By Ibrahim Abubakar Adamawa
Nigerian News U Can Use @ dopereporters.com/
The Taraba State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has called on Governor Darius Ishaku to focus his attention on reviving the state rather than looking for who to use as a scapegoat for his gross failures.
The state party publicity secretary Mr Aaron Artimas said this on Thursday while responding to the state government’s allegation that federal government projects allocated to some senatorial zones in the state were either poorly or not implemented as against the claims of the implementing agencies.
Artimas who said the state government was only trying to divert the attention of the people from the bad situation Tarabans have found themselves in after seven and half years of abysmal performance, urged the governor to use his remaining days in office as state governor to try and correct some of the damages his administration has done to the state.
He said that the state government was desperately searching for scapegoats to take the burden of its massive failure and the consequent spread of despondence and hopelessness across the state.
Aaron said the idea was to attack the personality of the senator representing Taraba South, Dr Emmanuel Bwacha, with the hope of impinging his growing image, as it was not unexpected, given the fact that the Senator is considered the most likely person to succeed the ‘dying’ regime.
“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 founded by Local Government Councils. Despite dubious re-organisation and creation of more Chiefdoms in the state. Taraba 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 provide 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, the Aku-Uka who had consistently failed to obtain the support of the state government.
“In response to this deplorable situation, Senator Bwacha 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 succour to the respected rulers but the state government vehemently frustrated and scuttled the efforts, and in fact physically drive away the contractors from site.
“The Federal Polytechnic Bali, through which the funds were appropriated was left with no option than to wire the funds to other projects. Later, the government challenged indigenes of those traditional councils to renovate their own Palaces, following which Senator Bwacha took up the personal task of renovating the Palace of Gara of Donga.
“It is a matter of shame to discuss these issues in the public domain because doing so would only expose the traditional stool of the Aku-Uka, 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 the 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.
“I can go on and on because the entire script of the briefing by the state Commissioner of budget and planning Mr Solomon Elisha is baseless and has shown absolute cluelessness. This administration has killed local governments, ministries and parastatals, health, education and nearly all aspects of life in the state. It has demonstrated the height of impunity, corruption, incompetence and total lack of sensitivity to the plight of the people. Rather, it thrives on promoting religious and ethnic divisions at a massive scale.”
