- * Describe It As 'An Encouragement For His Failure'
By Nahum Sule (Taraba State Correspondent, in Jalingo)
Citizens of Taraba state, on Thursday, criticised the national honour award conferred on governor Darius Ishaku as, Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON), describing it as 'an encouragement for failure'.
Residents of the state who spoke to NIGERIAN NEWSLEADER Correspondent in Jalingo, the Taraba State capital, questioned why the governor would be honoured for performing so poorly in office for seven years. They claimed the only achievement of governor Ishaku during the period was ensuring that his four children were married in flamboyant weddings.
Hon. Sani Ayuba, Obadiah Agbu and Garba Mahmud Garba, both said the national award conferred on governor Ishaku was a mistake that is capable of encouraging further underdevelopment that may lead to more failure in the state. They however appealed to president Muhammadu Buhari to withdraw the award.
"Governor Ishaku does not merit the national honour award given to him. He is the least performing governor in Nigeria and his achievements within the last seven years was getting four children married. Taraba State has never been this bad until 2015, upto this moment where almost every working institutions that were bringing revenue to the government was allowed to die.
"The governor doesn't even stay in the state to know the plight of the people he is governing. He comes into the state only for two functions, which are to get the state House of Assembly's nod to borrow money and to take charge of the federal government monthly subvention to the state.
"Taraba state debt profile has risen to over N200 billion, as against N56bn before he came on board in 2015. We don't know what the governor has done with all the monies he borrowed. The 191kms of rural road projects embarked upon by the governor since 2015 are still yet to be completed and some of the roads are not even up to 30 percent completion.
"The only completed project of the governor in the state is the Green House which has already gone moribund since 2020 with 200 staff of the project automatically disengaged.
"The state water project that the governor has been bragging about with is even a word Bank assisted program. We wish to appeal to president Buhari to withdraw the honour given to governor Ishaku in the interest of good governance in the Nigeria", they said.
According to Mr. Bala Dan Abu, special Adviser to the governor on Media and Publicity, those criticizing the national honour on the governor were the ungrateful citizens.
Abu explained that the infrastructure revolution of the governor in the state earned him the position in president Buhari's search for developmental minded Nigerians for the award. NNL.
