₦airaland Forum

In the past few days, many Nigerians and our foreign friends have been bombarding me with calls and visits to ascertain the authenticity of a report by the Sahara Reporters to the effect that I attended a meeting in Saudi Arabia where a plan was hatched to remove the Acting President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo.
My first reaction was to ignore the report as it fell within the genre of yellow journalism that has become the hallmark of Sahara Reporters. Besides, I did not think it was necessary to dignify my political opponents, those cowards and some traitors, who are afraid of a frontal confrontation, with any reply.
However, following considerable introspection, and in consultation with my political associates across the country, I decided that these are times when silence may not be golden and when, for the sake of our dear country and the future survival of democracy, patriots must lend a voice to douse the simmering political crisis that is trending towards a conflagration. For these reasons and the grave concern expressed by well-meaning Nigerians, I have decided to issue the following statement:
1. I did not attend a meeting where the fate of Acting President Yemi Osinbajo was discussed, let alone decided. To claim that I attended any such meeting is a figment of the imagination of the authors of that story. My sojourn abroad did not go beyond my spiritual obligation which has become part of my life in the past 35 years or so.
2. I was not invited to such a meeting, if it held at all. And even if I had been invited I would not have attended for reasons that are all too obvious. My antecedents are so well established that to associate me with a clandestine parochial project aimed at subverting the constitution will negate everything that I stand for and cherish. As everyone knows, throughout my political career, I have stoutly defended the constitution at similar moments in the past when, as a serving senator, I spearheaded the National Integrity Group (NIG) in the Senate that paved the way for then vice President Goodluck Jonathan, to ascend to the position of acting president as required by the constitution. I wish to recall with nostalgia the statesmanship of the Senate as an institution which provided the political solution, by way of the novel “Doctrine of Necessity”, to rescue the country from the precipice. Why would I then descend from that high moral pedestal, from the status of a statesman, to the nadir of political juvenility and rascality at a time that summons all patriots, to join forces to stabilize our tottering nation-state? No matter how anybody feels, it must be acknowledged that Yemi Osinbajo is today occupying the position of acting President and Commander-in-Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria by the grace of God. Therefore, political opportunists and agent provocateur especially those of his All Progressives Congress (APC) should spare the nation this embarrassing conspiracy narrative that is domiciled in their party.
3. What is playing out, with respect to the President’s health, is a painful and sordid illustration of the desperation of some members of the political class and the complete loss of humanity by some politicians that, rather than pray for the recovery and return of our President, they are busy plotting how to replace him. Is it not shameful that they are displaying such morbid desperation that negates both religious and traditional values to even allow their treacherous thoughts to filter out? How much more unconscionable can we be as a people to show such great disrespect for anybody, let alone our President? If Sahara Reporters and its heartless sponsors do not mind, I do and plead to be spared the agony of dignifying the treacherous politicians with any further reply.
4. Contrary to the falsehood painted in the Sahara Reporters story, I wish the President speedy recovery. And that is for very good reasons. First by my cultural and religious orientation, I would not wish any other human being to die, not even my traducers because life and death are in the hands of Allah. Second, President Buhari has been one of my leaders since my days in the All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP) when, riding on his popularity and the grace of God, I won election to represent Bauchi South in the Senate. That was the pedestal that launched the dizzying political trajectory that those who smuggled my name into that gathering are trying desperately to scuttle. They will fail. For now, my main preoccupation is to join all those patriotic Nigerians who have been praying for the recovery and return of our President. If there was any time he was needed most, that time is now: his presence and leadership are required at this challenging crossroads in the history of our country.
5. I wish to conclude by making two very important points:
a. One, at a time like this, when tempers are flaring up dangerously and fear has become the order of the day, what is required is for all stakeholders, notwithstanding personal ambitions, party affiliation or sub-national interests, to join hands with the Acting President in stabilizing the ship of state. Unless we are being hypocritical, Professor Osinbajo is doing his best to bridge the leadership vacuum created by the absence of the President, a vacuum that has triggered all kinds of dangerous political permutations. This is rather unfortunate. However, let it be sounded loud and clear that, at a time like this, the country’s leadership is expected to galvanize all stakeholders while the political class is expected to rally behind it to fashion a way out of the present crisis. I would want to say that Professor Osinbajo has demonstrated courage in the face of danger, commendable sobriety in spite of provocation and focus in the midst of distraction to the extent that, I am confident, President Buhari will be very proud of him. I make this comment with every sense of responsibility and without prejudice to my loyalty to my party, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and my personal ambition and aspirations as a politician!
b. The second point is that my detractors and political opponents should not waste their precious resources on devious plans to destroy me through campaigns of calumny and false accusations because like all false witnesses, God will cut them down at the point of their successes. In this regard, my faith in God remains unshaken and my commitment to a united Nigeria anchored on equity, justice and fair play as bedrocks of a true federation remain sacrosanct. Consequently, it is therefore axiomatic that, no amount of cheap blackmail, no level of persecution and no subterfuge by Sahara Reporters and its promoters will diminish my resolve to continue to play constructive and patriotic roles in serving the good people of Bauchi State and our dear country Nigeria.
Finally, I implore all Nigerians to continue to pray for the good health of our President and for God to grant Acting President Osinbajo the wisdom to lead the country in the right direction until the President returns.

Signed:
Senator Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed, CON
(Kauran Bauchi)
Former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT
8 July 8, 2017

FCT HIGH COURT GRANTS BAIL TO FORMER FCT MINISTER SEN BALA MOHAMMED, CONDEMN EFCC FOR CONTRADICTIONS AND MANIFEST FALSEHOOD

Hon Justice U. Baba Yusuf of High Court 4, FCT High Court this afternoon ordered that the former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory Abuja Senator Bala Mohammed be admitted to bail. The erstwhile Minister has been in detention in EFCC custody since October 24, 2016 when he responded to the invitation of Commission. The Court granted him bail with two sureties with landed property within Abuja Municipality with Certificate of Occupancy. The High Court in granting the application for bail filed by the lead counsel to Senator Mohammed Chief Chris Uche SAN, seriously upbraided the EFCC for manifest contradictions and for lying under Oath with the depositions in the counter affidavit it filed challenging the bail application. The Court adjourned the matter to 14th December 2016 for the hearing of the substantive petition for the enforcement of the fundamentalist rights of the former Minister.

