By; MOHAMMED KAWU, Bauchi.
Governor Mohammed Abubakar of Bauchi state has assured that the state government will soon write to remind President Muhammadu Buhari about the Federal government’s earlier pledge to relocate the Bauchi Central Prison to an outskirt from the heart of the township.
The Bauchi Central Prison which was just few meters away from the Emir’s Palace, had in 2010 suffered a setback following a jail break by members of the dreaded Boko Haram that freed some of the sect followers earlier put behind bars as a result of their up-rising.
“I want to assure the people that Bauchi state government will soon officially write a letter which I will personally take to President Muhammadu Buhari on the need to relocate the Bauchi Central Prison as earlier pledged by the Federal Government”, the Governor said.
The Governor, who was responding to a request for the prison relocation by the Emir of Bauchi, Alhaji Rilwanu Suleiman Adamu when he paid homage to Government House Thursday, said he would also remind the Presidency about the dilapidated Bauchi – Gombe road for its rehabilitation.
Abubakar, while responding to various other requests by the Emir, further assured that the state government is poised to improve water supply both in Bauchi metropolis and Local Government Areas of the state.
According to him, the government in collaboration with the World Bank will boost water supply in the state capital through the rehabilitation and capacity up-grading of Gubi dam, as well as improve the water supply system generally to provide 25 million gallons of water daily as against the envisaged 15 million gallons this year.
He explained that for the improved water supply in the rural areas, the state government’s agency ‘RUWASA’ in collaboration with UNICEF has mapped out plans to construct 300 motorized boreholes in each of the three senatorial districts of the state, and the construction of hundreds of toilets to curb open defecation by some citizens.
The Governor unveiled plan for this rainy season fertilizer sales launch next week, the N2billion loan CBN-assisted to one million registered farmers in the state to boost agricultural production, as well as the training of 50, 000 youths under the state government’s skills acquisition programme to enable them become self-reliance.
He debunked insinuations about the state government’s inability to pay backlog of workers’ salaries, saying Bauchi is rated among the five if not three leading states in the federation in the payment of staff salaries.
Governor Mohammed Abubakar called on the people of Bauchi to continue offering prayers for the growth and development of the state rather than castigating leaders on trivialities that blows nobody any good.
