Nobody Can Mention Kaura’s Achievements Without Consulting Books -LGAs Commissioner

LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND CHIEFTAINCY AFFAIRS

♠ Leadership style of His Excellency:
Actually, I have never seen or interacted with a leader that is as good as the Kauran Bauchi. He's not perfect but he's one of the best leaders I have experienced; I have been working with him for many years and I can tell you that he's tolerant, he's hardworking and has so much initiatives. He has great wisdom and has ambition for good things. I honestly don't have the words to describe him but he's almost perfect.

♠ What I've learnt from him:
I have learnt a lot of things, I have learnt patience, tolerance and hard-work. These are qualities of a good leaderthat I have learntfrom our dear Governor.

♠ Achievements at the Local Government levels:
His Excellency has the zeal and the commitment and he wants to develop Bauchi State and that accounts for the numerous achievements he has recorded across the 20 local government areas of our dear state. Secondly, nobody can mention, without consulting books, what His Excellency, the Kauran Bauchi has achieved as far as local government administration is concerned in Bauchi State. He has helped in transforming Bauchi to be an entirely new State. You see, as a leader, he has trained Local Government Chairmen, inasmuch as you don't have trained leaders, you will always be fumbling and nothing will go well. And it is for that reason that he sent the 20 local government chairmen for training to equip them with the right skills and knowledge that they need to carry out their responsibilities at their various local government areas. All the chairmen, deputy chairmen, councilors and even the secretaries were all trained. He has done so much that mere words cannot talk about. When you talk of projects, he has renovated all the 20 local government secretariats in the state, he has renovated, remodeled and constructed palaces of Emirs, district and village heads. He also distributed cars to all our traditional rulers and has done many more that I cannot tell you.

Kaura has been Fair in Distributeng Projects Across 20 LGAs -ALGON Chairman

ALGON

♠ Achievements of His Excellency in 5 years:
To be sincere, he has done excellently well because what we saw in the 5 years of His Excellency is unimaginable because he has executed several projects that touch the lives of the people of Bauchi State. I want to believe, with the way things are going, before the end of his tenure, Bauchi State will be a Mecca to the people of Bauchi State and Nigeria at large.

To be sincere and precise, His Excellency has delivered on the campaign promises he made to the people of the State because we were on his entourage during the campaigns; and we know the promises he made and we know the projects he has executed.

So, this is a fact that he has kept to his campaign promises and if you go round, you'll see the number of schools, the new ones he built and he renovated some. He also built new hospitals, renovated some and he constructed many roads across the 20 local government areas of the state. He constructed 2,500 houses across the six Emirates in the State all in an effort to provide shelter to Bauchi State people.

♠ Spread of projects across the 20 LGAs:
He has been very, very fair. Let me give youan example, since 1976 when Bauchi State was created, he is the only Governor that renovated the 20 local government secretariats across the state. Whereas, some of the past governors of the state eitherthe military orthe civilian, renovated only part. Some of them renovated only one department while some renovated only offices in the local government secretariats. Apart from renovating these secretariats, he also furnished them with befitting furniture.

And apart from that, he's the only governor that renovated and remodeled over 40 district head palaces across the 20 local governments and some of the palaces were remodeled and reconstructed and befitting furniture were also provided. All of them were also given cars. So he has been fair in the distribution of projects across the 20 local government areas of the State. He constructed roads and clinics across the 20 LGAs and provided water in almost all the local governments.

♠ ALGON's feelings about Kaura's achievements:
We feel very, very happy and we are proud of him because he has delivered, he has done wonders. Many people knew Senator Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed would work for Bauchi; but what he has so far done, the projects he has undertaken are unimaginable because people can seethem,tastethem, and even smell them because they are all over the 20 local government areas. We are very proud to work with him, he's a great leader per excellence, he's a leader worth emulating, he's a leader that wants Bauchi State to be new. You can see it, go to the Government House and see what he did there.

Since 1976 when Bauchi State was created, the Government House had been just one but it is during his tenure that he now constructed a new Government House, a befitting one that we are proud of and can even compete with any state as far as Government House is concerned. So, he has done wonders and we are very proud to be associated with him and we are also thanking him for giving us the opportunity to serve in our various local governments and we will continue to ensure that all his policies are implemented to the latter.

