Civil Society Organizations, opposition political parties, religious leaders, and citizens have condemned Governor Mohammed Umar Bago of Niger State for exploiting economic hardship to degrade electorates by indiscriminately distributing public funds for them to scramble for.
According to the Nigerian constitution, such acts of displaying or mutilating the Naira are contrary to the provisions of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act of 2007 and contravene the financial regulations of Nigerian construction.
The North Central Zonal Chairman of the Campaign for Democracy and Human Rights Advocacy, Dr. Mohammed Abdullahi Jabi, who described the action as most unfortunate said in Minna that the governor is unmindful of the consequences of his actions.
However, he stressed the need for the governor to demonstrate maturity, like his other colleagues, in order to learn the rudiments of governance and decorum.
He encouraged the governor to avoid the perceived excessive enthusiasm, which he believed was tarnishing both the governor’s reputation and the state’s image.
In another development, the Niger North Zonal chairman of PDP, Yahaya Ability has condemned Governor Mohammed Umar Bago’s action of throwing money in the public, saying that his Special Advisers on Security and that of Political Affairs were not performing their required responsibility.
Alhaji Yahaya Ability condemned the governor’s unrepentant actions of degrading the masses due to his access to public funds, to the detriment of the citizens.
He advised the governor to change this narrative to improve the image of his position and the entire state.
According to him, this is not the only way to make himself popular as a sitting Governor of Niger state but should treat people with dignity and respect in addition to having a listening ears to the good of all.
Similarly, the former Niger state Commissioner of Information and Strategy who is the Tambarin Kagara, Alhaji Umar Danladi Abdulhamid berated Governor Bago for violating the country’s constitution.
Alh Danladi Abdulhamid who advocated for better ways of sharing public funds in a more matured and organized ways however commended good gesture of any kind to the citizens especially poorest of the poor who are disadvantaged,.
Speaking against the backdrop of the viral video on social media depicting the Governor throwing money at Kagara people, resulting in injuries to many during his Sallah homage visit, urged the people to refrain from risking their lives for the sake of the money being sprayed around as stipends.
It has been reliably gathered that at least four people suffered fractured injuries, while numerous others sustained various degrees of harm during the scramble when the Governor threw cash at them while driving around the town.
Radio Nigeria reports that this practice has been his attitudes since he was sworn in on May 29, 2023, with the Kagara incident being just one of many.
This behavior has also been criticized by numerous Islamic clerics during their Friday sermons and teachings in the state.
ALIYU LAWAL.
