The People Democratic party’s governorship candidate for the 2023 gubernatorial election in Borno State, Mohammed Jajare, has accused the state Governor, Prof. Babagana Zulum, of awarding contracts to friends, families, and relations under the pretext of direct labor.
He also alleged that the governor was buying off all influential figures in the PDP to wade off opposition in the state. These, he said, explain the substandard infrastructures wrongly celebrated on social media.
Speaking to The PUNCH on Sunday, Jajare disclosed that the ruling government in Borno had over the years muscled influential figures out of the PDP in order to maintain a one-party system.
He said with his emergence and the PDP’s free and fair presidential primary that produced former Vice President Atiku Abubakar as its flagbearer, the party will ensure constructive criticism of all policies of the APC government if they are not favourable to the people of Borno as enshrined in the constitution.
“Firstly we will stay away from any APC arrangements, we will bring forth real opposition in Borno State. We will criticize their policies that are not good. We will talk and mobilize, create awareness and orientate our people in most of the policies they are doing and any policy that is not good for the people of Borno State will be debated before it happens.
“All the fractions and misunderstandings in PDP were caused by the ruling party. PDP in Borno is strong. The ruling party has a vested interest in PDP which makes the party members fight each other.
“The policy of the APC in the state was to buy every PDP big name with the aim of making the state a one-party state. They buy off all influential figures or household names from the PDP just to silence the PDP and any influential figure that is not on their payroll is frustrated out of the state,” Jajare noted.
He said when elected governor come 2023, he will return all sacked civil servants and pay them all their entitlements that accrued over the years.
According to him, the state of insecurity in the state has brought about the hardship that should not have been aggravated by cutting workers from their only source of income after been denied access to farmlands.
“Insecurity is still a threat to Borno State. When I get elected as governor, all sacked government employees and public servants will be restored to their workplace and all backlog of salaries and arrears be paid in full.
“Contract awards should be done by reputable companies not family and friends in the name of direct labor but everybody knows it is not direct labor. It is a contract given to cronies, family members, and associates that is why most of the contracts that are done are substandard and expired within a short period of time,” Jajare said.
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