Without fear or favour, since 1976 when Bauchi State was created, no governor has worked across the 20 local government areas of the State like Senator Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed is doing.

♠ What I've learned:
Senator Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed comes from my local government area, Alkaleri, so also his wife. Working with him has been very fruitful because I've learned a lot. I learned that a leader must remain focus, a leader must ensure that he executes projects that will touch the lives of the people. I learned that a leader must stand firm and ensure that whatever he promise to his people, he executes it without any fear or favour.

I have also learned that a leader must be transparent because he keeps telling us that we must be transparent - we must make sure that we document all the projects that we did with the money sent to us and follow due process. This is so that at the end of the day, we will not be harassed, intimidated or insulted by anybody that will come after us. I have also learned that a leader must carry his subordinates along and must always be a listening person. He must also learn from them and even learn what will help him in executing the projects he designed for his people.

♠ ALGON is complementing His Excellency's efforts in transforming Bauchi:
We too are also executing some projects that we can afford to. For example, as the deputy Chairman ALGON of Bauchi South and as Alkaleri Local Government Area Chairman, I have executed five capital projects. One, there's a clinic that was constructed by Her Excellency, the First Lady of Bauchi State. The clinic has no space, so I purchased a land worth N1 million and I fenced the clinic and the land, since it is a women's clinic, they can have their privacy and security and that was just to complement the efforts of His Excellency and his wife. Second, I provided an access road in Futuk to the cemetery there because the access road had been washed away by flood.

Third, there's a clinic that the government started constructing in Sabon Gari but was abandoned for more than 15 years, but now we have finished the block work, we have roofed it and fixed windows and doors, what are remaining now are plastering and painting of the place; and in no time, inshallah, we will complete it.

Four, there's a slaughter slap that was constructed in Futuk over 25 years ago, it became dilapidated but we have renovated it by roofing it and it is almost ready because that is what the people requested us to do for them. Five, if you go to Yelwan Duguri, there is no guest house, the one there hasn't been functioning for the past 15 years. What we did was to open it up and we renovated and upgraded it, it is 90% completed.

There are so many projects we did like construction and renovation of over 100 boreholes in all the districts in Alkaleri Local Government Area. We also assisted our patients undergoing operation because of their condition or the hardship in the country, among man things we have done. All these we do just to complement the efforts of His Excellency in what he is doing in the state.

We’ve Never had it this Good in Bauchi -HOS

HEARD OF SERVICE

♠ Leadership style of governor:
I thinkforyou to understand the leadership style of His Excellency, the governor, you need to appreciate h i s background; how he was molded by his parents, which he is proud of whenever he speaks, being the son of a teacher, headmaster for that matter, a district head. He comes from a family you will describe as a complete family. Teachers are known for discipline, teachers are known for integrity, teachers are known as being opinion molders and they guide. This is where the governor comes from. Added to that, a royal family, a district head for that matter. So you are interacting with somebody who comes from a very humble, coherentand dynamic background.

♠ The civil service under Governor Mohammed:
We have never had it so good like this. Let me give you four points: welfare, infrastructure, appointment and character. Remember before he came in 2019, salary payment was an issue. And he said many times that if he wins the governorship, he will make sure that no civil servant works and is not paid and he is doing that. He also directed and we are the first state in northern Nigeria to implement the N30, 000 minimum wage. After the N30, 000 minimum wage, we went into consequential adjustment.

Now you have seen the state secretariat built more than 27 years ago. Nobody has ever touched it but you can see how he has renovated it. If you will take cognizance of developments four months ago, we were given LTT Local Transport or Leave Grant, that is leave grant has not been paid in Bauchi State for the past 15 years since Isa Yuguda was only two years in office. Today His Excellency has paid not only paid, he recently capped it up just before the Sallah Bauchi state has paid.

The wage award that was paid by the federal government, all civil servants in the state were paid N10, 000 across board. You can also look at the palliations, the food stuff that were distributed. We took time to ensure that every civil servant in Bauchi State benefits because we did it based on Ministry by Ministry.

♠ Ghost workers syndrome:
This is where you are having the erratic small omissions that you find here and there. It is all in an attempt to eliminate ghost workers syndrome. When the governor came the ghost workers syndrome was just like a normal thing. Today it is history because the ICT are using now, I am happy to even tell you that we are upgrading it and in the next two three months I can sit here on my table and tell you the number of staff in Bauchi on grade by grade, on professional line, on gender and any other thing. This time around every commissioner in Bauchi has the number of his civil servant at his finger tip. The commissioners and heads of extra- ministerial departments are responsible for their nominal rolls. We had Ghost workers come because there was no ownership. That was the issue.

