Gombe, Bauchi governors cancel predecessors’ last-minute appointments

Inuwa Yahaya, governor of Gombe state, has suspended all appointments and contracts executed by his predecessor from March 10 till date.

Yahaya, who announced the suspension during his inaugural speech on Wednesday, said there were a lot of illegalities during the administration of  Ibrahim Dankwambo, the immediate past governor.

He said steps would be taken to address all illegalities, adding that perpetrators and “illegal beneficiaries” would be made to face the full wrath of the law.

“There were illegalities perpetrated by the immediate past administration and we will take steps to address all illegalities. Perpetrators and illegal beneficiaries will be held to account,” he said.

“In the meantime, all appointments, contracts and allocations entered into by the state government and local government councils from March 10, 2019 are hereby suspended.

“It will no longer be business as usual.”

He accused Dankwambo’s administration of failing to give the desired cooperation throughout the transition process.

He also lamented the poor state of the education sector, promising to constitute a committee to review the establishment of tertiary institutions in the state.

Bala Mohammed , governor of Bauchi state, also declared that all appointments, promotions and transfers made from the day he was declared the winner of the gubernatorial election in the state, are null and void.

He also made this known while delivering his inaugural speech.

“I want to state categorically that all appointments, promotions, transfers and secondments, including those that are meant to create frictions and divisions along with traditional institutions from the day I was declared the winner by INEC till now, are hereby declared null and void,” Mohammed said.

“Similarly, this directive also applies to all dubious approvals given on land allocations, sale of government vehicles and houses, as well as spurious contracts awarded in the dying minutes of the last administration.

“In cases where the instrumentality of a Kangaroo legislation was used as a mark, we shall use the instrumentality of credible legislation to cancel the absurdity to the scrap heaps of history.”

The governor asked the secretary to the state government and the most senior officials in the ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) to ensure strict compliance with the directive.

He also said he would establish a “high-powered committee” to recover all assets and properties of government that were illegally disposed of.