Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State has denied allegations that he was among some northern governors trying to cause trouble in the country.
Security agencies had said that they have uncovered plans by two serving governors from the North East and North West to unsettle the North ahead of the 2023 general elections.
They further alleged in their report that the prominent governors have started recruiting different organisations, religious bodies and youths from the northern and southern parts of the country to achieve their aims. But Mohammed, on Thursday, at Government House Bauchi, while receiving the report of a panel of inquiry on land use and farmer/herder clashes distanced himself from any such plan
He said he was troubled to read stories that some governors in the North were trying to cause trouble in the country. “I want to categorically dissociate myself from this kind of action. My antecedent as a civil servant, a senator, and a minister does not show this kind of action. We are working very hard to make sure that Nigeria and Northern Nigeria are safe. “Some people are threatened, may be because of the rising profile of some of us, and they are using this to cause disaffection between some of us and security agencies.”
He urged the security agencies to swing into action to investigate the matter.
“Please, come and prosecute me, irrespective of our constitutional protection, because to me, this is the last thing I can do,” he advised. I believe in the Nigerian project. I believe in the unity of Nigeria. Bauchi State has benefited so much from the Federal Government since I became the governor. We got over N12 billion from Buhari’s administration to build houses. We got a refund of over N12 billion, which we have used to set Bauchi on a path of prosperity.
“We have benefited so much from the Federal Ministry of Finance. We will be the last to cause disaffection between the state and the Federal Government. Those who are looking for reasons to raise their profiles should look for other means. They should not use Bala Mohammed,” he said.
