By Abdullahi Yusuf Hausawa
It appears that the leaders and members of the opposition, All Progressives Congress (APC) are having sleepless nights ever since Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal revealed his plan to construct 342 housing estate for public officers and senior civil servants in the state last week.
The Governor while receiving the report of a committee for the delivery of affordable houses to people of the state explained that the commemorative project to be named: ‘342 Housing Scheme’ was a special scheme for a broad spectrum of technocrats in the employ of the state.
These include but not limited to: civil servants, public servants, members of the state assembly, because they sold their own, members of the state executive council, permanent secretaries, Directors-General and Directors.
However, in a feature analysis titled “Why Tambuwal wants to cite housing project in Wamakko” and published on the Saturday’s edition of Daily Trust, the Sokoto state APC Chairman, Isa Sadiq Achida, as expected displayed his usual stuff of unsubstantiated claims. But it is not surprising because it is a known fact that ever since their defeat at the governorship election in 2019 by the mighty 342 votes, the mere mention of the number always runs them mad.
This is because it does not only meant salvation and freedom to the entire people of Sokoto State but it rekindled their hope for a better future, especially for their youth and more prosperous state, which members of the already tattered broom family have been praying against and hell-bent of fighting anybody’s plans to take the state to greater height.
The claim by the APC chairman, that none of Governor’s Tambuwal projects has ever been completed including the secondary school in Balle was laughable, because it shows that the chairman is yet to regain his sense after being inflicted with 342 dementia.
Where was he when the 60 offices and a library complex was awarded and completed by the Tambuwal led government at the Sokoto State University, resulting in the accreditation of most of its courses?
Where was he when Ibrahim Dasuki road was awarded and completed by this administration which was decorated with street lights?
Is the chairman blinded by his enmity to this administration to the extend, he cannot see the 12 brand new junior secondary schools built and fully equipped, including provision of ICT facilities across the three senatorial zones ?
What about the diagnostic centres, the first of its kind in the entire north, built by this administration and equipped with state of the art facilities, including City scan, is he not aware of it?
These were aside from many road projects cutting across the length and breadth of the state as well as other numerous projects that are too many to mention.
And has the chairman, forgotten soon that as the Commissioner of Home Affairs under the first tenure of Governor Aminu Waziri, he personally sought for the total overhauling of the State Fire Service, which was not only done but also led to the provision of new firefighting machines in the state.
We are sure the, APC treasurer in the state would testify to our giant stride in the area of scholarship, because his daughter was among the 200 students sponsored by the current administration to study medicine and other related courses abroad and we are proud of her, brilliant performance in her academy pursuit.
The chairman proved to be ignorant of the policies and programmes of the APC led Federal Government when he asserted that not a single fertilizer reaches out to farmers during the raining season. Let us educate him a little, so that he could not make a similar blunder in the future.
Importation of assorted fertilizer is exclusively the right of the federal government, meaning only the federal government imports the commodity; the states only make financial commitment which has always been deducted from their monthly allocations.
However, the Corona Virus pandemic which put the entire world at a standstill didn’t make it possible for the federal government to import fertilizer for the wet season farming this year, and even the ones distributed in Sokoto, after the flag off, was as a result of the foresight of this administration which saved enough quantity of the commodity for the raining day.
So rather than making insubstantial claims, leaders and members of APC in the state should embrace the olive branch extended to them by Governor Tambuwal, to join hands with his government to move the state forward, so that they too can be part of this history.
ABDULLAHI YUSUF HAUSAWA
Publicity Secretary
Sokoto State PDPP
