Mohammed and his deputy, Auwal Jatau, were accompanied by their spouses, friends, and family members to the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Stadium, Bauchi, where they were sworn in.
The oaths of office and allegiance were administered to both Mohammed and his deputy by the Chief Judge of the state, Rabi Umar.
Shortly after being sworn in, Mohammed, in a speech titled: “My Bauchi Project: consolidating the mandate to place Bauchi first,” said he accepted his re-election for another term as a call to serve not because he was the most qualified but because it was a divine mandate.
He said his re-election represented a validation of his performance during his first term in office, adding that he would do more.
Mohammed said, “Looking into the faces of the exuberant crowd of our patriots here present, I recognize the overwhelming significance of this moment. I appreciate the trust that has been reposed in our administration by the majority of our people who voted for me.
“I am conscious that my re-election signifies the endorsement of the manifesto of our great party and the “My Bauchi Project” agenda on which platforms I ran for election in 2019. I am honoured that today’s inauguration represents a validation of the performance of our administration during the first term.
“But it goes beyond that. I see it as a summons to do more. Not as governor of the Peoples Democratic Party under whose platform I ran or any partisan or sectarian interest but for everyone residing in Bauchi State: indigene and non-indigene, citizen and foreigner, rich and poor, no matter one’s station in life.”
Mohammed scored his administration during the first term high in terms of delivery of dividends of democracy to the people in various sectors including education, health, security, revenue generation, infrastructural development, payment of salaries, gratuities and pensions.
He said his administration inherited a huge debt portfolio in excess of N100bn made up preponderantly of the Paris Club, Budget Support and the Bailout Fund, and some foreign loans with the repayment of these loans mandatory and deductible from the source.
According to him, we have repaid over 50 per cent of the debt, a situation that has exposed the state to serious economic constraints, especially in view of the dwindling resources both nationally and internationally.
He explained that right from inception, his administration was compelled to devise creative strategies for meeting the huge expectations of the people.
“Without a strong private sector capable of complementing the role of government as the major employer of labour, Bauchi State has always carried a huge wage bill. In fact, more than 80% of the allocation to the state from the Federation account goes into the payment of salaries, pensions and gratuities.
“Unfortunately, before the advent of this administration, the issue of salaries, pensions and gratuities had been mired in corruption and lack of accountability. To compound matters, on the assumption of office, we met a scenario where months would pass without the payment of salaries,” the governor said.
Mohammed added that despite the bold steps taken in the areas of financial reforms and the governance environment, he was pained that the challenge of gratuity payment defied the intentions and efforts of his administration during his first tenure.
He said, “It is for this reason that despite settling over N4bn without accumulating new ones, we still have about N23bn outstanding, inherited from previous administrations in the state.
“Notwithstanding the financial constraints we encountered, we constructed over 1,000 kilometres of urban and rural roads, connecting major commercial areas with markets and providing access to basic social services.
“Our urban renewal efforts not only eased transportation bottlenecks but also drastically reduced the heavy incidence of accidents that had hitherto overwhelmed the medical facilities with mind-boggling orthopaedic cases.”
He promised that during his second term, he would consolidate the achievements of his first term and deliver the dividends of democracy and good governance to the people for trusting him with the mandate to lead them again.
