I’m the most investigated politician, says Mohammed

From David Adenuga, Bauchi

 

Still basking in the euphoria of his victory at the Supreme Court, Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed has expressed delight his running battles with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) were not enough to truncate his governorship ambition.

The former Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister under the former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration said he became the most investigated person after he left office with several corruption charges levelled against him by the commission.

Mohammed, who spoke with reporters after a dinner in his honour to welcome him back to the state after his arrival from Abuja, said: “My opponent has done the right thing to go to court.

We wasted time on court cases but we thank God for everything. Investigating the former governor (Mohammed Abubakar) is not what I have come to do but have always borne in mind that in the course of governance, if there is anywhere the people of Bauchi State have been shortchanged, I won’t let it go.

“Nobody spared me when I left FCT. I was the most investigated person in Nigeria and I dare anybody to tell me on any account where I stole money that warranted such investigation but I took it as an expression of accountability.

“It is not my priority to probe my predecessor but if in the course of our investigation, we discover something is amiss, definitely we’re not going to spare him.”

Mohammed said his courageous personality endeared him to Jonathan, who picked him as a minister under his administration. He added: “I never knew I would become a minister.

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I never had anything in common with the former President Jonathan. We were not even in the same party. That is why today I am completely detribalised.

I don’t have any difference in terms of human relations. That is why I will always advise people to believe in God and be courageous.”

The governor also extended his hands of friendship to the defeated APC candidate, Mohammed Abubakar. He said the move was to overcome the challenges militating against the progress and development of the state.

The Supreme Court sitting in Abuja recently affirmed the governor’s victory at the 2019 general election.

A seven-man panel of the court had dismissed the appeal filed by Abubakar and his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), for lacking in merit.