.

 

 

YOUR party emerged second runner-up at the last governorship election. How would you describe the outing?

We participated in the last  2019 governorship election not fully prepared. Even at that, we were second runner-up despite that we started our campaigns very late. We started our campaign 2-months to the election, but we performed very well.

We could only campaign in 7 local government out of 20  LG due to late preparation. If we had campaigned very well, our candidate Ali Pate would have won the election.

In your view, why did Ali Pate, your governorship candidate, lose at the poll?

We lost due to our poor preparation. The people were desperate for change but Pate couldn’t visit all the local government areas and there was no way we would have won the election. We clinched two powerful seats at the House of Representatives (Bauchi and Katagum Local Governments); we won in these two metropolitan areas. We did very well that the two other parties that came first and second respectively — the PDP and the APC — out of panic invited us for a merger even before the election. But we refused because our candidate was the most qualified, most competent and the other parties are very much aware of this. In fact, our candidate will make a good presidential candidate due to his qualifications. If he emerges as president of Nigeria things will get better.

Was it a collective resolve by your party to present Pate after he defected from the All Progressive Congress (APC)?

No. There was a primary election which was conducted and Pate scored over 86 votes against his riva, Mukhtar Abubakar, from Tafawa Balewa, who only had six votes. You see, because we came into the election late, we were looking for good representation; we were looking for those with good track records to contest on the platform of our party. It was a good coincidence that Ali Pate and some others were rejected in the APC, and they came to the PRP because they were qualified candidates. In fact, the PRP presented the best candidates  in all elective positions at the 2019 poll.

There were rumours after the 2019 election, that Ali Pate worked secretly  for former Governor Mohammed Abubakar at the poll. How true is this allegation?

It is untrue. You know in Nigeria, telling lies, falsification of stories and character assassination is not regarded as anything here because people don’t care about their integrity. They just concoct any lies against any good person. Ali Pate has integrity; he is far more than that. It is unimaginable to say Pate worked underground for the former Governor Mohammed Abubakar, whose imposition on the party led to his defection to our party.

How did you handle the crisis that rocked  your party before the election?

Though, we had an internal crisis before the election, as some people claimed that they have been in the party for a long time. They tried to jeopardise our preparation, but we settled with them because we didn’t want crisis going to the election.  We had to let go of some  positions within the ranks of the party peace to reign. Interestingly, these people are not competent enough to be in the party. For many reasons they’re inexperience and lack the competence to be in the party but for peace to reign, we had to allow them to have their ways.

What structure is your party putting in place ahead of 2023?

Even before 2023, we are already  getting set for the local government elections in the state, we have structure from the state to the ward level. We have  practically available structure on ground not theoretical structure. So, we’re now thinking of forming a committee for the remobilisation of people for the local government election. As for 2023, we are sure many people will join our party, especially now that the APC is being bedevilled by crises.  Our historical performance at the 2019 polls and ideology will speak for us in 2023.

Do you think Governor Bala Mohammed  is the right choice for the people of Bauchi  State?

No. He was never a good option. The strong dislike  against former Governor Mohammed Abubakar was what made the people of Bauchi State to vote for Bala Mohammed. The people were left with no option. He was never the  right choice of the people. He (Mohammed) knows he was not popularly elected. The fact that he had the highest number of votes doesn’t mean that he is popular; he is just an option that people wanted. I reiterate Mohammed is not a product of popularity; he was only voted for due to the strong dislike  for former Governor Mohammed Abubakar.

Do you think the PRP can unseat the Mohammed-led administration in 2023?

By the grace of God, Governor Bala Mohammed will only serve a term in office, except if he performs. He has not been impressive so far, with the way things are going. He has started having problems with regards to payment of workers salaries. This is due to bad management of resources. How can you approve the purchase of official vehicles worth  N3.6 billion in this period of paucity of funds? That’s a waste of the state’s resources.

How would this be achieved?

We have a better and qualified candidate in Ali Pate whose wealth of experience cannot be overlooked.

How do you assess Governor Mohammed’s performance so far?

He has performed below average though he has also tried in some areas. For instance, in the area of renovation of primary and secondary schools  by the State Universal and Basic Education Board (SUBEB), the speed at which the job is being carried out is encouraging. The only problem is the painting of the walls of the school with the party (PDP) colours; it is very wrong to use PDP logo for that. You can check out some of the schools; you will see  the walls all painted in PDP colours. For example, take a look at what happened in Kano where Kwankwaso was writing Kwakwasiya in some of the roofings of primary and secondary schools renovated in the state. But, after Ganduje took over and they ended up not been in good terms, 200 million was spent in removing the inscription. The PDP cannot be in power forever, because they are the ruling party doesn’t mean they own every building in the state. The act doesn’t appeal to common sense. It is extremely wrong.

Is your party playing the role of an opposition?

We tell the government our opinion through press releases with constructive criticisms. In fact, we went to court to thwart the idea of the local government elections that the governor promised to conduct after six months during his campaign. Generally, we have been trying to draw people’s attention to their lapses constructively and not blindly. For instance, the purchase of official vehicles worth N3.6 billion by the government is very wrong, and a waste of the state’s resources. Also, look at the Gombe motor parks in Bauchi, there are more than 15 loading points; the place is crowded with no security for the passengers. We wrote to the government, made suggestions but they are not doing anything about it.