Da yake a dauki wasu Media rahotanni a kan tsohon ministan na Abuja
The hankalin Sanata Bala Mohammed, con, Kauran Bauchi, tsohon ministan Babban Birnin Tarayya, FCT an kõma zuwa wasu kafofin watsa labarai da rahotanni, inda da cewa an indicted da anti dasa hukumomin ko cewa wasu daga cikin dukiya da aka kwace daga tattalin arzikin kuma Financial Laifukan Hukumar, EFCC. Sanata Mohammed ya umurci mu mu bayyana kamar haka:
EFCC bincike
Gaskiya ne cewa Sanata Bala Mohammed, kamar mutane da yawa da jama'a ofishin da kambun, da ake bincika da EFCC da kuma ya sa ba qualms game da wannan a cikin hasken da shahararren rawa ya taka leda a karkashin Goodluck Jonathan Administration a matsayin ministan na Abuja. Shi ne kuma daidai da ɗansa, Shamsudeen aka kira da tambayoyi da EFCC game da wata daya da suka wuce da kuma fito a administrative beli. Duk da haka, gudanar da bincike shi ne har yanzu mai gudana. Yana da wani Cardinal manufa mu fikihu wanda wani zargi ne ba gaskiya jĩ da kwarewarsa, m sai same shi da laifi. Duk da haka, a cikin dashi harka, ba yana da tsohon ministan aka gayyata da kaina, kuma bã ya da ki wani gayyatar. Duk da haka, ko da a gaban EFCC ƙarasa da bincike, wasu mischievous abubuwa suna ambaliya da kafofin watsa labarai niƙa tare spurious bayanai don besmear halinsa.
Domin kaucewa shakka, matsayinsa ne cewa duka mai gudana bincike (wanda ya gan istinbadi da fitina da kafofin watsa labarai (wanda ya gan mischievous), shi ne price da cewa yana da da za a da za a biya jagoranci, wannan matsayi na siyasa da kambun kamata ba amma riƙe kuma motsa jiki da iko da gata na ofishin amma ya kasance a shirye don sabõda ayyuka da kuma inactions a dace lokaci. shi ya sa ya halarci a cikin House bincike na Land Musanya Shirin notwithstanding ya misgivings a abin da ya gani a fili mu- shirya sakamako. Ko a yanzu, tsohon ministan ya averred cewa zai kasance a shirye don girmama wani gayyatar daga wani anti dasa hukumar.
Ya kuma yi fāriya da cewa gwaji ci gaba da aka yi a lokacin da ya. Wata irin wannan ci gaba da aka ƙasar kasafi na ƙasar ga mutane da yawa 'yan Nijeriya! Duk da haka, Bala ya yarda da fallibility na yan Adam da shirye ya yarda cewa ayyukansa ba zai iya zama cikakke tun kawai Allah yake cikakke.
Kasafi na Land to 'yan uwa da abokai
Daya daga cikin dokokin ayyuka na kowane Ministan Abuja ne don ware ƙasar. Duk da haka, shi ne mai kuskure ne su yi tunanin cewa yana da Abuja inexhaustible buildable ƙasar yankunan jiran wani ministan ware ga wanda ya so. Maimakon haka, wadannan verifiable gabaceku, abin da tsohon ministan babban birnin tarayya suka yi, tare da tawagar, ya sassaƙa fitar da wasu sababbin yankunan da aka baya kasaftawa a Nijeriya da mazauna. Irin wannan sabon yankunan sun hada da Guzape, Kiyami da dai sauransu. Don yin m weather da cewa ya kasaftawa ƙasar wa abokansa, 'yan uwa da kuma ma'aikatan na FCT, kamar dai wadannan ba su ne' yan Nijeriya patently mischievous, uncharitable da ƙarancin cancantar. Tsohon ministan m babu wata dokar da har ya traducers kamata nuna wa sashe na Kundin tsarin mulkin Najeriya da cewa disenfranchises dangantakar da ministoci da sauran jama'a ofishin kambun daga gata da damar bude ga sauran 'yan Nijeriya. Our matsayi shi ne cewa wadanda vilifying tsohon ministan dai da sosai short tunanin ko sun zabe shi don ya tafiyar da zabe ɓacin hankali. In ba haka ba, ba za su iya mantawa da sauri haka cewa, ba ma dogon ago, daya daga Sanata Mohammed ta magabata wanda a yanzu yake riƙe da wani zaɓe na ofishin ya indignantly tambaye waɗanda suka zarge shi da allocating ƙasar wa 'yan uwa da abokai su jira su bi da bi, kuma yarda da makwabtansu . Amma duk da haka, da sammai ba fada. Mun yi mãmãki a lõkacin da ta zama haka al'amarin da cewa abin da yake mai kyau ga Goose ne ba mai kyau ga gander! Again, ba za mu iya manta da haka nan da nan cewa, ba da dadewa, a kan rana ta ƙarshe a ofishin, tsohon ministan babban birnin tarayya ya yi asusun tarayya na game da 3000 mãkirci na ƙasar zuwa mambobi ne na jama'a, wani mataki da aka kwace daga majalisar dattijai amma mayar da Sanata Bala Mohammed wanda ya bayar da hujjar cewa mataki na wanda ya riga ya yi daidai da ya iko. Yana da umarni a lura da cewa ko da yake Sanata Bala Mohammed da yake riƙe da rikodi na kasancewa mafi tsawo hidimarsa, ya sanya m asusun tarayya na ƙasar fiye da wasu daga cikin magabata. Sai daya abubuwan al'ajabi da ya sa ya ake gicciye don na kasa culpable fiye da mutane da suke tafiya kan tituna ba tare da wani molestation.

