YOBE STATE

 
FROM THE DESK OF CHIEF OF STAFF, GOVERNMENT HOUSE

 The last twelve months marking the second year of the administration have witnessed events that shaped and will continue to shape the socio-economic and political life of the people of Yobe State. It was a period that saw increased robust government intervention in key areas of development that have direct bearing on the lives of the people of the state, such as healthcare delivery services, agriculture, education, potable water supply, housing, public works and sanitation, amongst others.

 The year also saw the passing away of our late Governor, Senator Mamman Ali (May his soul rest in peace) and the ascension to power as executive Governor of the former Deputy Governor, Alhaji Ibrahim Gaidam.

 However, although there was change in leadership, there is absolutely no change in the attention that the administration gives to matters of development and transformation of the state. His Excellency Governor Ibrahim Gaidam has continued to show unparalleled commitment to moving Yobe State forward and to carrying on with the projects and programmes started by his predecessor.

 The Director of Press Affairs, Abdullahi Bego effectively captures the major activities and events of the last one year, as reported by the nation’s press.

 Bego remains ingenious in his effort at promoting and ensuring a positive public image of the administration and in working in partnership with the media to promote information dissemination of a wide scale.

  DEMOCRACY AND CONTINUITY
 Abdullahi Bego, Director of Press to His Excellency, Government House

 As the second year of the Governor Ibrahim Gaidam- administration rolls to the next, there is no better evidence that this was indeed a second year of Democracy and Continuity than the plethora of public services that the government was able to render the very raison d’etre of a democratic administration.

 For many Yobeans, this was also an epoch-making year. It was within this year, for example, that the government awarded contract for the vital Potiskum-Gashu’a road which links five of the 17 local government areas of the state. Significantly, the year witnessed a robust sense of social re-engineering in which the government maintained a consistent lead on project execution, and provided opportunities for people to lift themselves out of poverty and hardship into a life of relative ease.

 His Excellency, Governor Ibrahim Gaidam continues to provide exemplary and transparent leadership by ensuring that not only new projects are executed but that the projects and programmes started by this late predecessor, His Excellency Senator Mamman Ali were carried on with equal vigour. The Damaturu housing project, the 17 boarding primary schools and the Yobe-Turkish International College, rural road projects, the new 200-bed capacity hospital and the three-star hotel all these and many others are ongoing with an appreciable progress.

 The Governor is very active in many other areas too. Over 4000 local government employees affected by the recent biometric database exercise, for instance, were made to smile home with 14-months salary arrears which cost the government over half a billion naira. So were 888 school teachers who were also paid arrears to the tune of N200 million. This is in addition to the Governor’s approval that teachers be paid the additional 27.5 percent TSS salary scale increment agreed with Labour.

 Teachers in tertiary institution are also beneficiaries of the Governor’s effort at reinvigorating the state’s educational system, as their clamour for a new CONTISS salary scale was attended to favourably by government.

 As workers, who implement government policies, are made happy by His Excellency, farmers, who form the majority of all occupation groups in the state, are also being attended to.

 The Government is about to commence the sale of fertilizer and grains at very subsidized rates in time for the new farming season. Governor Gaidam has also procured 700 tractors which will be developed, along with others already on ground, to provide hire services to the farmers.

 Put together, the Gaidam-led administration has spent billions of naira in the provision of vital services that go to the heart of the government’s responsibility to the people. Below is a summary of some of the major expenses incurred:
1) Procurement of Grains for the State’s Buffer Stock – N 165.587 million
2) Payment on Yobe College (addition) - N298.2 million
3) Yobe College Student Feeding – N81.4 million
4) Renovation and Supply of Drugs to Hospitals – N279 million
5) Final Payment on Drilling Rigs Supply – N315.3 million
6) Additional Payment on Housing Const. across State – N572.3 million
7) Const. of House Assembly Library and Printing Press – N142 million
8) Payment of 27.5 percent arrears to teachers (TSS) – N33 million
9) Payment of arrears to 4250 LG staff affected by biometrics (popularly called Missed Call) – N534 million
10) Salary arrears to 880 teachers also affected by biometrics – N200m
11) Payment on Damaturu Township road and Drainage Project-N300m
12) Additional Payment on contractor of Damaturu Ring Road – N200m
13) Additional Payment on Nguru-Machina road – N200 million
14) Additional Payment on Gaidam-Maine Sorua road – N300 million
15) Additional Payment on Boarding Primary Schools – N200 million
16) Annual Salary increment for the whole state in February 2009-N16m

 These and many other government interventions have been widely reported by the press. This write-up tries to reflect the transformative programmes of the Gaidam administration by reproducing reports and analyses earlier published by the independent national media. Together, the collection paints an unmistakable picture of an administration committed to the well being of its people.

