It is sad to note that Taraba’s development has been stagnated and completely frustrated by a combination of many factors, including, massive looting
BY AARON ARTIMAS
Barely four weeks after a Jalingo based News Magazine had dismissed Taraba as a “dying” State, the state government, in an infamously desperate move, is trying to shift its odorous shame elsewhere. After seven and half years of abysmal performance, the government is desperately searching for scape goats to take the burden of its massive failure and the consequent spread of despondence and hopelessness across the state. Perhaps to divert the attention of the people from this bad situation, the Taraba State Government, has become obsessed with the idea of attacking the personality of the Senator representing, Taraba Southern Zone, Dr Emmanuel Bwacha with the hope of impinging his growing image. This is not unexpected, given the fact that the Senator is considered as the most likely person to succeed this ‘dying’ regime.
In continuation of this unrelenting war of attrition against Senator Bwacha, the government, through its Commissioner of Budget and Economic Planning, Solomon Elisha, decried as “the poor implementation of national projects”, although he cowardly failed to mention the distinguished Senator by name. Most of the projects mentioned by the commissioner were lobbied by the Senator and actually fully implemented in the state. So, what is the propriety of addressing a Press Conference at this time, just to spew out lies and innuendoes?
Those conversant with Taraba’s mortifying situation are aware that the state has since moved from an intensive care unit to the mortuary and to divert the attention of the people from this horrifying spectacle, some people will have to be targeted. Unfortunately, the state government has picked the wrong person to carry its odoriferous garbage. It is therefore important to put the issues straight so as not to mislead right thinking people with moonlight tales from a discredited and desperate regime.
It is a well-known fact that traditional institutions are constitutionally funded by the Local Government Joint Accounts. Despite dubious re-organisation and creation of more Chiefdoms in the state, the state government had continued to discredit and belittle the traditional institutions in the state by completely failing to fund their activities. Not only had the government neglected to provides vehicles for the traditional rulers but also refused to build befitting palaces for them. The highest victim of this disrespect is in fact the paramount ruler of the Kwararafa Kingdom, the Aku-Uka who had consistently failed to obtain the respect and support of the State Government.
In response to this deplorable situation, the Senator had on many occasions tried to personally intervene by rehabilitating the palace, but on all occasions, the State Government refused to allow him to do so. Out of this frustration the Senator went further to include the renovations of the palaces of the Aku Uka and the Gara of Donga in his constituency projects, in order to bring succor to the respected rulers. But the State Government vehemently frustrated and scuttled the efforts, and in fact physically drove away the contractors from site. The Federal Polytechnic Bali, through which the funds were appropriated was left with no option than to vire or rechanneled the funds to other projects. Later, the government challenged indigenes of those traditional councils to renovate their own Palaces, following which Senator Emmanuel took up the personal task of renovating the Palace of Gara of Donga. It is a matter of shame to discuss these issues on the public domain because doing so would only, expose the traditional institution, to ridicule, odium and indignation. Certainly, the Aku-Uka as the Chairman of the State Council of Chiefs did not deserve this disrespectful treatment and no previous regime had demonstrated such impudence to the office or personality of the revered Ruler. As a matter of fact, many people are suggesting that our late beloved Aku-Uka was frustrated and pushed to premature death by the consistent lack of respect and support for his domain. His successor is not faring better in this deliberate effort to impinge the status of the institution.
As for the Radio Station lobbied for the Federal university of Wukari, all the government needed to do was to visit the university to confirm for themselves whether or not the project was executed instead of making spurious allegations. For the avoidance of doubt, the project has since been executed and the Distinguished Senator has even pledged to personally provide a befitting, broadcast facility for the radio station.
In its desperate effort to smear the image of Senator Bwacha, the government demonstrated crash ignorance by blaming our distinguished representative for what it said “Low performance of some agencies implementing federal and zonal constituencies projects”.
While it is the responsibility of our legislators to lobby for projects to the constituencies it is, the duty of the executives through the respective agencies to execute such projects. The government does not give money in cash for their appropriations and so no one could have diverted or misappropriated 10 billion naira.
However, the greatest irony is that the Commissioner who briefed the media on the mindless allegation of diverting federal fund, comes from Kurmi, a local government which became famous for chasing away Governor Darius Ishaku from Kurmi for failing to construct the notorious Mararraba to Baissa road after obtaining billions of Naira bank loans for the project. Solomon Elisha did not tell us why the Kurmi road has not been constructed up to this moment. Perhaps the commissioner should have volunteered information on the non-completion of other projects like, the Pantisawa and Tsokundi road for which more billions of Naira were obtained for their execution.