cin hanci da rashawa[/b]

Babu wani abu da zai iya zama mafi spurious kuma wawa fiye da bangare na rahoton cewa tsohon ministan nema, kuma ya karbi biliyan daya Naira a kowane ƙasar kasafi a Abuja. Yi addu'a, inda su ne na asusun tarayya a tambaya? Mene ne darajar cikin ƙasa? Kuma a cikin abin da bank account ya saka da Saide na cin hanci da rashawa? Shiryayye jama'a za su tsayar da cewa wannan rahoto ya bi daidai da wannan abin kwaikwaya a matsayin wani a baya labarin a cikin abin da aka yi da'awar cewa tsohon ministan ya refunded da Naira Miliyan Xari da Arba'in da biliyan biyu Naira ga gwamnatin tarayya. Mene ne total kasafin kudin na FCT cewa ministan zai saya da irin wannan girma adadi balle maida wannan? Wannan kuma, shi ne hujja bayyananna daga kokarin yanke ministan to jama'a opprobrium ko da a gaban anti-dasa bangarori gama bincike da kuma cimma wata qaddara karshen.

[b]kwangila

Labarin ta zargi cewa Sanata Bala Mohammed bayar da kwangila a guje cikin biliyoyin Naira su fronts ne m shaida na grand mãkirci a yi amfani da kafofin watsa labarai a zana jama'a opprobrium da tsohon ministan. Reminiscent na sauran ƙarya zargin, bai labarin bayyana kwangila a tambaya kuma bai ba da darajar kowane kwangila ko sunayen beneficiary kamfanoni, facts da zai yi a yarda da masu karatu su kusantar da nasu karshe. Wannan shi ne lokacin da bakin ciki kamar yadda yake m saboda girma da kwangila kashe a karkashin Sanata Mohammed aka gada daga baya gwamnatocin. A aiki farar hula wanda ya tashi zuwa ga daraja da darektan a cikin tarayya yakin sabis kafin ya koma siyasa, tsohon ministan dauke shi mafi a ajiye tare da qa'ida ta ci gaba a gwamnatin don kammala data kasance kwangila da ayyuka fiye da kyautar sababbi, ko da jaraba . Irin wannan kwangila sun hada da Kubwa axial Road, da Umaru Musa Yar'Ardua expressway da Abuja Rail Link.

More fundamentally, tsohon ministan kushewa da ƙoƙari hoodwink mambobi ne na jama'a a cikin imani da cewa ya bayar da m kwangila to fronts da cronies. Babu wani abu da zai iya zama m daga gaskiya, Ganin cewa a duk ayyukan, daga conceptualization to ofishin ga jama'a samuwa da kuma yarda da mai amfani da sashen an hõre rigorous mutunci gwaje-gwaje da kuma saboda tsari. Bayan haka, mafi yawan kwangila da suka shafi cikin FCT aka bayar da tarayya m majalisa. Sanata Bala Mohammed dole ne a fifiko ga single-handedly kewaye da waɗannan masu tafiya da linzami ba tare da wani kiwon yatsa.

Land Musanya

Again, 'yan Nijeriya ana regaled da salacious da bogus Figures kamar yadda a iƙirarin cewa ministan ake bincika zuwa asusu na Daya Naira triliyan, a kimanta adadi na abin da zai ƙara ga gwamnati bin nasara kisa da aikin. Sanata Bala Mohammed dake damunsa cewa abin da aka ɗauki cikinsa a matsayin da amfani bidi'a da mai girma multiplier sakamako ga tattalin arzikin da ake juya a cikin wani mafarki mai ban tsoro ga duka da masu zuba jari suka ciyar gwaji Jimlar kudi a cikin tsari da kuma sauran masu ruwa da tsaki suka tsaya amfana daga spate na tattalin arziki aiki da cewa za a unleashed da aiwatar da aikin. Ya ba ya tunanin cewa wannan augurs kyau ga zuba jari drive na gwamnati. Duk da haka, kuma, ba cewa bincike ne mai gudana, shi beats da tunanin cewa hukuncin da ake shige ma da aka kammala.

Kammalawa

Wadannan ba da mafi kyaun sau Sanata Bala Mohammed da iyalinsa ba bincike, kafofin watsa labarai Haske a kan shi da kuma sharrin siyasa abokan adawar. Amma hali shi ne cewa wannan ba zai zama karo na farko da jama'a ofishin kambun ana bincika. Duk da haka, ya nẽmi tsari da ya yi aiki a Nigeria da kishin kasa da kuma matuqar ƙaddamar da cewa, ko ta yaya wadannan bincike kawo karshen, tarihi ba zai iya shafe da fadin gudunmawar da ya yi wa Goodluck Jonathan Administration a lokacin da ya zama ministan babban birnin tarayya. Wadannan sun hada da ...
A karshe, Sanata Bala Mohammed ne ya umarci magoya bayansa da kuma dangantakar su zauna a kwantar da hankula da kuma ku nĩsanci ayyukan da zai rushe yanzu kokarin a tabbatar zaman lafiyar kasar dogara da cewa, a cikin cikar lokaci, duk za su kasance da kyau.

Emma Agu, FNGE
Media Consultant Sanata Bala Mohammed, con

On Saturday July 6th, there was a report that former FCT Minister, Senator Bala Mohammed was being investigated for alleged embezzlement and N872million worth of property was seized from him and his son by the EFCC.

The ex-minister was said to also be under investigation on alleged fictitious contracts of about N1billion, allocation of 12 choice plots worth billions of naira and 37 other commercial plots of land worth about N8 billion as well as the controversial N1 trillion Abuja land swap. He has reacted to the story. Read after the cut...

