Bauchi State Governor, Mohammed Abubakar, on Friday said his style of bringing about change in the governance of the state was forcing people to resign from his cabinet.
He said it was very difficult for people to embrace the change he had introduced into governance.
Abubakar spoke with State House correspondents after a meeting he had with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The state deputy governor, Nuhu Gidado, had on Wednesday resigned his appointment.
Apart from the deputy governor, others who have resigned from Abubakar’s cabinet include the former Commissioner for Budget and Planning, Shehu Ningi; the Special Adviser to the Governor on Investment, Samaila Sanusi, and the Deputy Caretaker Chairman of Tafawa Balewa Local Government Area, Munnir Yisin.
When asked why government officials were resigning in droves, Abubakar said, “Because I have come to Bauchi State to engender change and change is very very difficult for people to accept.
“People are used to a certain way of doing business and I have come to change that way of doing business because that way was destroying Bauchi State.
“So, we had to put a stop to it, we had to bring Bauchi State out of the dungeon.
“I give people a chance and if you think you can go at my pace, you stay and if you can’t go at my pace, you resign.”
The governor however insisted that nothing untoward happened between him and his former deputy before he resigned.
“What transpired is in the letter of the deputy and I think people should read that letter.
“Read the entire letter and you will see that there was nothing bad that transpired between us.
“In his final paragraph, he said that he remained loyal to his leader and his brother. In my response, I eulogised him and wished him the best in his future endeavour and assured him of the support of the good people of Bauchi State. There was no problem whatsoever,”the governor said.
On why he found it easy to accept Gidado’s resignation, he said, “The word resignation connotes a will on the part of the person who has offered.
“He offered his letter willingly and there is no way you can force him to accept an employment when the time has come for him to look elsewhere.”
Abubakar insisted that he had a fantastic working relationship with his former deputy while it lasted. He quoted Gidado as saying many times that he was the most pampered deputy governor in Nigeria.
When reminded that the spokesman to the deputy governor said on television that he resigned because he was not being treated as part of the government, the governor said, “I think he is wrong. Go to the House of Assembly and check, I went on official leave twice since I took over and each time I transmitted a letter to the House of Assembly making him the acting governor of Bauchi.
“Moreover, I gave him the most important ministry, Ministry of Education where I have been allocating the largest share of the budget of Bauchi State from the time I took over till date.”
HE, you may have have to look at your modalities again. The fault may well be yours.
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