♠ The secret of his achievements:
The secret, number one, is accountability. This is somebody that uses meagre resources to do a lot. You may add to accountability to crude nationalism and patriotism because this is somebody thatsleeps Bauchi, eats Bauchi, works Bauchi and worship Bauchi. He has nevergone out of this state forseven days no matter what unless he goes for medical check-upon religious obligation.

How we tackled ghost workers syndrome despite reelection campaign:
I called a meeting of all the paying officers of all the MDAs and I said they should provide to me the list of all those that were not paid. At that time we had 31, 772 civil servants in Bauchi state and at the end of that month when people were crying only 410 were not paid. If you are not paid its either your bank has a problem, there is a network failure, or there is problem with your account. It's a natural omission that will correct itself later. They were not many but the opposition thought they could use it to teleguide the minds of other people but right in the minds of the civil servants more than 80 percent of them are in sympathy and total support for the governor.

♠ The Bauchi Civil service after Governor Mohammed:
We are currently conducting reforms on public financial management for a cleaner, credible, effective and acceptable payroll and for you to achieve that you have to combine the human capital and the ICT. By the end of the day, May 29, 2027, the issue of "I have not gotten my salary" will be over, the issue of ghost workers will never ever repeat itself because the system will be self-accounting. I have sent a circular to the Accountant-General.

We have provided a means in which when you are leaving the service you will automatically migrate into pension and all you need to do today is you are receiving salary if care is not taken when you don't write your resignation the system will put you. It will just migrate you on your D-day and your pension starts. Those that will retire will automatically be migrated into pension. So you won't have a situation in which somebody who has retired and has spent six months will not receive pension. That will be a thing of the past and that is what we are doing now.

♠ Kaura: Creating Enabling Environment for Workers:
With an estimated civil servant population of 31,772, the reforms introduced in the service by Governor Bala Mohammed's administration has brought about a lot of transformation. Indeed, the civil service is one of the areas where the leadership style of the Governor shines brightest. A successful civil servant who rose to the position of Director in the federal ministry, the governor has positively exerted his influence in the state civil service since the past five years thereby improving delivery and welfare of workers.

The relationship between the Executive and labour unions in the state has been excellent and one of mutual respect. Before the inception of his administration in 2019, salary payment was always delayed.

Now workers are paid promptly monthly. Governor Mohammed's administration was the first in northern Nigeria to implement the N30, 000 minimum wage and among the few to give consequential adjustment. The civil servants are currently enjoying financial incremental that comes with the new consequential adjustment. He also directed that embargo on employment be lifted. Before the inception of the administration, the State secretariat and the 20 Local Government Secretariats were dilapidated for 27 years. Now the secretariats have been renovated and furnished, creating an enabling environment for workers to thrive in their duties.

Thus, the emergence of Governor Mohammed's administration brought reforms in the service that completely flushed out ghost workers syndrome that have blocked all loopholes and save millions into the coffers.
The system has been so well developed that it provides a means by which civil servant leaving the service will be automatically migrated into pension.

Under Gov. Mohammed, Bauchi Enjoys Religious Harmony -Religious Affairs Commissioner

RELIGIOUS AFFAIRS

♠ Leadership style of His Excellency:
His leadership style is that of objectivity. He sets targets for himself, he sets objects and makes sure that they are attained. He came in with several innovations: for example, look at this Government House, Bauchi State was created since 1976 but it's been the same Government House. This is an objective he set for himself and now he has actualized it. Look the road constructions, there is no local government in this state that there is no single project - every local government has at least, one important project.

I'll use these two words: 'aim and performance' to describe him. Governor's ability to maintain religious harmony in Bauchi There are no religious crisis in the State because religious crises are results of dissatisfaction.

In my ministry, whatever activity the Christians prepare for, His Excellency is there to assist, intervene and make sure that it succeeds. And when the Muslims also prepare for any activity, he is there to see that that activity succeeds. There are series of examples.

