Bauchi State recovers 70 cars and generators worth £1.9m from former government

BAUCHI State has recovered over 70 vehicles and generators worth a total of N600m (£1.9m) from the previous government of Governor Isa Yaugda as part of an ongoing campaign to retrieve illegally-acquired public property.

 

Traditionally, across Nigeria, when governors leave State House, they generally take everything with them, including vehicles, property and accessories, in defiance of government guidelines. As part of the ongoing clampdown on corruption being championed by President Muhammadu Buhari, several governors, are trying to recover state property from their predecessors.

 

In June this year, the Bauchi State government seized 22 vehicles from the wives of the former Governor Yuguda and has now managed to acquire more state-owned cars as part of the process. Current governor Mohammed Abubakar, said that the state government's Recovery Committee also recovered a number of air conditioners from the officials of the former administration.

 

Governor Abubakar explained that immediately after his assumption of office, he started to toe the line of President Buhari’s anti-graft war by setting up a recovery committee, which was saddled with the responsibility of recovering all illegally-acquired vehicles and lands by the immediate past government functionaries. He expressed confidence that Buhari’s antecedents of zero-tolerance for corruption would place the country on a high pedestal among the comity of nations.

 

 “I’m happy to be the first governor to register support for President Buhari’s anti-corruption war initiated by National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN). I believe the anti-corruption drive would also be factored along good governance, fighting corruption and security of lives and property,” Governor Abubakar added.

 

NYCN president Ikenga Ugochinyere, said the war on corruption is a war that must be won, adding that a corruption-free Nigeria will guarantee stable power supply, employment, infrastructure development, security, a conducive atmosphere for investment, improved standard of living, better economy and improved international image. He noted that the youths will be the greatest beneficiaries of a corruption-free Nigeria, saying the anti-corruption war will avail them the opportunity to fulfil their potentialities.