Being a reaction to some Media Reports on the former minister of the FCT
The attention of Senator Bala Mohammed, CON, Kauran Bauchi, former minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT has been drawn to some media reports purporting that he has been indicted by anti graft agencies or that some of his property has been confiscated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC. Senator Mohammed has instructed us to state as follows:
EFCC investigation.
It is true that Senator Bala Mohammed, like many past public office holders, is being investigated by the EFCC and makes no qualms about this in the light of the prominent role he played under the Goodluck Jonathan Administration as minister of the FCT. It is also correct that his son, Samsudeen was invited and interrogated by the EFCC about a month ago and released on administrative bail.
However, the investigation is still ongoing. It is a cardinal principle of our jurisprudence that an accused is granted fair hearing and presumed innocent until found guilty. However, in the extant case, neither has the former minister been invited personally nor has he declined any invitation. Yet, even before the EFCC concludes its investigation, some mischievous elements are flooding the media mill with spurious information to besmear his character.
For the avoidance of doubt, his position is that both the ongoing investigation (which he considers legitimate and the trial by media (which he considers mischievous), is the price that has to be to be paid for leadership; that political office holders should not only hold and exercise the powers and privileges of office but be ready to account for their actions and inactions at the appropriate time. That was why he participated in the House investigation of the Land Swap Program notwithstanding his misgivings at what he considered a clearly pre-arranged outcome. Even now, the former minister has averred that he will be ready to honour any invitation from any anti graft agency.
He also takes pride in the fact that substantial progress was made during his tenure. One such progress was the land allocation of land to many Nigerians! In spite of this, Bala accepts the fallibility of the human person and is ready to admit that his actions could not have been perfect since only God is perfect.

Allocation of Land to family members and friend

One of the statutory functions of any minister of the FCT is to allocate land. However, it is a misconception to think that Abuja has inexhaustible buildable land areas waiting for a minister to allocate to whomsoever he likes. Rather, following verifiable precedents, what the former FCT minister did, with his team, was to carve out some new areas which were subsequently allocated to Nigerians and residents. Such new areas include Guzape, Kiyami etc. To make heavy weather of the fact that he allocated land to his friends, family members and staff of the FCT as if these are not Nigerians is patently mischievous, uncharitable and untenable. The former minister broke no law unless his traducers should point to the section of the Nigerian constitution that disenfranchises relations of ministers and other public office holders from privileges and opportunities open to other Nigerians. Our position is that those vilifying the former minister either have very short memories or have chosen to engage in selective amnesia. Otherwise, they cannot forget so soon that, not too long ago, one of Senator Mohammed’s predecessors who now holds an elective office had indignantly asked those who accused him of allocating land to his family members and friends to wait for their turn and favour their enemies. Yet, the heavens did not fall. We wonder when it became the case that what is good for the goose is no longer good for the gander! Again, we cannot forget so soon that not long ago, on his last day in office, a former FCT minister made allocations of about 3000 plots of land to members of the public, an action that was revoked by the Senate but restored by Senator Bala Mohammed who had argued that the action of his predecessor was consistent with his powers. It is instructive to note that although Senator Bala Mohammed holds the record of being the longest serving, he made fewer allocations of land than some of his predecessors. So one wonders why he is being crucified for being less culpable than people who are walking the streets without any molestation.

Bribery

Nothing can be more spurious and stupid than the aspect of the report that the former minister demanded and received One Billion Naira on every land allocation in FCT. Pray, where are the allocations in question? What is the value of the land? And into which bank account did he deposit the proceeds of the bribery? Discerning members of the public will observe that this report follows exactly the same pattern as an earlier story in which it was claimed that the former minister had refunded the sum of Forty-Two Billion Naira to the federal government. What is the total budget of the FCT that a minister would acquire such a monstrous figure let alone refund same? This again, is a clear evidence of the effort to sentence the minister to public opprobrium even before the anti-graft panels conclude their investigations and to achieve a predetermined end.

Contracts

The story’s allegation that Senator Bala Mohammed awarded contracts running into billions of Naira to fronts is further evidence of the grand plot to use the media to draw public opprobrium against the former minister. Reminiscent of other false allegations, neither did the story disclose the contracts in question nor did it not give the value of each contract or the names of the beneficiary companies, facts that would have allowed readers to draw their own conclusions. This is as sad as it is unfortunate because the bulk of contracts executed under Senator Mohammed were inherited from previous administrations. A career civil servant who rose to the rank of director in the federal civil service before joining politics, the former minister considered it more in keeping with the principle of continuity in government to complete existing contracts and projects than award new ones, no matter the temptation. Such contracts include the Kubwa Axial Road, the Umaru Musa Yar’Ardua expressway and the Abuja Rail Link.

More fundamentally, the former minister deplores the attempt to hoodwink members of the public into believing that he awarded juicy contracts to fronts and cronies. Nothing can be farther from the truth, given the fact that all projects, from conceptualization to bureau for public procurement and the endorsement of the user department were subjected to rigorous integrity tests and due process. Besides, most contracts relating to the FCT were awarded by the federal executive council. Senator Bala Mohammed must be a superhuman to single-handedly bypass these checks and balances without anybody raising a finger.

Land Swap

Again, Nigerians are being regaled with salacious and bogus figures just as in claiming that the minister is being investigated to account for One Trillion Naira, a projected figure of what would accrue to the government following the successful execution of the project. Senator Bala Mohammed regrets that what was conceived as a beneficial innovation with great multiplier effect for the economy is being turned into a nightmare to both the investors who spent substantial sum of money in the process and other stakeholders who stand to benefit from the spate of economic activity that will be unleashed by the implementation of the project. He does not think that this augurs well for the investment drive of the government. However, again, given that the investigation is ongoing, it beats the imagination that judgement is being passed even before it is concluded.

Conclusion
These are not the best of times for Senator Bala Mohammed and his family given the investigations, the media spotlight on him and the mischief of political opponents. But his attitude is that this will not be the first time that public office holders are being investigated. However, he holds firmly that he served Nigeria with patriotism and utmost dedication and that, no matter how these investigations end, history cannot erase the modest contributions he made to the Goodluck Jonathan Administration during his tenure as FTC minister. These include…
Finally, Senator Bala Mohammed is enjoining his supporters and relations to remain calm and eschew acts that would undermine current efforts at stabilizing the country trusting that, in the fullness of time, all will be well.