 The second year of the administration was, conversely, also a somber one. On January 27th 2009, Yobe State became the first state in a generation to lose a serving governor. It was on that day that the late governor, His Excellency Senator Mamman Ali passed away.

 The late governor’s passage was a subject of intense media reporting, as the newspapers particularly tried to aggregate public responses to it and place his contributions in the context of Yobe’s socio-economic and political growth.

TRANSITION, therefore, forms the second part of this writing, with reports, analyses and editorials on the late governor and a pictorial presentation of his burial.

 In addition, our Transforming Yobe State, an Inside Look which is a collection of pictures on the major activities of His Excellency, Governor Ibrahim Gaidam were adapted from our archive of pictures taken by our own Government House photographers, Abdullahi Mohammed and Hassan Mohammed.

 We hope this document remains a useful reference to how the last one year had been in Yobe State.
 

 EVERY SOUL SHALL INDEED TASTE OF DEATH….. WE ARE FROM ALLAH AND TO HIM IS OUR FINAL RETURN
 The above Qur’anic pronouncements sum up that surreal and sad news early morning on Tuesday January 27th , 2009 when His Excellency, the late Governor of Yobe State, Senator Mamman Ali was reported to have passed away at a Florida, United State hospital.
 As the news percolated through Yobe State and the rest of the country, a sense of disbelief, and then mourning descended.
 Throngs of people soon began to assemble at the Government House, Damaturu to mourn their departed leader and to pray for the repose of his soul.
 It was three days later in the early house of Friday that the remains of the late governor were brought from the U.S through the United Kingdom to the Maiduguri International Airport. Hundreds of people, including the new governor of Yobe State who was sworn-in 72 hours earlier, Alhaji Ibrahim Gaidam and his Borno State counterpart, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, members of the Yobe and Borno States executive councils and legislatures, and many others were waiting to receive and accord the remains of the late governor a befitting burial according to Islamic rites.
 The remains of the late governor, accompanied by a long motorcade, were taken to Potiskum, his hometown and to the palace of the Emir of Pataskum, Alhaji Umaru Bubaram Ibn Wuriwa Bauya, for the funeral prayers, which took place a few hours later.
 As the funeral rites got underway, tens of thousands of people from all nooks and crannies of Yobe State and the country thronged the palace to pay their last respects.
 It was a gathering unprecedented in the annals of Yobe State. It was the first time in the history of the state that such a huge number of people and dignitaries will gather in one place because of one man testimony to the stature of the late Governor, but also a mark of appreciation for the public services he rendered while he was alive.
 The funeral prayers, led by the Chief Iman of the Damaturu Central Mosque, Uztaz Hudu Muhammad, were made even more solemn with the invocation from the Holy Qur’an and the surfeit of tears that followed from the eyes of the prayer leader. Behind Uztaz Hudu Muhammad in the funeral prayers were the president and Commander-in-Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, AlhajiUmaru Musa Yar’adua GCFR, state Governors, Senators, and Members of House of Representatives, Service Chief and Top public Servant, Traditional Rulers, Religious, Political and civil Society leaders and sundry other too numerous to mentioned.
 The Prayers done, His Excellency the late governor was taken to his final abode of rest, leaving behind a legacy of public service that his successor, Alhaji Ibrahim Gaidam has carried on with equal zeal and commitment. Then about forty days later, the passing away of late Emir of Fika, Alhaji (Dr) Abali Ibn Muhammad Idrissa. His death came as unexpectedly as that of the late Governor. The Media especially the press, tried to capture these moment and the public analyses in various ways.

