INTERVIEW I GRANTED NEW AGE MAGAZINE AS REJOINDER TO MORDECAI SUNDAY IBRAHIM’S PUERILE ALLEGATION ON YAKOWA ABANDONED PROJECTS. INTERVIEW Name Yakowa’s kinsmen who abandoned his projects, Maj Asake ( rtd ) challenges Kaduna Government Following the allegations and counter allegations that Yakowa projects were abandoned by his kinsmen after his demise, the Kaduna State Government has been challenged and their stooge Mordecai Simon Ibrahim to name such kinsmen who abandoned Yakowa projects saying some persons have been paid to paint Yakowa’s Kinsmen black. Fielding questions from news men in his office Major George Nchok Asake ( rtd ) who is the Chairman of Southern Kaduna Indigenes Progressive Forum (SKIPFO) wondered why a responsible Government with all the apparatus of governance at its disposal will fail to bring to book people who defraud the State. ‘’Now when Mordecai Sunday Ibrahim came up with this sweeping, wild and Satanic allegation I was so surprised because how can he say all the abandoned projects in Southern Kaduna were given to Southern Kaduna People also identified as late Gov Sir Yakowa’s kinsmen by him?’’ ‘’He claimed to be a Christian and that the Bible enjoins us to tell the truth. Yet, he told a lie painted as truth by refusing to disclose the identity of those kinsmen of late Gov Yakowa who abandoned projects after collecting mobilization fees. If Mordecai is a true Christian as claimed, why does he have to wait until he is pushed to the wall before he mentions names, Let him in all sincerity who pushed him to make the Press Conference in the first place. If he also knows that he was speaking the truth ( If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’’. John 8 : 31b – 32 ) he needed no one to push him before mentioning the names. So when I listened to him, I laughed and felt real pity for such a character because even by just reading his release, you will know that he was paid to go and say what he said. He was also clamouring for favour from the government of Kaduna State In that case, he was was speaking his masters’ voice, and who are his masters; Gov Mukhtar Ramalan Yero and his Deputy Amb Nuhu Audu Bajoga’’ he said. He further maintained that: ‘’ Even though Yakowa is no longer alive to defend himself, the records are there to defend him and everybody knows that Government is a continuum and it was the unfortunate and suspicious demise of Yakowa that brought Yero into office as Governor. He was the Deputy Governor when the government headed by late Sir Yakowa awarded contracts for those projects, he did not award those contracts in his personal capacity as Yakowa but in his capacity as the Governor of Kaduna State and this decision was taken after due deliberations in the State Excutive Council. Even a small child will know that considering the intrigues and shenanigans in the politics of Kaduna State, Yakowa could not have awarded the contracts to only his Kinsmen. By the way, it is a known fact that most of his kinsmen are not economically empowered enough to execute contracts of that magnitude. To the best of my knowledge only four or five of Yakowa’s kinsmen can do that as most of them are not into big construction work except considering the Nigerian factor may be, where some people source for and get the contracts and sell them but certainly not road construction work (the Southern Kaduna man with allhis imperfections will never partake into such sharp practices ) .Now, if Government is a continuous process and contracts were awarded to Yakowa’s kinsmen and they have abandoned such contracts, with the promise of Gov Mukhtar Ramalan Yero on ascension of office on 16thDecember , 2013 to continue with late Gov Yakowa’s legacy, what has stopped the government of Governor Mukhtar Ramalan Yero from bringing those people to book? I do know that the Southern Kaduna man / woman will be the first to praise the government for exposing those from among us who are denying our people development The money that was given to those people as mobilization fee was taken from the coffers of the state government and Governor Yero is accountable to the people of Kaduna State’’ Asake also revealed that how he and others from his group personally met with the incumbent Deputy Governor Amb Nuhu Audu Bajoga when these false rumours starting flying around rather than giving meaningful explanation, he ( Amb Bajoga ) resigned his membership of the Southern Kaduna Indigenes Progressive Forum ( SKIPFo’s ) Board of Trustees. The Same Deputy Governor who had earlier in January,2013 when we paid him a congratulatory visit in his office praised late Gov Yakowa for being meticulous and prudent in the management of the state’s resources. Now changed his earlier statement and said that Yakowa was deceptive and not prudent and has become larger in death than when he was alive, He claimed that the state Government had about three billion naira then and yet, late governor Yakowa decided to award a contract of twenty Eight Billion naira and used the three billion naira as mobilization fee. That the same three billion naira was meant for other sectors e.g health, Agriculture, Environment , Education etc to the neglect of such sectors. But the amount was used only for the development of roads and that after the death of Yakowa most of the contractors ran away with only one of them agreeing to refund the money he collected. I then asked him there and then ‘’ what are you talking about? If contracts were awarded and mobilization fees given, what stops the government from holding those people accountable and he said that will be going too far because Yakowa is dead now and cannot defend himself and this will earn him so much sympathy at the expense ot the present government.. I also asked him that if a dead man did something wrong while in government before his demise, does it mean we cannot correct it by bringing the guilty to book since they are alive or we should allow the people of Kaduna State still living to suffer it? On October 4th, 2013 we wrote to Ambassador Bajoga requesting for audience and this was basically an interactive forum , I know how I staunchly supported his selection as the Deputy Governor, even when my Younger brother Honourable Jonathan Asake was interested in the Deputy Governorship, Honourable Mark Jacob ( a friend ) and Rev Joseph Hayab ( my brother – in law ) were front runners for that post, I came to support Amb Bajoga as the most suitable candidate because I considered Gov Mukhtar Yero as inexperienced ( I still do ) to run a state government because he has been in the private sector all through, so he needed somebody who is more experienced and advanced in age. I was