Look at the Maulud that was celebrated, he gave all theTsangayas food, bulls, ramsforthe celebration and he did the same thing when it came to the Lent, although it was not publicized. In Christendom, the Lent is observed only by the Catholics but His Excellency was there to make sure that that section of Christians, enjoyed their Lent.

Infact, even the quarterly meetings of the Christian Association of Nigeria, he funds it even if it is not 100%, but at least, he funds it 50%, 60% or even 70%. The same thing with the Jama'atul Nasir Islam meetings, he funds it, if not 100% but he funds it with a substantial amount of money. There are many Churches that have been assisted, constructed or rebuilt; likewise, so many mosques have been constructed or rebuilt and so many of such things.

♠ How to replicate Bauchi religious harmony across Nigeria:
You see, the first thing to do is to say that 'he is human and I am also human. So, there is no reason why I should hate him or he should hate me because of what I believe in.' Once we get that entrenched and that is what the Kaura Societal Reorientation is all about - teach the people that they must have a different perception about life. Why should I hate you because you are a Christian and your belief? You are human and I must respect you for your humanity, for your Nigerianness. If we are able to get that across, this country would be paradise here on earth.

♠ Kaura’s Body Language, an Embodiment of Love, Unity and Empathy:
Bauchi State used to be known as a volatile state where the relationship between the two dominant religions - Christianity and Islam- were frequently at daggers drawn. This acrimonious relationship has led to several crises that had led to wanton loss of lives and property and retarded the gains of the previous administrations.

Not anymore. Since coming to power in 2019, Governor Bala Mohammed has evidently worked what is tantamount to a miracle as Christians and Muslims now regard themselves as one entity and are willing more than ever before to work together to develop the state. This mutual respect and co-existence can be attributed to the leadership style of the governor whose body language is an embodiment of love, unity and empathy. These attributes which have become recipe for the much needed peace in the state, as seen in the way the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Community Relations and Social Welfare under the leadership of the governor galvanizes religious bodies to inspire peaceful co-existence. One of the achievements of the governor was leveraging on his close relationship with clerics to advance development in communities in the state.

Governor Mohammed as soon as he was sworn into office, wasted no time in the deployment of the two Pilgrims Welfare Boards and State Shariah Commission as parastatals under the Ministry. Available record show that he has been as much impartial as a leader can be to ensure that every one is given isfairdue.

He approved the release of N49 million for the successful conduct of 2019 State and National Quranic Competitions held in the state. In the same vein, he released N40 million during Christmas period with beneficiaries including turbaned Community Chiefs and persons with disabilities under Social Welfare.

The Ministry under his guidance sponsored 14 Qur'anic Recitation Judges, Chairman Qur'anic Recitation Committee and Honourable Commissioner to Saudi for lesser Pilgrimage. (Umrah). This is in addition to the distribution of 16 double Cabin Hilux to 16 Local Government Areas for the conveyance of Corpses to the grave yards.

♠ The sum of N9.9 million released for the conduct of 2020 Tafsir:
Series of meetings were held between Government and Islamic Scholars/Christian Scholars on the issue of mode of Tafsir Friday prayers, 5 daily prayers, social distancing, personal hygiene and Church services in order to control the spread of COVID19 in the state. Hands Sanitizers and hand washing sanitizers were distributed to Mosques and Churches to prevent the spread of COVID19 in the State.

Prompt monthly release of N500,000.00 for the feeding of inmates at remand home in Bauchi, Azare and destitute centre, N500,000.00 for medical assistance to people with abject poverty and N500,000.00 was released for the purchase of mattresses, pillows and blankets to Bauchi and Azare remand homes respectively.

♠ N5 million released to Izala Gwallaga for Azare National preaching:
Reconciled disputes such as the problem of VCAMS and RECAMS, between Yan Committee Groups in Bauchi and the Warji Izala case. It is no wonder therefore that primordial sentiments and religious acrimony are gradually facing out and the state has breathed a fresh air of peace which residents are internally grateful and excited to talk about on the streets.

1.9 m Hajj Fare Increase: How Gov. Mohammed Intervened -Muslem Pilgrims Commissioner

MUSLEM PILGRIMS

We are happy because our dear Governor has done so much for Bauchi State. Specifically speaking, in the Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board, he built a Hajj camp which is not just of national standard but a Hajj camp that is of an international standard. If you go to Saudi Arabia, you'll discover that where the pilgrims stay, I mean their accommodation, is not more or any better than what we have here in Bauchi. I tell you that some of the villagers that went to the Hajj camp and saw it, thought they were in Saudi Arabia. They had to be told that they were still in Bauchi because they couldn't believe what their eyes saw there. This is a very good achievement he did.