 Tearful burial for late Yobe Gov,
 Ali Yobe State on Fridy wore a depressed look as the remains of the late governor, Senator Mamman Ali, were intered at the Yindiski Graveyard in Potiskum.
 Dignitaries from all walks of life and cutting across various political parties accompanied the motorcade that snaked from the Maiduguri International Airport through Damaturu to Potiskum town where the burial rites took place.
 The corpse of the deceased arrived in London Executive Airline at the Maiduguri international Airport at 3:35am, and was conveyed straight to the palace of the Emir of Potiskum, Alhaji Umaru Bubaram, where it was kept until exactly 11:36am when the prayers for the departed soul led by the Chief Imam of the Damaturu Central Mosque, Ustaz Hudu Mohammed were offered to seek themercies of the Almighty Allah.
 Governor Ali died at the early hours of Tuesday, January 27 at a hospital in far away Florida, USA while undergoing medical check-up.
 The news of his death was first made official to newsmen at the government’ House in Damaturu afer a confirmation by the deceased’s second wife that had traveled with him to USA about three weeks ago.
 He was asid to have died of leukemia, cancer of the blood after being placed under intensified care for about three days when his ailment became critical.
 Meanwhile, the younger brother to the late governor, a permanent secretary with the state government, Danlami Abubakar Ali who has already been confirmed by the state assembly as the new deputy governor has denied that the former governor died of leukemia. He informed newsmen that Ali died as a result of chronic liver complications, an illness which the late governor, family members and some in the government circle had kept secret.
 Speaking at the burial ceremony, Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in the state, Rev. Fr. Godwin Teru described the deceased as a focused leader with a genuine vision for the state. He said Ali’s good works would continue to speak for him even as he prayed God to forgive the deceased his sins.
 Senator Bukar Abba Ibrahim who handed over the reign of leadership to late Governor Ali on May 29,2007 praised the late governor’s bold step towards reorganizing the state civil service, and the Yobe Turkish International College in Mamude. He also commended other projects of the late governor, and said he would be missed. Former Secretary General of the Igbo Welfare Association in the state, Mr. Nkem Kanu said Ali died a hero, and would continue to be remembered as a man of principle and passion for even development of the state.
 Many who came for the burial rites could not hold back tears from their eyes. In the roll call of those present among others for the burial were the President Umaru Musa Yar Adua, Minister of the FCT, Alhaji Adamu Aleiro, Minister of the state for Foreign Affairs, Alhaji Jibrin Maigari; former Head of State, Major General Muhammadu Buhari and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Alhaji Yayale Ahmed.

 Gaidam Earmarks 18 Projects for Commissioning:
 Arrangements have been concluded by Governor Ibrahim Gaidam of Yobe state to commission about eighteen projects executed by the incumbent administration towards the in rural communities across the seventeen local government areas of state.
 Site visits organized by the correspondents’ chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists [NUJ] discovered that the projects include 17 boarding primary schools and Yobe College, Mamudo which gulped over N4.4billion. State government officials said the aim of the schools was to ensure ”free” primary and secondary education and that over 500 students have been offered scholarships recently for undergraduate studies in Nigeria and foreign universities.
 Briefing reporters on the completion of the education projects, the Commissioner of Education, Alhaji Kaigama Umar, said that the N1.7billion Yobe College has reached 80 percent completion and that the campus has classrooms that can accommodate hundreds of students and that electricity supply has been completed to ensure regular supply of electricity and water.
 Other structures completed at the Yobe College include kitchen, laboratory, computer room, and two blocks of classrooms.
 The commissioner who was represented by Abdulkadir Hamza, the Director of Special Duties, Ministry of Education, said basic education infrastructure have been completed while landscaping of dormitories and staff quarters will be ready for commissioning soon.
 According to the director, the plan to embark on the education projects was to address the problems of “dismal performance” in the state, where some parents are still skeptical and resisting Western education.
 He said that by establishing 17 boarding primary schools, parents and guardians will have no excuse not to send their children and wards to primary schools, as each of the boarding schools will provide accommodation, feeding, school uniforms and security to pupils until they complete their primary education for admission into the Yobe College.
 He disclosed that each of the boarding primary schools has the capacity to admit a maximum of 900 pupils, adding that by the time the schools were commissioned, the 17 boarding primary schools could admit a total of 15,300 pupils per annum.
 At the Kukareta site of the boarding primary school on Damaturu-Maiduguri road, all the roofing, fencing and the fixing of ceilings have been completed, including the flooring of the classrooms and dormitories, toilets and bathrooms.
 The school which is sited on a 160,00 square metre land has reached 85 percent completion, while the Yobe College, according to the assessment of reporters during the education facility guided tour, has reached 80 percent completion.

