Bauchi State Governor, Senator Bala Mohammed, declared that the celebration of the 25th Democracy Day is a testament to the firm establishment and permanence of democratic governance in Nigeria.
In a goodwill message on June 12, 2024, marking the 25th anniversary of Nigeria’s return to democratic rule, he expressed his pleasure in addressing the nation.
He stated, “It is my pleasure to address you today on the occasion of the 2024 Democracy Day to mark the 25th anniversary of the return of our great country, Nigeria to democratic rule. We give praise to the Almighty Allah (SWT) for sparing our lives to witness yet another Democracy Day.”
Governor Mohammed emphasized that democracy remains the best form of government, as it empowers the people to choose their leaders and decide how they want to be governed.
Mohammed added that, “It is now one year since I was re-elected to serve the good people of Bauchi State for another four years. My re-election is a testimony of the confidence reposed in our Administration by the good people of Bauchi State.”
He added that, “With all sense of humility, I want to state that during our first term, we performed creditably in various spheres of human endeavour, ranging from construction of roads in both urban and rural areas, construction and rehabilitation of schools and health facilities, water supply, supply of agricultural inputs and machineries, human capital development through economic empowerment, among many other initiatives.”
He also stated that, “I want to assure you that we will not only sustain the tempo during our second tenure but will strive to improve upon our performance.”
According to him, “The various projects we executed during our first term were in line with “My Bauchi Project,” a blueprint we had developed even before our election in 2019. In order to improve on our performance during our first term, a technical committee was constituted to review the blueprint with a view to assessing the level of delivery of dividends of democracy and recommend how to address any grey areas and the way forward.”
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“With the review of the blueprint, our second tenure is witnessing aggressive execution of life-touching projects across the State. While completing all ongoing projects, new ones have been embarked upon,” he added.
The Governor further stated that, “Infrastructural development in the areas of road construction, construction and rehabilitation of educational and health facilities, water supply, agricultural inputs and machineries would continue to receive the desired attention. Priority would also be given to human capital development through economic empowerment, especially of our teeming youth. Security is also on our priority list. We would, therefore, continue to collaborate with and support security agencies to rid the State of crime and criminal elements.”
Bala Mohammed also stated that, “Like most other States, Bauchi State Government depends almost entirely on funds from the Federation Account as its source of revenue. Due to uncertainty in the global oil market, there is the need for us to look inwards to diversify our economy.”
He opined that,”This will entail boosting agriculture through provision of adequate inputs, encouragement of farm mechanization and deployment of extension workers to guide our farmers for improved crop production and animal husbandry.”
In conclusion, the Governor stated that the trust and confidence the people have reposed in the administration would not be taken for granted stating that,”We have re-strategized to faithfully justify the confidence by providing more dividends of democracy across the State. I humbly appeal for your continued support, cooperation and understanding as we strive to make Bauchi State a place that we will all be proud of.”