Emma Agu, FNGE
Media Consultant to Senator Bala Mohammed, CON

Our attention has been drawn to various media reports in which
the Senate Committee on FCT accused the previous
administration of illegally converting the green areas of Maitama
District into developable lands and allocating same to named
individuals.
While we had not wanted to join issues with the Senate
Committee, however, the exuberance of the Committee's
Chairman that borders on ignorance of the limitations of the
doctrine of separation of powers under the constitution has
necessitated us to set the records straight:
1. Throughout the tenure of the previous administration, all
allocations of land in the FCT were based on professional advice,
availability of layouts and the provisions of the Land Use Act. In
reference to the Ministerial Hill, which the Senate Committee
gave the Department of Development Control directive to stop
work, we state as follows:
2. That sometimes in 2010, the FCTA under Senator Adamu
Aliero commissioned Messrs. Fola Consult Limited to advise the FCT Administration on the extent of the area in Maitama
Ministerial Hill that could be converted for residential use;
1

3. That Messrs. Fola Consult Limited submitted its report
highlighting the history of the area and rationale for its
development as follows:
a) The redesign of Plot 2278 was carried out during the regime
of Air Vice Marshall Hamza Abdullahi in 1998 to
accommodate the Federal Ministers who moved from
Lagos into the FCT;
b) That the change in land use was captured by the Land use
plan produced in June 1989 by Messrs. Dynasys Resource
Company in association with Alpha Consult Rome;
c) That the redesign of Messrs. Dynasys Company was not
comprehensive since the sole aim of the design was just to
create plots to accommodate some few Ministers' houses;
d) That the area was not designated as recreational area or
park but was designated as undevelopable area based on
its difficult terrain and that the level of technology at the
time was the major consideration for its classification as
undevelopable;
4. That Fola Consult Limited advised the Aliero Administration
that additional plots should be created to justify existing
underutilized infrastructure In line with its land use
categorization as a low-density residential area;
5. That sometimes in 2014, the Department of Urban & Regional
Panning also made recommendations that additional plots
2

should be created on plot 2180 to justify existing underutilized
infrastructure around the Mississippi street of Maitama;
6. That the immediate past FCT administration was fully
convinced that the master plan is a dynamic road map for the
city's land use and infrastructure development, guided by the
demands of change and time. Hence, on the basis of the above
recommendations, and in recognition of its responsibility to
ensure full utilization of resources, the administration approved
the redesigns and subsequently, allocations were made in line
with the Land Use Act;
7. That the FCT Administration allowed for commencement of
work on the plots after the allottees got due building plan
approvals from the Department of Development Control which
approval, needless to add, can only be reversed by the authority
of the Hon. Minister;
8. Apart from insisting that such new developments were based
on the green city concept, the approval process was predicated
on a robust environmental impact assessment conducted by a
team of professionals within the FCT Administration.
9. That the Senate Committee is advised to seek adequate
information from the FCT Administration before issuing
wrongful directives.
3

With the above said, we consider it imperative, at this juncture,
to make some clarifications on the concept of the master plan,
green areas and the dynamism of city development.
The Master Plan Concept
I am not a Town Planner, but a Master plan has been defined by
professionals as that broad policy document meant to guide the
growth and development of a town or city.
May I add that the life span of a master plan which is not less
than Ten years minimum, is so wide that there is no way changes
will not occur for a document based on assumptions,
predications and projections. As soon as gaps are observed
between these proposals and realities, as is the case of the Abuja
master plan over time, a review or redesign becomes imperative.
Above all, nowhere in the world and on any town or city is a
master plan implementation achieved at 100 percent level even
in developed countries.
Concept of Green Areas and the Dynamism - of City
Development
Green area is a land use provision within the master plan for
recreation, flood drains, city buffers, urban farming, reserved
lands and contextually undevelopable area. However, for
reasons of population growth, expansion in infrastructural
4

facilities, security concerns and logistical demands, city
development all over the world has never remained static.
Rather, it has been a dynamic process. Abuja has not been an
exception.
Thus, long before the advent of the last FCT Administration,
Ministers had reviewed and re-conceptualized green area
provisions in the Abuja Master plan. For instance, part of the
Presidential Villa was a green area in the master plan. So also
were the office of the National Security Adviser (NSA), the High
Court, the residence of the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) and
recently, the residences of the presiding officers of the National
Assembly. Military formations such as Camp Wu Bassey and
Niger barracks, and urban fringes including Usuma, Maitama
Extension and Mpape Districts etc. were part of the changes
made to the master plan. Many other examples abound of green
areas being converted to other uses by previous ministers based
on need of the time to make the city more functional and more
socio-economically viable.
In fact, all of what is termed the "Urban Fringe" including Usuma
and Mpape Districts, was a green area and was supposed to
constitute a buffer zone between the city on the one hand and
the regional space, on the other. However, it was utilized by
previous administrations for the building of the various barracks,
Asokoro District, Guzape District, Sunrise Hills Estate and parts
5

of Apo. These urban fringes were redesigned by previous
ministers in accordance with the powers conferred on them by
the Land Use Act.
For emphasis, it is important to note that even part of the
present Presidential Villa and the Eagle Square were changed
from Transportation Center to what they are today, while under
the Master Plan, what is now known as Maitama Extension was
supposed to be a Sports Center but was redesigned by previous
administrations. Even in the city center occasions arose where
the Boulevard Project in the Central Business District area led to
redesign of many plots in the original master plan.
For the enlightenment of all stakeholders and members of the
public who are ignorant of the historical background to this
matter, it was Mallam Nasir EI-Rufai as FCT minister who, seeing
the lack of capacity on the part of the FCT Administration, to
maintain the green areas, started allocating them to individuals
in the hope that the allottees would live up to expectation.
Unfortunately, they did not. Instead, most of the park allottees
converted the green areas to commercial uses thereby placing
them on a collision course with the Development Control
Department. Overnight, restaurants, hotels, showrooms, beer
parlours, pubs etc. sprang up in these areas, in complete negation
of the master plan. In some cases these unapproved conversions
6