 Gaidam Signs 2010 Budget into Law
 YOBE State Governor Alhaji Ibrahim Gaidam yesterday signed into law, the 2010 Finance and Appropriation bill.
 The governor had in December last year presented to the House, a budget proposal of N62,420,341 but the legislators increased it to N65,137,209,386 with the Speaker Usman Adamu saying the upward review was necessary to effectively cater for the yearning of the populace.
 The Speaker also called on the executive arm of government to strictly adhere to the provisions of the budget, adding that the House would enhance its oversight function by monitoring the ministries and agencies.
 The 2010 budget earmarked N45,571,628,386 for capital expenditure and N19,565,581,000 for recurrent expenditure while the state government has an opening balance of N5.5 billion.
 "This upward review of the budget size by the House makes it imperative for us to intensify our internal revenue enhancing efforts. I believe these amendments were done with the intent of providing more funds for the execution of capital projects for the improvement of the Living conditions of the people", Gaidam said.
 He added there was the need for concerted efforts in order to make the 2010 budget a reality.
 "We are aware that the unpredictable Federation Account allocation and the state's poor internal revenue base are factors which will make the achievement of these objectives difficult", he said. From Hamza Idris, Damaturu

 Address By His Excellency the Executive Governor of Yobe State, Alhaji Ibrahim Gaidam FNCA, CPA at the Reception to Mark His Victory at the Supreme Court Held at the August 27th, Stadium on Tuesday 23rd February, 2010

 Bismillahi-Rahmanir-Rahim
 PROTOCOLS
 Ladies and Gentlemen

I am indeed humbled by the teeming supporters and mammoth crowd of well wishers who have come from within and outside the State to celebrate with us the confirmation by the Supreme Court on Friday 19^th February, 2010 of the mandate given to me by the good people of Yobe State as their duly nominated and elected Governor.

2. Today we are celebrating victory for our great party, the ANPP, victory for democracy, the rule of law and for the electorate who voted for us in the April 14^th 2007 gubernatorial election. While welcoming you to this important occasion, I thank the Almighty Allah (SWT) for His favour that came our way on a blessed Friday.

3. As we celebrate the Supreme Court’s dismissal of the application by Senator Usman Albishir for extension of time to appeal, I wish to take this opportunity to recall how a simple intra party disagreement transformed into a protracted legal tussle, As you are aware, on the 13^th February, 2007 our great party, the ANPP guided by the indictment of Senator Usman Albishir by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) substituted him with Senator Mamman Ali as its gubernatorial candidate and my humble self as his running mate. When all attempts to get the concerned parties to accept the change in good faith failed, the aggrieved Senator filed a suit in the Federal High Court, Maiduguri Challenging his Substitution. I its ruling, the Court struck out the suit citing lack of jurisdiction to entertain it. In addition to the case filed before the Gubernatorial Election Petition Tribunal in Yobe State Challenging our election which we also won, the legal battle continued and book us to Federal High Court in Kaduna, Courts of Appeal in Kaduna and Jos, and the Supreme Court twice over a period of three years.

4. Now that the case has ended, I would like to commend the people of Yobe State and all our friends and well wishers for the support, cooperation, goodwill, prayers and sacrifice throughout the long process of litigation, It is not possible to mention all those who contributed to our success because they are too numerous, However, I should acknowledge the roles played by our party Executives, Elders, Women and Youth at the National, State, Local Government and  Ward levels. Our legal team led by Mr. Yusuf Ali SAN also deserves commendation for its focus, patience but most importantly, the sound professional advice it gave throughout the legal processes. Similarly, we should also pray for the repose of some of our compatriots with whom we started this struggle but are no more with us as they have answered the call of the Almighty. May Almighty Allah (SWT) have mercy on the Late Governor Senator Mamman Ali and ll our colleagues who passed away and grant them Aljanna Firdausi as their eternal abode. Though they are not here to celebrate with us, our victory on Friday is a glowing tribute to them and a clear testimony that their efforts were not in vain.

