Governor Abubakar’s sure-footed steps

Governor Mohammed Abdullahi Abubakar’s ascension to Bauchi State’s top job has been described by many as the turning point the history of the forty year old state. Elected under the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Governor Abubakar has endeared himself to the people with his good disposition, track record of public service and […]

Governor Mohammed Abdullahi Abubakar’s ascension to Bauchi State’s top job has been described by many as the turning point the history of the forty year old state. Elected under the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Governor Abubakar has endeared himself to the people with his good disposition, track record of public service and undiluted commitment to improve livelihoods of the people.
Since assumption of office, these traits have remained reoccurring decimal in the Governor’s leadership style as he seeks partnership with the people in the administration’s onerous task of building a new Bauchi state on the principle of accountability and transparency, and equity and justice.
Governor Abubakar has continued to demonstrate that he is a man on a mission to improve the living standard of the citizenry across all strata of the society by purposeful and accountable use of public resources for public good.  Driven by the utilitarian principle of governance, he continues to pay premium on the happiness of greater number of people who impacted by the policy of the state government.
The administration’s commitment to transform Bauchi state into a state works for the people is rooted in the social contract between Governor Abubakar and people of the states made during the campaign. Governor Abubakar has taken initiatives towards actualizing the new Bauchi state. 
As a massive civil service state, broad based reforms aimed at reinvigorating the service is imperative. It includes on-going biometrics exercise for civil servants in the state public service. This supports the government goal of cost saving by weeding out ghost workers in the service and curbing waste of scarce public funds.
Secondly, the ethos of efficient service delivery and capacity building and provision of adequate incentives and motivation of the work force has been reinforced. Other benefits include utilizing the saved resources in productive social sectors including job creation, investments in critical social sectors and provision of public infrastructures, improved educational facilities and health care delivery system to the people.
As at today, the state government has saved millions of Naira here thereto siphoned into private pockets, in the name of “ghost workers” through linking of Bank Verification Numbers (BVN) of civil servant in the state civil service.  
A key outcome of the on-going reform in the state public service is the Governor’s intervention in ending the backlog of three months unpaid salaries and pensions arrears owed civil servant on assumption of office which was resolved without delay. Seen by many as the Governor Abubakar’s ‘baptism of fire’, the tact, wisdom and speed with which he resolved the intractable problem brought sanity to the Bauchi state public service. It is instructive to note that this feat was achieved even before President Muhammadu Buhari administration’s bail-out initiative to state governments.
The administration also pays premium to other key sectors including, provision of efficient health care delivery, affordable housing, water and sanitation, environmental sustainability, social security and rural development. Between May 2015 and now, the state government impacted the lives of the people by embarking on projects that provides succor for poorest of the poor as envisioned by Governor Abubakar administration’s Development Action Plan. One of the deliberate steps Governor Abubakar is taking to fulfill the solemn promises he made to the people is to mainstream the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) framework as a guide post for achieving the state’s developmental targets aimed at improved wellbeing for the people of the state and poverty alleviation.
An over view of the 2016 Budget proposal before the Bauchi state House of Assembly is an indicator on the premium placed on citizens’ right to health, access to basic health care provision. The budget envisioned that government take deliberate steps to implement an innovative approach towards delivery of public health.  It also takes cognizance to ensure rapid implementation of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in line with the National Health Act 2014. In Bauchi state, citizens’ right is the place to begin if the nation must achieve the laudable objective of sustainable development goals (SDGs) sign-on by Nigeria.
For Governor Abubakar the essence of the public policy is service to the people hence, the administration focus on measurable project and initiatives with impact and outcomes. The question for the government is therefore how many citizens are taken out of poverty through deliberate government policy in any sector.
Azare wrote in from Bauchi. He can be reached on [email protected]