constituted not only a nuisance to the public but a grave security
threat. To tackle the deplorable situation, the immediate past
leadership of the FCT set up a committee headed by former
Director General of the Nigerian Tourism Development
Commission, Otunba Segun Runsewe which, in the course of its
activities, established that most of the beneficiaries had made
heavy investments in the green areas. It was therefore decided,
that in deserving cases, the allottees should retain only 10 of
the green areas while the remaining should be developed for
public use with the firm belief that if the administration needed
to recover the whole land, it could do so since it was not covered
by deeds and titles.
We have gone to this extent to explain dynamics of the
transformation of the green areas to prove the point that the
immediate past FCT administration was simply following
precedents in adopting out-of-the-box strategies that would
guarantee more effective land use management. The truth is
that the previous administration drew immensely from both the
Accelerated Development Program of EI-Rufai and the Sunshine
Hills Estate of Abba Gana, in prosecuting its highly ambitious
mass housing programs. It is on record that the administration,
under Senator Bala Mohammed, collaborated with estate
developers and institutions like the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC
and the Trade Union Congress, TUC to develop districts for
7

workers while the administration itself conceived three social
and affordable housing schemes in Wasa and Mamusa Districts
which were allocated to co-operatives to provide housing to the
lower cadre.
Conclusion
From the above, we want to conclude as:
1. The Minister never acted outside the limits of his powers in
the matter of land management in the FCT.
2. The Abuja Master Plan has never been inviolable. At various
times in the past, Senator Bala Mohammed's predecessors
had managed the plan to achieve a functional and
harmonious development in the city. For all his actions in
the area of land management, there were precedents by his
predecessors some of whom are still serving the nation in
various capacities.
3. What we do not understand is the Senate Committee
Chairman's unusual interest in the Minister's Hill. The
committee needs no reminding that all the beneficiaries of
plots at the redesigned Minister's Hill are Nigerians who are
legitimately and eminently qualified to receive the
allocations that were made within the constitutional
powers of the minister following laid down procedures and
precedence set by his predecessors. Some of these
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Predecessors are not just around they are still very much in
the service of the nation
4. We recognize the prerogative of the Chairman of the Senate
Committee on FCT to carry out his oversight functions in
any manner he chooses but that should never include
making unguarded statements that tend to ridicule those
who served to the best of their ability or derogate the
powers of the executive to carry out their normal
constitutional duties.
5. The committee will need to be reminded that a similar
effort to revoke the last minute allocations by EI-Rufai on
the eve of his departure could not stand. Ironically, it fell on
Senator Bala Mohammed to resolve the matter and restore
the status quo, which led to massive development in the
FCT and alleviate unnecessary litigation.
6. The former minister is available at all times to clarify his
actions in the area of land management thereby avoiding
unnecessary dramatization of ignorance or grandstanding
for media attention.


Emma Agu
Media Consultant to Senator Bala Mohammed, CON
Former Minister of the FCT
9

Bauchi State governor victimizes civil servant.
A civil servant in Bauchi State who made a facebook post questioning the financial integrity of the State Governor has been dismissed.
Governor Isa Yuguda of Bauchi State ordered the dismissal of Abbas Faggo over a facebook comment in which he accused the governor of corruption.
A letter terminating Mr. Faggo’s appointment and signed by ONE Ibrahim Shehu for the Head of Service of the State, said his appointment was terminated “because his services are no longer needed”.
The termination of the appointment took effect from October 10 this year when he was first suspended.
Mr. Faggo’s troubles STARTED when he accused the governor of monumental fraud and corruption, questioning the source of funding of the governor’s son’s wedding which took place recently.
Mr. Faggo had been arraigned by the Police before the Chief Magistrate of the state for the same offence.
However, the Chief Magistrate, Adamu Madaki, on Friday November 16, struck out the case against Mr. Faggo because “it was not properly filed.”
Below is the content of Mr. Faggo’s dismissal letter:
TERMINATION OF APPOINTMENT
I am directed to refer to the civil service commission’s letter No.
CSC/PRO/S/001/T.V dated 1st November 2012 to convey the commission’s
approval of YOUR suspension and termination of appointment from Bauchi State
Service with effect from 10th October, 2012 as YOUR service is no longer
required, please.
Signed
ibrahim shehu
For: Head of Service.
Below is the controversial Facebook post which angered the governor, and for which Mr. Faggo was arrested, detained and arraigned in court for allegedly defaming the Mr. Yuguda’s character.
“Those of us resident in Abuja, are witnessing yet another Bauchi wedding, this time we understand is the Governor’s son that is hooking the one-time PDP’s Chairmanship aspirant’s daughter. Inside sources said, already:
“Top officials of the Min. for Local Govt, along with the ALGON Bauchi State chapter are asking the 20 LGA’s to sign out N2m each as donation for the wedding NEXT Saturday of the Gov’s son. They awarded contract for calendars and note pads to an Abuja printing press. Contract for coffee mugs, Wall clocks, bags, badges etc. was given to a Lagos based lady. They will all carry the pictures of the groom and the bride. An SUV Jeep was also suggested as a wedding present to Ango. Finally the 20 LGA chairmen will all send their wives to Abj where the jamboree is taking place because Yuguda is now Abuja based.
“The story is all over town too, that in April $80,000 was sent to the ango on his graduation by the SSG, on the orders of the Gov. This is as a result of request by the groom to BUY a limited edition M/Benz Series.
“In Nov, 2009, when the Gov latest wife, also acquired thru Bauchi funds, was having her first child in Washington DC the sum of £150,000 was sent to the SSG by the then Accountant General for onward transmission to Yuguda. One wonders, why all this, as he has 21 kids from 3 wives earlier and all of them born in NIGERIA. The thinking is that he is using Bauchi state money for the purchase of citizenship thru birth, for his latest 2 kids in the USA. Already a house has since been purchased for Yuguda in Maryland through a once upon a time VOA staff, aide of his.
“These things are happening in a state where staff salaries are BECOMINGvery difficult to pay and inevitable retrenchment is looming day in day out. God SAVE Bauchi State.”

