Bauchi State Commissioner for Information - Engineer Mohammed Damina
Bauchi State Commissioner for Information - Engineer Mohammed Damina
It had been speculated for several months that Bauchi State government had problem with adequate funding to meet its obligations in the state. The state Commissioner for Information Mohammed Damina in this interview with Theophilus Remi declared the true position of the state’s finance and why it had resolved to sack 50 per cent of its work force before it was later converted to deducting 10 per cent from their salaries for four months.
At how much would you put Bauchi State debt profile?
You are aware that this government inherited over N22 billion debt. It is my belief that the government has been able to pay at least N18 billion out of the said debt. This government is equally determined to pay all. By 2015, this government would have paid off everything.
Are you saying that all the debts the government has been settling were only those inherited from past administration and this administration has not incurred any debt by taken loans?
This government has borrowed money. But you know we split whatever was borrowed, for instance, if it is long term loan of about N2 billion or N3 billion borrowed for a particular purpose within three to four months we pay it off. This is what we have been doing. This government would not want to leave any debt burden for the incoming government come 2015. This is what we want to achieve in this government.
Can we then infer that the payment of all these debts has been responsible for all the deductions in workers’ salaries? There is a 10 per cent, one per cent and another two per cent which the state government is allegedly planning to deduct from the workers’ salaries every month. Would these not pose serious burden on the workers?
Who asks the civil servants to pay? I am asking who asked the workers to make deduction from their salaries.
I mean the deduction of 10 per cent that was announced by the Head of Service.
No, you got it all wrong. The civil servants voluntarily said they are making sacrifice of 10 per cent from their salaries. The Labour leaders made the announcement that government should deduct 10 per cent of their salaries for about four months starting from September to December.
So, what about the one per cent or two per cent that is currently generating heat in the state, especially among the workers, information has it that the Unions are warming up for possible industrial action should government remove it by the end of the month?
You mean the issue of disability?
Yes, the one per cent government said would be used for the establishment of Agency for the Orphans and Vulnerable, why should government wait for workers to take care of the destitute in the state?
People are donating money that is more than one per cent of their salaries in Mosques on Fridays and even in Churches on Sundays. Don’t you give alms? You donate more than 10 per cent? People are just making comment for the purpose of making it. We all gives alms, don’t we? People give to the less privileged. These are just openings to give to the less privileged. After all it is still a bill not yet assent to. It has not become law; it is a bill before the State House of Assembly.
Governor Yuguda has just married wife for his Son. It was alleged that the 10 and 1percent deductions were linked to the wedding and that the money spent was over N800million, that the deductions were to make up for the state funds that must have been expended on the wedding, that government is now making the demanded on the civil servants…? Cut in.
This is funny and laughable. Look if it were somebody else in the state that made this statement. I will say it is mischievous. His Excellency, Isa Yuguda gave several people money for the purpose of wedding. When Yuguda became Governor, you heard how much the asset he declared. Can you just imagine such comment?
You can find out from the civil servants if Yuguda has ever had any business of One Kobo concerning the state government.
These comments are just figment of imagination concocted by people to satisfy their political feelings. How can somebody who has been helping people in the state for weddings and for his own son to come, go outside there you will hear what people will say you will hear, I collected this to do this or that from Yuguda . Only to do the same for his first own son people are now saying all manners of things. That may be he steals the money from government. Is that comment proper? People are just looking for a way to provoke us as a government. He didn’t even go to people to look for money for wedding. Wedding for that matter, that was the same statement they made when he wanted to marry his last wife, they kept on blackmailing him telling all sorts of lies.
So, it is funny to make such allegations, this is his first son somebody now saying you stole to celebrate his wedding. Is that proper? Is that not mischievous statement? I don’t want to make much comment on this issue after all, have they given any Kobo? They have not given kobo to anybody out of their salaries. What are we saying? I am ashamed to make comment on the matter. This is somebody that everybody in the state knows that has helped many people virtually everybody in the state has benefited in one way or the other either directly or indirectly from the governor. If you have not benefited as a person, it could be your brother or a family member.
Come to think of it governor Yuguda friends, well-wishers such as Dangote who gave him almost half of the money that was spent on the wedding; others too gave him a lot of money, not that he asked them for money. He himself has a lot of money that can take care of the wedding not even as a sitting governor of a state.
Is Bauchi State broke? It seems this is the only state in the federation, where workers are been asked to contribute certain percentages of their salaries for its development?
Has anything stopped in the state? Have we had any situation where government cannot pay salaries? The government has been able to meet its obligations; constructions of one thing or the other going on in the state, major contracts - airport, roads, boreholes and salaries are being paid as at when due. In fact we paid last month salaries before Sallah.
What is the problem?
We are meeting all obligations, so, if somebody says he wants to assist you, won’t you allow him. These are none issue. If there are situations where we have not been meeting contractual obligations, you have not being paying salaries, meeting other needs it could be a different thing but we are doing our best in the state. Everything is moving perfectly, street lights are working. We even use generators to run it and hospitals are functioning properly. What else? We just brought in Germany Company to construct solar energy for us; very soon we will generate our own power in the state. What is there?
Haven’t you heard what was happening in other states like in Niger state that people are complaining that there is no single road that has been built since 2007 even our neighbour here in Jos, Plateau state, see the level of development, you cannot compare with Bauchi. What we are doing here cannot be compared to many states in the country.
The salary scales we used to pay workers in Bauchi cannot be compared with the salary scales used in Plateau or Gombe State. Go and find out. Ask very well. With the so called deductions that are raising dust, the salaries of our workers cannot be compared with those obtained in other states. Find out you will be amazed. The facts are there for you.
People are just making voluntary contribution because they want development of Bauchi State with deductions of some percentages for the period of just four months.
You have been insisting that the proposed deduction was voluntary contribution by the workers, but there are feelings that the workers are warming up for industrial action should these be fully implemented?
On what, 10 per cent or 1 per cent?
On the one per cent, of course; but not on ten per cent. Did you ask them, why they are not going on strike over the 10 per cent deduction?
May be, as you put it, that it was voluntarily, they said if government should insist on deducting the one per cent they would not hesitate to embark on strike?.
Yes! Very good. They gave that voluntarily. Let us wait and see the law being implemented before we begin to talk.
You mentioned Solar Energy project, it has been signed and awarded almost three months ago, at what stage of completion is the project?
They have not started yet, the site has to be registered and all formalities have to follow before the construction will begin. Remember the company has up to 18 months to deliver. The Commissioner for Power has being doing everything possible to ensure that there is no delay.
* Credits: Bauchi State Government