—- By Ameenu Mohammed
In a desperate attempt to present a bad picture of the APC administration under the leadership of His Excellency, Gov. Ahmed Aliyu ( PhD) the opposition PDP in Sokoto ended up becoming a laughing stock to its self.
The PDP recently issued a haphard press release and ironically enumerated all the achievements of the six months old APC administration which is very overwhelming.
The bone of contention in the press release is the amount of money the Ahmed Aliyu-led administration is spending in bringing back the lost glory of the good old days Sokoto was known for.
Although, the PDP in all ramifications has agreed and accepted that the APC has within the last six months changed the socio-economic face of the state but concerned about the huge spending on projects.
There is an Igbo saying that better soup na money kill am therefore, quality work must surely cost so long as the people benefit from it as the end always justifies the means.
Talking about road rehabilitation, reconstruction and rebuilding, the Tambuwal administration spent 8 years but everyone can count the number of road projects it executed.
Apart from the few road projects the PDP executed, the quality of work done is still questionable despite the huge amount it claimed to have spent.
Within its 100 days in office, the Ahmed Aliyu-led administration has executed more road projects than the 8 years Tambuwal administration spent deceiving the electorate.
Again, the PDP is aware of the exchange rate between the American dollar and the Nigerian Naira which does not need any economist to explain.
Almost all the materials used in the road projects were imported and a rough arithmetic will no doubt shut the PDP up. Despite the disparity between the Naira and the Dollar, the APC administration was able to meet the people’s expectations by rehabilitating almost all the bad roads within Sokoto township and redecorate them with state of the art street lights.
Furthermore, the PDP called on the state government to settle NECO and WAEC as well as tuition fees. Whoever made that call has a short memory lapse. How soon has the PDP forgotten the pain and anguish it caused parents for years when it deliberately refused to pay WAEC and NECO fees denying promising students from writing their final exams?
In the history of Sokoto as a state, there was never a time when government failed to settle WAEC, NECO and Tuition fees except during Tambuwal era, yet the PDP has tha the guts so speak on its monumental failure.
For the records, Gov Ahmed Aliyu was the first in the country to settle all examination fees for post primary and tertiary institutions immediately he came on board.
If not for his swift intervention, students of Usman Danfodiyo University, Sokoto would have missed their final year exams all because of the recklessness of the PDP administration.
Well it is already on record that the Tambuwal administration has a shameless medal for denying Sokoto indigenes from writing WAEC and NECO. A party that has shame should not be talking about payment of tuition fees, WAEC and NECO.
The PDP also shamelessly called on the state government to provide water to the people and improve the standard at the state Specialist Hospital. Well, those who leave in glass houses should learn how to avoid throwing stones but since the PDP has ignored that rule, let them be reminded that the first official assignment Gov.
Ahmed Aliyu embarked on was a visit to the state water board few hours after he was sworn in as the 7th Executive Governor of Sokoto state. Within the first 100 days in office the state government provided over 70 new boreholes to complement the rejuvenated water board and since then over 85 percent of inhabitants of Sokoto have been having access to portable water and all hands are on deck to solve the problem once and for all.
On the specialist hospital, has the PDP forgotten so soon how Tambuwal starved the place with zero allocation thereby rendering it to a mere clinic? Before Tambuwal left, the hospital had been in darkness for years but today, with the provision of a state of the art generator and restoration of monthly cash allocation, the hospital is once again looking like a hospital and not a mere consulting clinic when Tambuwal left.
Most ridiculing is the claim that the Ahmed Aliyu-led administration has earmarked a huge budget for the purchase of convoy vehicles. The PDP should ask any member of its party in the House of Representatives the cost of SUV vehicle before condemning the Sokoto state government.
Speaking on Security, it is advisable for the PDP to contact state security agencies and hear from them how concerned the Ahmed Aliyu-led administration is on safety of lives and property.
Can a government that bought over 70 vehicles and distributed them to the various security outfits be termed as not concerned? How many vehicles did Tambuwal purchase for security agencies in his 8 years?
The APC administration is proud of its performance and achievements so far and any government that can bring in over 50 new mass transit buses and over 20 taxis for inter and intra state movements, renovate schools and provide working materials, provide water, healthcare services and improve the status of its state capital should be applauded and not condemned.
The PDP has misfired and shot itself on the foot. In fact, it has no case whatsoever to challenge the APC in Sokoto. Therefore, objection overruled.
Ameenu Mohammed is the Senior Special Assistant to Governor Ahmed Aliyu on Print Media
