- An APC gubernatorial aspirant in Gombe revealed the reason why he wants to become the state’s governor
- He said he said he has decided to run because the present PDP administration has failed the state
- The aspirant said there is no crisis in the ruling APC as it is normal for members to disagree on issues
A governorship aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Jibrin Barde, a former chief executive officer (CEO) of Sun Trust Bank, has revealed the reasons why he is interested in becoming the number one citizen of the state.
Speaking with journalists in Abuja on Wednesday, March 14, Barde said he decided to run for governor because Gombe is not “developing”, the Cable reports.
He said all the “development indices you can think of have collapsed”.
The APC governorship aspirant said this was unacceptable because the state has received huge funds over time.
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He said: “Why I have decided to this is because we don’t have to sit on the fence any longer. My state consists of about 11 local governments in the north-eastern part of the country and in the last seven years the resources that came our way has been mismanaged. All the development indices you can think of have collapsed.
“Our people have no access to potable drinking water, it doesn’t take the state government [anything] to maintain the dam that was constructed. The Gombe metropolis spends N5 billion annually just to buy water.
“Our education system has completely collapsed. Some of the children do not have classes they study under the trees. The hygiene is below human standard. Our hospitals are just mere mortuaries. This totally unacceptable given the huge amount of funds the state government has received. The state has a debt to the excess of N100 billion.
“I was challenged by my 11-year-old daughter when I was taking her to school. She said now that your generation has failed and I look at her and I said ‘what do you mean?’ She said you are going to make my generation fail. It got me thinking.
“I have reached the pinnacle carrier as a banker and it is time to give back to the society and the only way I can do that is to take the position of leadership. We have a clear vision of empowering the youths.
“I want to ensure that governance can be done with a high corporate responsibility. The [PDP] administration is full of deception. It is a time bomb that is waiting to explode. When you have young energetic youth who are actually jobless. It is a fatal ground for a lot of things. We need to harness these resources and that is why I have decided to join the race.”
Barde further said there is no division in the APC as it is normal for its members to disagree.
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“I don’t see any crisis in the party, to be honest with you. Reconciliation does not mean that there is a crisis. The party is intact as far as I know. There is no division in the party. Disagreement is allowed. So it is a natural process and it healthy for a democratic process,” he said.
NAIJ.com previously reported that ahead of 2019 presidential election, the Gombe state chapter of the ruling APC endorsed President Muhammadu Buhari for a second term.
The party officials from the wards, local and state government levels made this position known on Thursday, January 11, in Gombe, adding that the decision to endorse Muhammadu Buhari for another term was based on the achievements recorded by the administration particularly the war against the insurgency which it has won in the northeast region.
The party commended the Buhari-led administration for initiating laudable developmental projects and programmes particularly in the northeast geopolitical zone declaring that it has no other presidential candidate in 2019 other than President Buhari.
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Source: Naija.ng