The 2015 General Elections have come and gone, and expectedly, it has produced winners and losers. The All Progressives’ Congress (APC) created an upset and won the presidential elections and four-time presidential candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari finally emerged victorious at the polls. Since the elections, political pundits and analysts have been analyzing the results of the elections and what caused voters to sway either this way or that way.
One state that is of interest is Bauchi State and the way in which APC won the state with 931,598 of the votes, leaving the PDP a paltry 8.5% of the votes to pick up. What is not surprising is not that the APC won; after all, the last time the PDP won the state in the presidential polls was in 1999. However, political watchers had predicted that President Goodluck Jonathan will be able to get at least 30% of the votes not only because the state has a PDP government, but also because it is also the state of the National Chairman of the PDP, Alhaji Ahmadu Mu’azu and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Senator Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed who are political heavyweights and are very popular in the state.
So what went wrong for the PDP and President Jonathan?
First, the very dismal performance of Governor Isa Yuguda in his eight-year stint at the helm of the state turned the hearts of many in the state against the PDP. In his two terms, the only capital project of note executed by the governor has been the Bauchi International Airport, a N9bn project which sadly is a misplaced priority considering how few people will even be afford flights regularly. It is also not justifiable to spend such a sum on an airport that will only be used optimally for one month a year during Hajj pilgrimage when the Gombe International Airport and the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano are within 5-hour radius and are available for airlifting of pilgrims to the Holy Land.
Yuguda’s tenure as governor has not left the people of Bauchi State any better than when he came in. He had initially used his penchant for cash gifts and handouts as a ruse to cover his non-performance but gradually, the people became aware of the reality of his non-performance. Considering his efforts to cozy up to President Jonathan, the people of Bauchi State punished PDP by voting en masse for APC, which also cost Yuguda his Bauchi South senatorial ambition.
Not only that, Yuguda further incensed people by foisting an unknown and unpopular governorship candidate, Hon. Mohammed Auwal Jatau on the PDP. The people of the state were expecting that either Dr. Mahmud Yayale Ahmed, a respected bureaucrat who has been Head of the Civil Service of the Federation and Secretary of the Government of the Federation, or Dr. Mohammed Ali Pate, former Minister of State for Health and respected public health expert to become the candidate of the state. However, they were edged out in the primaries as Yuguda imposed Jatau, a little-known House of Representatives member from Zaki Federal Constituency and a last-minute entrant into the race on the party and against the wishes of the party. This even caused Dr. Pate to defect to the APC where he worked tirelessly to earn their victory.
This was a stark contrast to the primaries of the APC where the governor-elect, Barrister Mohammed Abubakar emerged through a free and fair primary, which wooed voters to their side. Interestingly, Abubakar is also said to have been sponsored by Yuguda. If this is true, it means that the governor was clearly engaged in anti-party activities.
Another factor that should have contributed to the votes of President Jonathan was the voting pattern of Dass, Bogoro and Tafawa Balewa local government areas which are predominantly Christian and dominated by the Sayawa ethnic group. However, in September 2012, Governor Yuguda unilaterally moved the headquarters of Tafawa Balewa Local Government Area from Tafawa-Balewa, a predominatly Christian town to Bununu, which is predominantly Muslim. This action caused the member representing Tafawa Balewa in the Bauchi State House of Assembly, Mrs. Rifkatu Danna Samson to raise the motion on the floor of the House. However, all she earned for her troubles was Yuguda using his loyalists in the House to suspend her, which earned the House a lawsuit.
Also, the member representing Dass/Bogoro/Tafawa-Balewa Federal Constituency at the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara threatened to defect from the PDP to the APC if the decision to reverse the change of local government headquarters was not made. Yuguda refused to budge, and Dogara made well his threat and defected.
This also caused a mass switch in loyalty in the area to the APC as Dogara and Samson, both very popular worked tirelessly to ensure that the APC in that area. Dogara won his re-election and is now well-placed to be the next Speaker of the House of Representatives following the decision of the APC to zone the office to the North-East.
It is quite ironic that for a governor who has been working tirelessly to be in the good books of President Jonathan and was even lobbying to have Vice-President Namadi Sambo replaced with him on the presidential ticket, all his actions worked counter to the objectives of the PDP and President Jonathan.
However, Yuguda did not see that his actions were destructive because he had arrogated to himself absolute powers not only within the state but also within the PDP in Bauchi State.
As the PDP continues with its post-election analysis of what went wrong, it needs not search too far to see the person that single-handedly caused their downfall in Bauchi State.

Its Only in Nigeria that government officials kids are seen as criminals or fraudulent, our mentality are so crowded with negativity that we no longer focus on important issues that will move our great country forward but go around stocking social media accounts of Government officials kids looking for a post to misquote. We forget that they dint choose the family they would be in just as you and i, its should not be a curse but a blessing. Shamshudeen the ministers son is a hard working entrepreneur and a family man, who works hard to take care of his family, it is possible that his dad's position in the government boosted his personal business but since when did that become a crime. We should stop looking for something to tier each other down rather we should support one another. This is to the media: if you have a problem with the minister administration shoot at him directly. Leave his family out of it.

When NIGERIA embarked on the transition to democracy in 1999, the party that swept away most of the elective offices was the ruling Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) which not only had the presidency and the majority of the National Assembly but also won 21 governorship seats.
One of the states the PDP took control of was Bauchi State in the North-East, which was created from the old North-Eastern State in 1976. The Fourth Republic ushered in for their fourth democratically elected governor in the person of Alhaji Ahmadu Mu’azu, a quantity surveyor and the PRESENT National Chairman of the PDP.

