APC chief accuses Jigawa government of awarding contracts mostly to non-Muslims

A leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Jigawa State, Isah Gerawa, has expressed his displeasure with the way contracts are mostly awarded to non-Muslims in the state.

He accused the state's outgoing governor, Muhammad Badaru, of "awarding contracts to non-Muslims".

He said that the party's gubernatorial candidate, Umar Namadi, if elected in the 2023 general election, would not allow the trend to continue.

He said “it is unfortunate that the outgoing state government is awarding contracts to people who cannot help the people of the state.”

Jigawa State in the North West region of Nigeria is a predominantly Muslim state. This is also a state controlled by APC.

"I haven't received a kobo in four years from Jigawa. I'm watching how they pay non-Muslims who can only help our people to hurt them. We want this culture to stop, we we don't hate anyone but we don't want this culture to continue,” Gerawa said.

"For four years, I haven't received a penny (contract) from the Jigawa government. If you see me sharing money, I got it from other places, but my Zenith Bank account d 'where I get payment haven't received a penny in four years.

“But we are watching how they pay non-Muslims (entrepreneurs) who cannot help our people, we don’t need this situation to continue,” Mr. Gerawa said, drawing resounding applause from worshipers. went to his residence.

“We say this because we want them to change for the better, hopefully in the first term of the APC administration, Jigawa will no longer be the poor state in the country,” a- he said.

"Whoever did the wrong thing, we will say it publicly so also the right thing because we are not afraid of anyone. Whoever made a mistake by stealing the public treasury and buying properties abroad , we will tell the public."

Feedback

Although Mr. Gerawa did not mention Mr. Badaru's name throughout his speech, the governor's supporters responded on social media, sharing an audio of Mr. Gerawa praising the governor in an interview.

In the interview with Radio Jigawa in February, Mr. Gerawa said: "In 2015, I was granted a road contract in Jigawa. In 2019, the governor took me to see the Minister of Works Public and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, and I got an N81 billion contract,” Mr. Gerawa said.

When contacted on Friday, Mr. Gerawa's spokesman, Muttaqa Namadi, confirmed the statement. He said the comment was true.

He said, however, that those sharing the video on social media were "members of the opposition".

“The statement is not a lie, if they did not give him (the contract) that God gave him in another form, because the wealth of God is in abundance,” Mr. Namadi.

The opposition speaks

Meanwhile, Umar Kyari, deputy director, media and publicity, campaign leadership of PDP gubernatorial candidate, Mustapha Lamido, said the APC leader's statement shows that the party is not not concerned about the unity of Nigerians.

"We are not surprised that such a statement comes from an APC leader. Because from the start, APC was never formed around the unity and oneness of this country and therefore the question of which contract is up to whom is violated.

"This is a sign of a sinking ship, a drowning party and a dying government," Kyari said.

Spokesperson for Jigawa State Governor Habibu Kila could not be immediately reached.

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