abused, vilified and insulted but I never bothered. So hearing such from him was so terrible a shock to me and we had to talk to him. During the interactive session with him in his own guest house we deliberated on this issue for over 6 hours.. ‘’Each of our members asked him questions bordering mostly on this issue, and we referred him to what he said earlier when we visited him on a congratulatory visit January , 2014, and we now asked him why he is reversing himself seeing that he is an elder, a former diplomat , a Christian and by our estimation a gentleman. It even reached a point where the Deputy Governor was saying all the debts incurred by Kaduna State Government were incurred by Yakowa and we debunked these blatant lies since we and many Kaduna State enlightened citizens are privy to the fact that Arc Namadi Sambo committed this state to a huge debt profile running into billions of naira while serving as Governor of the state and it was late Gov Yakowa that actually magnanimously covered this to protect Arc Sambo from exposure seeing that he was occupying the office of the Vice – President of Nigeria.’’ ‘’ It also reach an stage where the Deputy Governor kept on interjecting me while making my points. But I insisted and told him that if he had not wanted me to talk he would not have allowed us to come. and immediately we finished that interaction, you can see this (showing letter of resignation by Amb Bajoga as member Board of Trustees of SKIPFo) written in his own ( Bajoga’s ) handwriting. And he said his membership of SKIPFo ‘s Board of Trustees was in conflict with his official functions and position as a Deputy Governor and that what his Governor is doing is the right thing and he was a hundred percent behind him. As to the roads projects, he reiterated his assertion that the Kaduna State government was simply covering late Gov Yakowa because he was no more. I reminded him that there will be a day he will vacate the office of Deputy Governor Just as he had a day he was not in that office, before I could close my mouth he uttered ‘’ Even now, if I leave the office I thank God and the Gov Yero’’. ‘’He also claimed that Yakowa’s bridge was not constructed by Gov Yakowa but by Gov Ramalan Yero. Meanwhile, in July 2012 when we held a meeting in JV Benoble Hotel Sabon Tasha with the same Amb Bajoga as then PDP Party Chairman Kaduna State, he came through that same road and I remembered what he said, that the bridge constructed by Yakowa has made movement easy from Ungwan Rimi to Sabon Tasha. Late Gov Yakowa was still alive – a clear5 months before his demise. Now the same man was now telling us that late Yakowa did not construct the bridge but only got some people to tie a tape across which he used scissors to cut signifying the commissioning of the road and bridge. . How can a 65 year old man ( then ), a gentleman and a man I personally hold in high esteemed due to his accessibility be saying that, claiming the bridge was constructed by Ramalan Yero, it was a very tough exchange and that is me whenever I am sure of my grounds.’’ ‘’Even the Governor Muktar Yero, I have had cause to tell him to his face during the Southern Kaduna Elders Consultative Forum to go after the contractor who constructed the Kaduna State University ( KASU ) Dual carriage way for poor standard of construction work done. He actually asked me whether I do not know the contractor and I told him I did but it was not my responsibility to bring him to book since I was not the one who awarded him the contract work. Gov Muktar Yero and Amb Bajoga have at different times accused me of fronting for APC Party and it was the Party sponsoring me to smear the government. I do not know who belongs or not to APC and I have not carried any card of any political party in my life and I do not hope to carry any party’s card. My party is the person who does the right thing ( I can campaign for such a person party, religion and ethnic background notwithstanding ) and exercises fairness, justice and equity ingredients without which there cannot be good governance.’’ he added. On the very day that Sen Nenadi Usman held her sham empowerment programme in Kafanchan, it is a known fact ( we have the speech ) that Gov Ramalan Yero in his speech said all road projects in Southern Kaduna have been completed including College of Education Gidan Waya.. We issued a Press Release putting a lie to the Governor’s assertion. I also want Mordecai Ibrahim to tell the world whether Mabushi – Manchok – Kagoro road under construction by PW is undertaken by a late Yakowa’s kinsman. Is PW a construction firm owned by a late Yakowa’s kinsman and is the project completed? That kinsman if the answer is in the affirmative must be no other than Mordecai Simon Ibrahim. Could roads whose construction have been claimed to be completed by a mighty Gov Yero be said to be abandoned by a House of Assembly Aspirant and self – acclaimed Bible Authority Mordecai Simon Ibrahim? It is unfortunate that his parents gave him the name Mordecai the man who saved the Jews his people in captivity in Babylon, Simon , upon whom the church of Christ was built and Ibrahim , the father of all patriarchs. This one is a betrayer of his people just for a mess of portage. The 38 or 39 roads projects awarded across the state by late Gov Yakowa were NOT awarded to Yakowa’s kinsmen and almost all these projects came to a halt when Gov Yero came on board and it is only now that election is fast approaching and he knows he would be held to account that he thinks he can get someone with no medicum of integrity as far as this case is concern to lie. All over the state not only Southern Kaduna, it is widely known that governor Yero is none a performer and the worst governor this state has ever been saddled with. We shall talk about the billions of naira Fertilizer contract that he awarded to three people ( all from Zaria ) that has cause a lot of hiccup and late availability of fertilizer to farmers in the state for 2014 in the ripeness of time. He however differs with his Kinsmen on the creation of Gurara State saying the Southern Kaduna people must first of all unite in order to forge a common front before thinking of Gurara state. He believes with unity, they can still remain in the present Kaduna State and still hold the four aces that will attract development to the area. Moreover, creation of states under the present civil dispensation and the Constitution of The Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 is a mirage. It is own personal opinion and NOT that of the SKIPFos group he leads..
Posted on: Fri, 12 Sep 2014 18:50:44 +0000
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