It is sad to note that Taraba’s development has been stagnated and completely frustrated by a combination of many factors, including, massive looting, greed, sheer wickedness and lack of interest for the social and economic well-being of the people. This is a complete betrayal of the people who entrusted their love and total support on a regime, which paraded itself as representing a certain religious interest, only to turn out to be a monstrous devourer of our common wealth. Today, all the institutions of governance in Taraba State, including Education, Health, Agriculture, Social infrastructures have collapsed to the ground. There is zero funding for government activities across the state. The situation has become so pathetic and dire that even the once boisterous government offices have become proverbial grave yards for lack of government business. Solomon Elisha who calls himself, the Commissioner of budget and Economic Planning, knows that for the past Six years, budgeting had been reduced to mere paper work without actual implementation. We are quite aware that Ministries, Departments and Agencies in Taraba State no longer receive monthly impress to run their activities and so, the commissioner must have borrowed money to address the press or even to type the text of his speech at the commercial centre.
The most horrifying and disturbing spectacle of the Darius administration yet, is the cruel imposition of an overdraft regime on the State. despite a radical and fantastic improvement in the Federal Allocation to the State. Taraba’s economic woes continue to deepen. Last month alone the FAAC shared N954 billion to its three tiers of government which means more than N10 billion had accrued to the State and Local Governments. Everything seems to fall into a bottomless pit of mindless corruption or crude theft. The State has become bankrupt due to multiple loans in all the government’s accounts and the Local Government Joint Accounts. As a result, the government has introduced a piece-meal, rotational or staggered salary payment system, in which few ministries and departments are selected for payment, which usually falls into the next month. The batch by batch payments sometimes does not cover all MDAs because of the difficulties in negotiating the over-drafts. This horrific and nightmarish situation have hit the pensioners as they are yet to be paid last month’s pensions. This is even as Governor Darius has not paid gratuities for Seven years while pension enrolment is no longer automatic. Many Civil Servants have not been enrolled for pension payment about one year after retiring.
As for the Local Government councils, they have been closed down for more than two years while their activities have been transferred to the State Bureau for Local Governments. Some Local Government Workers and Teachers have not been paid for Eight Months, with no visible prospects of payment. About four months ago, the Governor boasted about granting permanent employment to his so-called rescue teachers, who were controversially employed more than five years ago, but the rescue teachers are yet to receive their salary despite receiving appointment letters. Taraba, once a viable and 6resourceful State has been reduced to desolation, hopelessness and sorrow because a despotic and impenitent regime is bent on completely decimating its values and mortgaging its future. A recent attempt to employ about two thousand workers into the depleted public service ended in total failure as the government weighing its options finally concluded it cannot pay the new workers. Nearly one third of the Civil Service have retired leaving a wide gap of over thirty thousand vacancies in the State Public Service.
This is a regime which is yet to complete one project since its inception Seven years ago despite indebting the State to the tune of over N200 billion. The only physical project being executed in the State is the Twenty kilometer Jalingo Township road with two small bridges at over N52 billion. This makes it clearly the most expensive road in the whole country. The entire reconstruction of the about one hundred kilometers Numan to Jalingo will cost less than N4 billion.
Also, in the neighboring Adamawa State, the government has completed a three-layer interchange bridge with an under pass tunnel at less than N10 billion. This is the opposite side of Taraba’s mind blogging corrupt society. With this type of miserable image and zero achievements, the Taraba State government lacks the moral justification to accuse the federal government of “low performance or poor implementation of projects”.
What should concern the government is how it could hit the shore with its ship full of water and the likelihood of sinking into deep waters. The Commissioner should be telling the pensioner when they will receive their money or the Civil Servants that at one point before he leaves offices in about seven months, salaries will not stop. The entire hapless population have gone through their worst nightmares in the hands of the outgoing PDP administration in the State. The people now know their real enemies.
The recourse to diversionary tactics, is meant to hoodwink the people into believing that someone is short changing them while in fact it is the same government that is over burdening them. Let the government face the stark reality of its failure instead of the current wild goose chase.
In conclusion, Senator Emmanuel Bwacha is not the cause of lack of development in Taraba State. He is doing his part as the foremost representative of Taraba in the National Assembly. His achievements are visible all over the Southern Senatorial District and indeed the whole state. No amount of blackmail, insinuation and outright lies will diminish his growing status or dissuade the people of Taraba State from electing him into higher office. We are not unaware that all this shameless and misguided accusation are linked to his ambition of governing the state. This will come to pass by the grace and will of God. The Taraba State Government should stop playing God and face its responsibilities.
MR AARON ARTIMAS
Director Media and Publicity
BGCC
