El-Rufai, APC lied on Kaduna treasury, says ex-dep gov

Nigerians, and particularly, indigenes of Kaduna State, have been urged to disregard the insinuation from the Governor Nasir el-Rufai administration that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) left the treasury of the North-West state empty.
The immediate past deputy governor of the 39-year-old state, Ambassador Nuhu Bajoga, also denied allegations that the PDP administration stole money and incurred debts worth billions of Naira, thus making it difficult for the new All Progressives Congress (APC)-led administration to take-off smoothly.
Bajoga, who spoke on Monday at a reception organised in his honour by PDP, Zone III of the state in Kafanchan, said instead, the PDP administration in the state left behind N8.6 billion to the present administration.
Bajoga said that contrary to insinuations in some quarters that the PDP-led administration left with huge debts, “the former administration was up to date in payment of salaries.’’
“We settled 10 years accumulated arrears of pension and gratuity before we handed over to the new government despite the dwindling revenue from the Federation Account and poor Internally Generated Revenue,” he said.
Bajoga, however, urged the people of Southern Kaduna to support the new APC administration, irrespective of party differences.
He called on the state government to also respect the wishes of the people of the zone which includes the clamour for a university.
The former Deputy Governor, who thanked the organisers of the event, expressed gratitude to PDP for providing him the platform to serve the people.
The state PDP Chairman, Mr Abubakar Haruna, expressed concern that PDP failed in the 2015 general elections.
Haruna, who was represented by a state officer of the party, Ahmadu Alang, called on party’s stakeholders to return to the drawing board and strategise ahead of 2019 general polls.
Earlier, the Chairman of the occasion, and one-time Commissioner for Chieftaincy Affairs in the state, Bawa Magaji-Kufana, commended the former deputy governor for his contributions to the development of the state.
He urged supporters of the party to accept the present change in government, describing the development as “God’s will“.
Magaji-Kufana urged the present deputy governor, Bala Bantex, to ensure that the concerns of southern Kaduna were addressed.
In a key note address, former Commissioner for Information, Mr Ben Bako, challenged members of the PDP to rise to the responsibility of repositioning the party to face the present reality.
He, however, expressed satisfaction that PDP, in the last 16 years, worked tirelessly to bring the country to the present level of development.