Yobe Governorship Election: A closing argument and why Mai Mala Buni should take the day on Saturday, by Abubakar M. Kareto
Since the Yobe state governorship elections began, political intrigues have been in full swing. Yobeians will have a pretty straightforward decision to make on Saturday when they cast their votes in the governorship and House of Assembly elections. Before the voters of the “baby state with huge prospects and potentials in the North East and Nigeria” are one major candidate, the incumbent governor, Mai Mala, who is running for re-election, and a fringe candidate who appears to have gained sudden momentum and bogus confidence after the previous presidential election.
Yobe has a strong, stable, experienced, and capable ticket in Governor Mai Mala and his Deputy, Idi Gubana, who should be reelected by everyone who genuinely wants growth in the rapidly developing greater Yobe that is taking place right before our eyes. At this crucial juncture, it is risky to gamble with the state’s future.
In his nearly four years in office, Buni has proven his steadfast dedication to upholding the state’s development strategy by seeing to the completion of numerous inherited projects in a variety of industries. especially the Yobe Cargo Airport, which is currently active and hosts aircraft. The state received a new lease on life in the area of education—primary, secondary, and tertiary—with large capital commitments to repair crumbling facilities and update the curriculum. More than 300 students have been supported by the administration of Buni to pursue education in specialized fields in order to improve the state’s labor force in the future.
In order to improve access to high-quality healthcare services at the community level, the administration, during its soon-to-be-ending term, upgraded primary health centers, established primary healthcare facilities (PHCs) in 138 of the 178 wards of the state, built a 250-bed maternal, newborn, and child health care complex at the State University Teaching Hospital, among many other initiatives. Also, many additional general hospitals were completed, and more than 3000 medical professionals were hired to fill shortages in the workforce.
Mai Mala Buni has demonstrated exceptional performance in Yobe’s physical and integrated transportation infrastructure. I am unable to mention all of the significant road projects that are now under construction in the state or the continuous maintenance of already-existing ones. To facilitate the transportation of products and people, there are numerous township and main highways connecting towns; a greater proportion of them are finished while some are still under construction.
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Governor Mai-Mala Buni promptly started to broaden the horizons of economic transformation after taking office as a result of Yobe State’s security condition gradually but steadily improving. All of his aspirations for his beloved state include “creating a strong and resilient economy that would combat poverty and insecurity and to assist the people of the state in regaining their means of subsistence that have been destroyed by the insecurity brought on by Boko Haram.” Buni built four cutting-edge markets in Nguru, Gashua Damaturu, and Potiskum to accomplish this. The 50-hectare Potiskum Modern Truck Transit Park is located behind all the markets, which have 555 businesses of all sizes, an administrative building, a mosque, a perimeter fence, roads and drainages, a water facility, parking spaces, banks, fire stations, and a police outpost, among other things. Also, the resuscitation of marionette industries, like Yobe flour mills, came to pass.
In prudence and transparency, the Fiscal Transparency, Accountability, and Sustainability (SFTAS) program, a World Bank program, has rated the Yobe state government as the best-performing state in fiscal transparency and accountability. Just last year, Yobe State clinched the “Due Process and Good Governance” best state award from the Association of Public Procurement Practitioners of Nigeria. Similarly, early this year, Yobe State was named the best 2021 Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) performer among Zone B states (Borno, Bauchi, and Yobe) in terms of tax remittances. All these clearly indicate sanity and due process in governance.
Voting for a man and his deputy governor, who are driving Yobe’s transformation that began in 1999, is a clear choice for Yobe residents. You will undoubtedly choose the most logical course of action. This Saturday, let’s re-elect Mai Mala Buni and Idi Gubana.
Abubakar M Kareto is a Public Affairs Analyst and Commentator.
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