Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State, yesterday, said Yakubu Dogara left PDP for APC to cover up his misdeeds, and fear of the ongoing probe of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) conducted by the National Assembly.
Dogara, while giving reason for his return to the All Progressives Congress (APC), said it was to enable him to tackle the bad governance of Governor Bala Mohammed in his home state.
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But Governor Mohammed through his Special Assistant on New Media, Lawal Muazu Bauchi, said there was nothing patriotic about Dogara’s return to APC.
The governor said the reasons given by Dogara for returning to APC were not good and reasonable enough to convince any true and sincere heart.
“Those living in glass houses should not throw stones at others. With the current investigations going on in the National Assembly concerning the NDDC financial scandal, one may be right to say the guilty ones are afraid and the only escape route is to return to the old fold to cover up their past misdeeds,” he said.
On the allegations by Dogara, Muazu said “Governor Bala is fulfilling his promise to conduct local government elections by fixing a date for that purpose. Financial transactions of public funds are done in an open and transparent manner unlike in the past when billions of naira were frittered away without any tangible project to show.”
It’s for presidential race – Sen Walid Jibrin
For his part, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the PDP, Senator Walid Jibrin has said that Dogara returned to the APC to vie for the presidency.
Jibrin in a statement, said Dogara left the party because of his dream to become either the president or vice president come 2023, which he felt he couldn’t achieve in the PDP.
He said the former speaker did not explore any internal mechanism for settlement, adding that even as BoT member, Dogara did not even approach the leadership of the BoT for complaints.
“I’m beginning to suspect that the former speaker has underground motives for joining APC. I’m beginning to suspect that Mr Dogara has a plan of becoming president or vice president in 2023, which he knows he will never achieve in PDP,” he said.
Respond to allegations against you – Dogara tackles Bauchi gov
Contacted, Dogara’s media aide, Turaki Hassan, said that Governor Muhammed should respond to allegations of corruption levelled against him.
“It has been over one year since Rt. Hon Dogara left office as speaker of the House of Representatives with an unblemished record of service. If there is any evidence of corruption against the former speaker, it should be published by those who make claim of its existence or forever keep their peace.
“Governor Bala Mohammed, rather than hiring paid minions to hurl insults and make false allegations against the person of Hon Dogara, would do well to scrap up bits of honour left in him by addressing the charges of corruption and self-enrichment listed in the resignation letter of the Rt. Hon Dogara, “he said.
