Bauchi State Governor, Sen Bala Mohammed Abdulkadir has expressed his support for the agitation for the creation of Katagum State from the present Bauchi State saying that he is now the Facilitator-in-chief of the agitation which started 40 years ago.
The governor assured the Movement for the Creation of Katagum State when he received the movement at the Government House saying that it was a legitimate thing to do as everybody is yearning for development and inclusiveness.
Represented by the Deputy Governor, Senator Baba Salihu Tela, the governor commended the movement for sustaining the agitation over the years encouraging them to keep the agitation alive until they get what they want.
He also said that he has read part of the memoranda or most of the presentation for the creation of Katagum State and is completely 100 per cent in support of it.
Tela stated, “As a matter of fact, which I know and SSG knows, he has given him instruction in the presentation of the Bauchi State government, the issue of the creation of Katagum State and additional local governments all over the state should be included as part of the state government’s submission to the panel.”
The deputy governor succinctly puts it thus, “This goes to show how passionate Governor Bala Mohammed is, how ready he is to support the creation of Katagum State or to ensure that Katagum State is created. We all know the advantage for the creation of a state.”
Senator Baba Tela explained that besides the title now given to Governor Bala Mohammed as the facilitator for the movement of Katagum state creation, he is actually the Jgaban Katagum which parenthetically made him in the front line for the creation of Katagum State.
He categorically stated that the present government in the state support the creation of a state, not only in Bauchi State but all over the federation, knowing fully that the creation of a state is well laid out in the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended.
“It is the wish of the people; it is the desire of the people guides that creation. What we should always try to avoid is selfishness. What I meant is that if we know Katagum is qualified to be a state, one state out of the Northeast or other states in the sub-region should not be stumbling blocks to Katagum becoming a state due to primordial desires.”
“We all know that it is God that crowns the efforts of everybody, and we know that it is God that would crown this effort, we will continue to seek his pleasure, guidance and ensures that Katagum state is created out of the present Bauchi state,” Tela concluded.
The movement was led by its Patron and Chairman, Alhaji Adamu Aliyu (Walin Katagum) and Alhaji Mahmoud Yayale Ahmed (Ajiyan Katagum) was at the Government House, for audience and presentation of the memo to Governor Bala Mohammed on the creation of the proposed Katagum State, ahead of the Wednesday’s Public Hearing on Constitutional amendments by Senate Committee for Bauchi, Borno and Yobe states billed for hearing in Bauchi.
The chairman of the movement, Mahmoud Yayale Ahmed explained that they have discussed and obtained the blessings of three Emirs of Katagum, Misau and Jama’are whose Emirates constitute the proposed Katagum state to install Governor Bala Mohammed as the Facilitator-in-chief of the Bauchi United Movement for the creation of Katagum State.
He traced that the relationship between Katagum and Bauchi dates back to 1926 when Plateau Province was created, and the Katagum division was weeded out from Kano Province and added to Bauchi Province with Gombe, saying that “during this period we have lived together, intermarried, and we are one and the same thing.”
According to him, the people in the three Emirates have nowhere to start their request for the state creation except they seek the blessings and mandate of Governor Bala Mohammed, saying, “This is without any pretentious display of humility and sincerity, but with a deeper sense of responsibility.”
The movement chairman described Senator Bala Mohammed as an astute politician, an accomplished administrator, an expert in governance and somebody who can bulldoze, manoeuvre, lobby and gruesomely confront any challenge to actualize a dream.
Yayale Ahmed added that “Anybody who likes to have a state, whether he is coming from Katagum or Ilorin would desire to have this particular personality to key into his request and become part and parcel of the larger lobbying group that will actualize the dream of those of us requesting for a state.”
Alhaji Mahmoud Yayale Ahmed, therefore, appealed to Governor Bala Mohammed with the deepest sense of humility as he assured the movement before to be part and parcel of it, to magnanimously stand by his words and actively facilitate the realization of the proposed Katagum State which agitation has been on for the last 40 years.
He attributed the facilitation of Governor Bala to the friendship, love, the brotherhood between Bauchi and Katagum and in particular between Bala’s family and Katagum area, a situation which left them with the feelings that Bala is just “located in Bauchi, but he is part and parcel of Katagum.”
Yayale urged the deputy governor to convey their total support and confidence to Governor Bala Mohammed and his administration about their request to have a state which, he argued, both of them would reap the benefits, and faithful and loyal to constituted authorities with the hope that Allah will do them the favour of creating Katagum State.
The patron of the movement and Walin Katagum, Alhaji Adamu Aliyu had while presenting their case to the governor, recalled that the agitation for the creation of Katagum State dated back to 1980 in the second republic, with 3 to 4 times submissions for its realization.
The Walin Katagum noted that this is yet another opportunity formally given by the Federal Government through the National Assembly for the movement to submit a memo to the legislative public hearing committee billed for Bauchi Wednesday on issues pertaining to the amendment to the Constitution as it affects additional States and Local Governments creation.
He explained that the demand for the creation of state and local government is not in any way a rejection of efforts of various governments in Bauchi state, but rather for the people to express their desire for self-development and improvement of quality of life of their own.
Aliyu added, “It is neither a witch-hunting for anybody nor a rejection of whether has been done by various governments of Bauchi state. We believe this exercise of creation of states has vindicated those areas that have true seeking for the creation of state because of the good experience we have seen in Gombe, Taraba, Zamfara, and many other states created in recent past.”
Alhaji Adamu Aliyu observed that with the current demand for restructuring of the country, one of the first thing that would attract the National Assembly is how to restructure the administrative units of Nigeria through the creation of states to meet the yearnings and aspirations of people that still feels states are necessary.
He also recalled that during the National Conference the demand for the creation of Katagum State attained a prominent position within the political parlance called front banner issue with a request for the creation of Katagum State endorsed by the conference as the third state recommended to be created among other states in the federation.
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I have no objection to creation of Katagum State out of Bauchi
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