Mu’azu’s emergence was made possible with the backing of a banker, Mallam Isa Yuguda, who held sway at the now defunct Inland Bank, headquartered in Bauchi Town. His influence helped the PDP sweep the state, for which he was duly compensated with ministerial posts, first serving as the Ministry of Transportation for TWO years and then as Minister of Aviation for another two years, both under the Obasanjo administration.

At the end of the second term of Mu’azu, Yuguda made known his ambitions to succeed him. However, his erstwhile protégé was not enthused with the idea and he frustrated his ambition, forcing him to decamp to the then All NIGERIA Peoples’ Party (ANPP). He won the sympathy of the people of Bauchi State who felt he was betrayed by Mu’azu despite supporting him in 1999, and that combined with the massive popularity of now President-elect Muhammadu Buhari who ran in 2007 as the candidate of the ANPP, Yuguda won his election.

However, just like Mu’azu betrayed him, he has also turned around to betray the people of Bauchi State. First, he defected back to the PDP and abandoned the platform on which he was elected. He also went further to torment his then deputy governor, Alhaji Garba Gadi, a respected elder who was the ANPP candidate before he was persuaded by the party to cede his ticket to Yuguda and BECOME his running mate. Gadi’s crime was his refusal to defect to the PDP as he insisted on being loyal to the ANPP; for this, Yuguda ensured his impeachment.

After eight years, the best known achievement of Yuguda has been superficial: a primary school, the Sa’adu Zungur Primary School which he spent N800 million constructing and the construction of an international airport for N8bn, a misplaced project considering the fact that Bauchi has an airfield which is not used at all. His excuse for the airport has been that it is needed to attract international INVESTORSand to make it easier for intending pilgrims going for Hajj to head to Saudi Arabia.

However, there is very little economic sense in having an airport that will be used optimally for only ONE month in a year, especially when the Kano and Gombe Airports which are also used for ferrying pilgrims to the Holy Land are within 4-hour radius of the state.

Even worse, unlike his predecessor who is best known for building roads across the state, scarcely any road has been built by the Yuguda administration. Obviously, his predecessor knows the impact of roads on the economy – a kilometer of road constructed is said to increase economic activity in an area by 23% averagely. Sadly, not even potentially economic GOLD mines such as Nahuta in Alkaleri Local Government Area which has a lot of illegal mining of copper, zinc, lead and limestone going on there, even on a large scale has accessible, motorable roads leading there.

ONE would have thought that Governor Yuguda would have constructed such a road and formalized the mining activities in the area, and other areas with economic potential in order to raise the internally-generated revenue of the state. However, his ideas for raising revenue has been limited to increasing the signage fees of the few commercial establishments in the state, which are mostly banks and led them to removing their signages for months at a time.

So at the end of eight years of the Yuguda administration, what can then be said to be his legacy? He has barely any tangible capital projects to show for it, and he has not raised the revenue profile of the state. As a matter of fact, the FINANCES of the state are shrouded in opacity as the details of budgets passed by the state legislature of the state are not made public. As such, it is impossible to measure their execution.


This is a question that we feel Bauchi people are best placed to answer: what will you remember Yuguda for?

By Aisha Suliman

at least you where able to acknowledge that. am not saying he did it all. but within his time of service he did the best he could

the minister has done so much in the last four years. Nigerians are so blinded by the negative that they have refuse to acknowledge the positive.

By Rogers Ochela
WITH the successful conclusion of the Presidential and National Assembly elections on Saturday 28th March 2015 and the emergence of Gen. Muhammadu Buhari as the elected President of the Federal Republic of NIGERIA on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), a lot of energy and ink have been expended by commentators, including hack writers and pseudo-analysts, who specialize in muddling the political water or worse still, fouling the fresh air Nigerians are currently savouring.

What makes Buhari's victory pivotally important is the fact that this is the first time in the history of the nation, an opposition candidate has defeated an incumbent president in an election, a significant milestone that will help shape the history of NIGERIA'S electoral contest for years to come.

Of equal epochal significance is the display of statesmanship by President Goodluck Jonathan, who, against the grain of expectations of enemies of Nigeria's unity, put national interest above his personal pride and interest, when he accepted the verdict of the people by putting a call across to General Muhammadu Buhari to congratulate him on his victory.

This exemplary act of statesman-ship by President Jonathan, which is in sync with his overall attitude to governance, removed the arrow, in a manner of speaking, from the quiver of those fanning the embers of war ahead of the election, a situation that actually frustrated the murderous ambition of those who allegedly stockpiled arms and ammunitions preparatory to instigating crisis of unimaginable proportions.

Understandably, this has elicited spontaneous outpouring of congratulatory messages from Nigerians of all walks of life for the President and the President-elect as well as Nigerians for the democratic achievement.

Surprisingly, while many Nigerians are still reeling in celebration for achieving another significant milestone in the onerous quest to stabilize the nation's fledgling democracy, some spoilsports, probably operating on a different wavelength, are engaged in the reckless and unholy enterprise of hurling invectives on some public officials whose only crime is to execute their assignments with the single-minded devotion of a religious devotee.

ONE of such public officials who have been at the receiving end of these harbingers of hate and malice is the Hon. Minister of FCT, Senator Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed. And what is his offence? It is his unabashed loyalty to the outgoing President and uncompromising fidelity the administration's Transformation Agenda, Jonathan's handmaiden for the accelerated development of the nation in all ramifications.

Being the most legitimatizing factor in the Jonathan administration and having contributed more than any of his ministerial contemporaries to the successful execution of the Transformation Agenda, Senator Bala Mohammed must be barbecued and the solid reputation he has built in the last four years must be torn to shreds as the lifespan of this administration throttles to its terminus on May 29.