Adamawa: Bindow returning government to the people

How has he fared in the last two years?
n the word of former US President, George W. Bush “use power to help others for we are given power not to advance our own purposes, not to make a good show in the world, not a name. There is but one just use of power and it is to serve the people”.

Similarly in his book titled: ‘Of wisdom and voltir the act of war, the path of peace’ Aleksandra laylord asserted that “the king should be the servant of his people and seek to uplift them and their lives” while on his part, Leighton Ford added that “true leadership means to receive power from God and use it under God rule to served people in God way”.

The above assertions, postulations and words of wisdom on servant leadership from these eminent scholars and world leaders summarize the leadership qualities, style of governance of Governor Bindow Umaru Jibrilla, since he assumed office at Dougirei Government House, Yola.
Against all odds and pessimism about his ability to rule a difficult state like Adamawa whose politics has consumed more tasted and astute politicians since the restoration of democracy in 1999, Governor Mohammed Bindow Jibrilla of Adamawa state, defeated the much favored Mallam Nuhu Ribadu to emerged the state, chief executive.
He also vowed to run a transparent, accountable and corrupt free administration that would make the state and its people proud.

According to him he would be a governor for all and he would not allow himself to be caged by any political God father but will give the elites their deserving honour and respect as culture demands insisting that, God and the ordinary people of Adamawa who elected him into office are his God fathers.
In his words: “we will transform the state especially in the area of basic infrastructure, carried the masses along in governance and run a transparent, corrupt free and accountable administration that would change the narrative of Adamawa and meet the yearnings and aspirations of our people”

“God has done everything to me in my life. Politically he make me a senator where I represented my people very well and torches their lives to the best of my ability and now he make me a governor through the masses of Adamawa I will not betray their trust. So we have no option than to work for the common man. I don’t have any other interest than the collective interest of the people of Adamawa State”.
On assumption of office, Bindow came in contact with reality of Adamawa’s backwardness as he inherited a completely decayed state with absence of basic infrastructures unbefitting of its status.

Even Yola the state capital was in shambles in fact, it was a story of alarming neglect synonymous with not having a government at all in Adamawa state since its creation, despite the huge resources that came into the coffers of the state government under various administrations that ruled the state before him.
The situation that the governor met was like starting from the scratch and to worsen the situation, the governor came to power at a time of economic recession and dwindling resources, when government at all levels hardly meet up with payment of salaries much more of executing projects. Bindow also met the challenges of intimidating debt profile in addition to unpaid salaries handed over to him by Ngillari’s government which stood at N2.4bn.

Despite these challenges Bindow decided to use his business connections and spread his tentacles to other sources in his determination to fulfill his promises to the people of Adamawa state.
Within just three weeks in office he paid workers’ salaries in the state and flagged off the constructions of some rural roads in the state under the federal government Rural Access Mobility Programme (RAMP), estimated at 341 kilometers. The work is a joint project with the World Bank, French Development Agency and the state government where he settled a counterpart fund of $3.2.

This was immediately followed by flagging off of many township roads within Yola, as well as other roads projects in Jimeta, Yola, Mubi Shelleng, Numan Ganye and other parts of the state.
There is virtually no local government and senatorial district that have not benefited from one road project or the other from the Bindow’s administration in the last two years.
As at press time, the administration has constructed over 150 roads within the length and breadth of the state in addition to this, the governor was able to restore the pride, dignity and status of Yola, the state capital which was in shambles before his emergence.

Traffic and street lights have been mounted in most of the roads and in strategic locations to regulate vehicles/ and human movements among other efforts geared towards giving the state capital its befitting status.
With unprecedented achievements recorded in the state within two years of his visionary leadership Bindow also decided to give priority to the education and health sectors of the state hence the decision to declared the state of emergency in the education sector aimed at salvaging the sector seen as very crucial to his administration.

To achieve these in the two sectors and take the government back to the people at the grassroots, Bindow decided to move the weekly state executive council meetings from the comfort of Government House Yola to local government areas of the state holding at public schools in the local government headquarters.
Already, local governments such as Numan, Demsa, Fufore, Girei, Mubi, Guyuk, Ganye, Hong, among other, had taken their turn, while other local government areas will soon have their turn.

Explaining the rationale behind this decision to rotate the exco meetings among local government areas in the state the governor said:
The idea is to return government back to the people at the grassroots who elected us into office. It would also afford us to the opportunity to see things for ourselves, the level of deterioration in our schools, hospitals and other infrastructures, feel their pulse and interact freely with them freely to know their problems and proffer solution to them. ”
On why the administration decided to be holding the meeting in public schools he said:

“You know I have already declared a state of emergency in the education sector which will lead to massive renovations, rehabilitations and equipping of schools across the state so we need to be holding the meetings in schools so as to see things for ourselves and have firsthand information on the rots in this sector instead of waiting to be brief by government officials.
However, in line with this emergency declaration Bindow decided to allocate huge recourses in 2017 budget to the education and health sectors which he submitted to the Adamawa State House of Assembly for approval geared towards massive renovations and upgrading of schools and hospitals in the state.

With the approval of the budget by the lawmakers and its assent by the executive, the governor immediately swing into action by visiting some selected schools within the three senatorial districts of the state to flagged off massive renovations, upgrading and rehabilitation of schools in the state which was followed by an extra ordinary state executive council meeting where the sum of N487 million was approved for the renovations of some secondary schools in the first phase.
Speaking to journalists in an interview at the end of the meeting in Government House Yola, Gov Bindow Jibrilla said that the meeting was borne out of the urgent need to rescue the educational sector of the state in line with the state of emergency declared in the sector by his administration.

He mentioned the schools to benefit from the first phase of the programme to includes Government Secondary School Hong, Government Science Technical Collage Mubi, Villanova Secondary School Numan and Government Day secondary school Demsa to be extended to other schools cutting across the 3 senatorial district of the state.
It would be recalled that on assumption to office Gov. Bindow set up a committee chaired by his deputy, Hon. Martins Babale, to visit and assessed facilities in some selected hospitals in the state where the committee have since completed its assignment leading to the award of contract for the renovations of some selected hospitals in the state which will also be extended to primary health care centers in Adamawa state.

Another sector that received the Governor attention in the last two years is agriculture which remained the main occupation of the people of Adamawa. Since he assumed office Governor Bindow never missed any opportunity to assured the people of the state especially the peasant farmers of his administration commitments to revive the agricultural sector of the state in compliance with President Muhammadu Buhari diversification policy.

To further served the people of Adamawa state Gov. Bindow Jibrilla decided to also turn his attention on youth empowerments and wealth creation geared towards tackling the challenges of poverty and youth restiveness in the state. The last two years of Bindow administration resulted reported into training of so many youths in various skills acquisition especially in the area of mechanical engineering, beads and jewelries making, window and aluminum, electrical and electronics engineering among others.

In addition to another empowerment programme known as BSC (Bindow for Social Change) where soft loans will be given to market women groundnut sellers, fulcanizer and other owners of petty business to boost economic activities in the state. Already the sum of N500, 000 million have been set aside under the office of the (SSG) for the affective take off of the programme among many other giant strides of the administration in the last two years.
Even though his ardent critics and political opponents chose not to commend his achievements, most people in the state rate the governor high in their assessment of his success in the last two years and see him as the best governor ever produced by the people of Adamawa since the restoration of democracy in 1999.

Even Yola the state capital was in shambles in fact, it was a story of alarming neglect synonymous with not having a government at all in Adamawa state since its creation

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