Poverty is a lingering issue in Bauchi, says governor

Bala Mohammed, governor of Bauchi, says poverty is a “recurring decimal” in the state.

He was said to have stated this at the swearing-in ceremony of appointees into various positions, adding that a lot has to be done to reach out to people who require assistance within the “nooks and crannies” of the state.

According to NAN, Mohammed said his administration will move from building infrastructure to investing in human capital development in 2021.

He also noted that his government will work with competent retired civil servants to reposition the civil service in the state.

“For poverty alleviation, we have to do so much next year because there are so many people in the villages, in the towns, in the nooks and crannies of Bauchi state that require some palliatives and assistance from the government,” he said.

“We have told the Nigerian people, especially our electorate in Bauchi, that we will not just be building roads, renovating hospitals, schools, and doing agriculture. We must combine that with the recognition that poverty is a recurring decimal in Bauchi.

“We have to do that in a manner that will give some assistance and succour to majority of the people who look up to government. We need to do so much to reposition our human capital because there are lots of problems in that area.

“I will work with you in 2021 to see how we can deal with this monster of inefficiency, ineffectiveness and of course mediocrity in the system, truancy and so on and so forth.”

Those who were sworn in by the governor included Danladi Danbaba as special adviser, poverty alleviation; Yakub Barau, special adviser, rural development; Nasiru Mohammed, member, civil service commission (CSC).

Others were Yusuf Ibrahim, member, CSC; Garba Babale, member, assembly service commission; as well as Hamisu Makama, Alhassan Musa, and Abdullahi Maigari, as members of the panel of inquiry.

Danladi Danbaba, who spoke on behalf of the appointees, thanked the governor for the opportunity to serve and promised that they would be effective in carrying out their tasks.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), as of the first half of 2020, Bauchi ranked 24th on internally generated revenue (IGR) at state level.