Poor Governance In My State Made Me Dump The PDP, Dogara Explains

 
Few days after resigning from the nation’s main opposition party former Speaker of the House of Representatives Yakubu Dogara has stated that poor governance in Bauchi, his State of origin caused him to leave the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and join the All Progressives Congress, APC. 

In his resignation letter addressed to the Bogoro ‘C’ Ward Chairman of the PDP, he explained that a breakdown of governance under the administration of Governor Bala Mohammed whom he facilitated to emerge as the governor in 2019 was the reason for exit from the party.

According to Dogara he can hardly ask questions on happenings in the state and if he remains in the party and goes ahead to make such enquires he might be tagged a disloyal party member, hence his decision to leave the party.

He stated that if he abdicates this responsibility of telling the truth to power in the State, having done same under the previous administrations, he will be the most irresponsible and unprincipled politician to the electorates in the state who he represents at the National Assembly.

Dogara was reported to have dumped the party Friday last week after meeting with President Buhari and the head of APC’s interim management, Mala Buni.

His letter reads;

I write to intimate you of my decision to resign my membership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

This became necessary because the same reasons why we fought hard in 2019 to effect changes in the Governance of our dear state are festering now.

I intend to bring these issues to the front burners once again as the fight to install decent and egalitarian government in our dear state continues.

Specifically, I intend to ask questions about the following:

a. What has happened to LGA allocations since May 2019?

b. What happened to our campaign promise to conduct LGA elections within six months of the PDP government?

c. What happened to the N4.6 billion loan taken from a bank and paid directly into an private company’s account?

d. Why are we segmenting salaries and why is payment of salaries of state workers outsourced to a private firm as consultants?

e. Why are contracts inflated, awarded and payment of mobilisation done in violation of extant rules on procurement?

f. Why are our highly revered Traditional Rulers and Elders treated with odium contrary to the guarantee we gave during the campaign that such will not happen under a PDP government?

Mr. Chairman, you will agree with me that I cannot raise these issues and many more questions without a charge of disloyalty levelled against me if I were to remain a member of the PDP.

I cannot also fail to raise these questions now, having raised similar ones during the administrations of Governors Isa Yuguda and Mohammed A. Abubakar. If I abdicate this responsibility on the altar of partisan loyalty, I will be the most irresponsible and unprincipled politician in Bauchi State.

Thus, by this letter, I have resigned my membership of the PDP to enable me keep faith with my principle of fighting for good governance in our Dear state.