Last year, a Director in the office of the SSG in Kano State, led a delegation to come to Bauchi to see what we have here. And when they came, they went round the whole camp and asked the Camp Manager questions about the whole place. Also, from Jigawa, a delegation from the government came last month forthe same purpose.

♠ He gave blankets, money to Bauchi pilgrims:
We have enough vehicles for our operations. When I assumed office, there were many cars that were grounded, so I wrote a memo to His Excellency to give us approval to fix all the cars and put them to use. He graciously approved that for us and that was done. Since the Governor came into office, when our pilgrims from Bauchi State go to Saudi Arabia, he used to give them blankets, money - 300 Riyadh to each pilgrim and all they need. I think in northern Nigeria, I don't know of any State that gives pilgrims up to 300 Riyadh, some gave 100 Riyadh, some even as low as 50 Riyadh.

♠ The Governor is magnanimous:
When NAHCON announced the increase in Hajj fares, I began thinking how our intending pilgrims will pay the additional money of N2 million each in four days. Those who gave deposit of their fares were 199 and we were given 10 days but the problem was how the intending pilgrims will be able to complete their payment of N2 million in four days. Immediately, I called the Chairman of the Board, the Special Adviser and we sat down and discussed how we will face the Executive Governor with the troubling matter that was before us, and we couldn't go to the Governor. At about midnight, His Excellency called me and asked about the turnout for the payment of the fares, I told him that we had a low turnout as we didn't have up to 300 intending pilgrims despite that we had over 2,000 applicants and that day was a Thursday. Immediately, he called the Accountant General and the Commissioner for Finance and they discussed the matter. Then he called me back again and said that inshallah, he will pay half of the money and I asked him, "Your Excellency, is it for all the intending pilgrims?" And he said, "yes". I kept wondering about that because it was beyond my imagination because he was going to pay a total of N2,169,110,000. He gave the approval and then the Accountant General called me and told me to come the next day. The Governor paid the money and immediately, people came from different angles, came and filled the remaining number Bauchi State had. In the whole country, we are number 5 because of this intervention. If not for this intervention of the Governor, Bauchi wouldn't have gotten up to 1,000 intending pilgrims. We pray that God will reward him abundantly and give him more courage to do more for the people of Bauchi.

♠ Number of pilgrims government is sponsoring in 2024:
There are two categories of pilgrims that the government sponsors - state and local government pilgrims. I think the government is sponsoring about 400 for the state and the local government.

The government of Bala Mohammed in the last five years has overhauled the process of pilgrimage to the Holy Land. He prioritised the welfare of the pilgrims and made their act of Ibadah to Saudi Arabia seamless. Starting from the construction of the Hajj Camp at the Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa International Airport, to yearly cash gift of not less than 300 Saudi Arabia Riyal and state blanket mostly by Her Excellency the First Lady, Hajiya Aisha Bala Mohammed.

In the 2024 Hajj exercise, Governor Bala Mohammed sponsored 400 state and Local Government contingents. He gave a cash gift of $100 and SAR 300.
Apart from these, the Governor had 50% of the additional increment of the 2024 Hajj fare for the pilgrims from the state. This means the state government paid a subsidy of H959,000 for each of the 1,652 intending pilgrims from the state totalling H2.5bn.

The State Commissioner for Religion Affairs and Community Orientation, Alhaji Yakubu Hamza announced the Governor's decision to the public. This did not only bring joy but a fulfillment of the pilgrims' dreams to the Holy land.

The commissioner explained that "benefiting intending pilgrims comprise those who have already paid the increment and those who are yet to commit to the development as well as those who were being awarded a Hajj slot by the state government.

♠ His Excellency's leadership style:
Honestly, he has a very good leadership style for utilizing the money of the state. We always ask ourselves where he gets the money to carry out these projects spread across the state and yet he also pays civil servants their salaries monthly. He is leaving behind indelible footprints in the history of Bauchi State for which he will be remembered for in the future. We are proud of him and the achievements he has recorded and we pray that God will protect him.