5. Your Excellency, Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, the conclusion of the legal case is a challenge to us to continue the work the present administration has started. Politics is all about the administration of public affairs, the management of resources, the preservation of peace, protection of the rights of citizens and the improvement of their morals. It is therefore about service to the people. To my mind, this was what the former Premier of the Northern Region, Sir Ahmadu Bello, the Sardauna of Sokoto meant when he said and I quote:-

“ I am not unaware that I have often been a controversial figure…….but the views of others have never made me deviate from the path which  I am certain is the one which will benefit my people and country. I have always based my actions on my inward convictions, on my conscience and the dictates of my religion”.

In another speech on the unification of the North, he was also quoted to have said:-

“Here in Northern Nigeria, we have people of many different races, tribes and religion who are knit together to common history, common interest and common ideas, the things that unite us are stronger than the things that divide us”.

6. Coming down to out situation if Yobe State, we should strive to appreciate some of the Late Sardauna’s legacies which include a principled and selfless leadership style which puts the general rather than the personal interest first in the conduct of public affairs. We must also imbibe the spirit of prudent, transparent, honest and accountable use of our resources. Our administration will continue to welcome constructive ideas so that our collective decisions will move the State forward. Yobe is known for its relative peace and the unity of its people. Rather than engage in promoting ethnic or political divisions, our focus now should be to bring development to our people and improve their conditions of living. It is only then they would appreciate democracy more, and be convinced that they made the right choice. The politics we need is the type the President of the United States of America Barrack Obama describes as “the politics of hope”.

7. Let me say that we should be magnanimous in victory. As I indicated earlier, the legal battle which ended on Friday was as result of disagreement among members of the ANPP family in Yobe State. Though we are the victorious side, we do not see out new situation in terms of the “Victor” and the “Vanquished”.

We are not angry with our aggrieved colleagues for taking us to various Courts. We see their action as an exercise of their fundamental rights as provided by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Our doors are open and we hope they will take advantage of that to resume their roles as faithful and loyal members of out great party, the ANPP, so that the process of reunification and consolidation of the party structure in the State could be completed within the shortest time possible. All aggrieved party members who have a genuine desire for reconciliation therefore, have nothing to fear. Let me remind them of the saying of a former Prime Minister of England, Sir Winston Churchill that “in war you can only be killed once, but in politics, many times”. They should put everything behind hem and contribute towards building the party and the State. A high powered Committee of prominent and respectable political leaders will soon be constituted to embark on reconciliation programme.

8. In this regard, I am glad to note that our sincerity of purpose, sense of fair play and respect for the rule of law have been acknowledged by the aggrieved members in a paid advertorial in the Daily Trust of Thursday 18^th February, 2010 at page 32 and I quote:-

“We must also say that the sitting government of Yobe State has in recent times shown some level of democratic culture in which tensions previously shared amongst citizens with contrasting views has been doused even though these views still exist. This is nonetheless healthy for our people to enjoy their rights of association and this deserves some applause”.

9. However, I must sound a note of caution. This spirit and gesture of reconciliation should not be misunderstood to mean weakness or taken as an opportunity to continue with mischief and lawlessness. It should be obvious that rancor and breach of peace are not what our people need and will therefore not be condoned. As the Chief Security Officer of the State, I have a responsibility to ensure security of lives and property. Any attempt to test our will through unruly behavior shall be dealt with appropriately by law enforcement agencies in accordance with the law.

10. Before I end my speech, I wish to say that it is with a deep sense of humility that I accept the endorsement as the gubernatorial candidate of out great party, the ANPP in the 2011 elections in Yobe State. This endorsement of my candidature is a measure of the confidence the people of Yobe State have in me and the policies and programmes of our administration.

May I therefore, express my appreciation to some of our National Assembly members, the Honorable Speaker, Deputy Speaker, other Principal Officers and Honorable Members of the State House of Assembly, Party Executives and indeed all stakeholders in our party, for graciously endorsing me to fly the flag of the ANPP. I wish to assure you all that we will Insha-Allah justify tye confidence reposed in us. I call on our party members to close rank and work hard towards realizing out dreams in the 2011 general elections.

11. In conclusion, I wish to commend the judiciary for its principled stance on the entrenchment of the rule of law in our Nation. While dedicating our victory to the glory of God, and the good people of Yobe State, I wish you all journey mercies to your respective destinations and homes. Please remember that Yobe State must unite and forge ahead.

I thank you for your attention and God bless us all.