By Ikenna Ellis Ezenekwe [Chem Engr, NYC]<\/p>\n
Who does Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara thinks he is fooling?<\/p>\n
His decision to exit the Peoples Democratic Party [PDP] for the All
\nProgressive Congress [APC] could not have come at a more convenient
\ntime. A time when the current Speaker of the House of Representative Rt.
\nHon. Olufemi Hakeem Gbajabiamila mandated the Federal Minister of Niger
\nDelta Affair to put his mouth where his money is \u2013 and produce the names
\nof the supposed federal lawmakers who were recipients of the Niger Delta
\nDevelopment Commission [NDDC] contract bonanza and related fraud.<\/p>\n
Just when the Minister, Senator Godswill Akpabio responded that the
\nrecipients were not the members of the current House of Representatives
\nbut the members of the previous House of Representatives under the
\nleadership of Rt. Hon. Yabuku Dogara – Dogara woke up and discovered the
\ncorrupt nature of PDP in Bauchi State \u2013 and the pristineness of the APC.
\nHe suddenly came to the realization he no longer wants a part of it.<\/p>\n
Who does he expect to believe the tale he just discovered after more
\nthan one year the Government of Bauchi State is corrupt? After partaking
\nin the unholy communion? Who is fooling who? And, who is gullible enough
\nto believe the fairy tale?<\/p>\n
The Cambridge dictionary defines a hypocrite as “someone who says they
\nhave particular moral beliefs but behaves in a way that shows these are
\nnot sincere”. And, defines a coward as “a person who is not brave and is
\ntoo eager to avoid danger, difficulty, or pain”.<\/p>\n
If only the Nigerian public knew the Economic & Financial Crimes
\nCommission [EFCC] was hot on his trail and had pulled his files, it
\nwould be clearer to understand the predicament Dogara finds himself.<\/p>\n
The EFCC had begun investigating his activities while at the Green
\nChamber \u2013 and had concluded on its findings. To arrest the former
\nSpeaker was the next move. Dogara was faced with arrest and prosecution
\n\u2013 in the same manner, Senator Godswill Akpabio was faced with arrest
\nprior to his shameful exit. Like Akpabio, Dogara flipped the switch and
\ncrossed over for the political cleaners where his sins will be forever
\nforgiven \u2013 and amnesty granted, at the APC.<\/p>\n
In Akpabio’s case, he was rewarded for his crossover, and for the
\nsynthetically manufactured battle, he waged against the Governor of Akwa
\nIbom \u2013 the PDP Governor who took over the Governor’s seat after his
\nexit. He was awarded a ministerial position in return.<\/p>\n
In the case of Dogara, the play cards are the same. Off the bat,
\nfollowing his crossover, he launched his version of a synthetically
\nmanufactured battle against the PDP Governor of Bauchi State \u2013 detailing
\nwhat he termed as corruption with the Bala Mohammed administration. An
\nadministration that has won accolades beyond the boundaries of Bauchi
\nStare as worthy of emulation. One that has revamped the educational
\ninfrastructure within the span of 12months by adding over 350 classroom
\nblocks across the wards that make up the State. Has achieved the
\nerection of world standard molecular laboratory for the testing of
\nCovid19 that presently serves four neighboring States at over 300
\nsamples daily. Road construction networks in proportions never witnessed
\nin the history of the State \u2013 including water treatment plants to
\naccommodate the increase in population due to migration of IDPs.<\/p>\n
Does the question then become what is really Dogara’s agenda? It cannot
\nbe Bala Mohammed or his administration.<\/p>\n
Apart from freeing himself from the grips of the EFCC. He may be
\npositioning for the Vice President position against the 2023
\npresidential elections or a Ministerial position.<\/p>\n
As a coward battling out of the fear of possible prosecution, it is
\nevident he has sold his rights and integrity to the drowning APC. A
\nvomit he excreted. With which face will he face his former colleagues
\nwhom he lampooned when he defected from the APC to the PDP?<\/p>\n
After labeling the APC, the party of corruption, he has returned to the
\nparty of corruption. Now, he sees the PDP as the party of corruption.
\nWho is he fooling? And to imagine he was the number four citizen of the
\ncountry for 4years defines the trouble with governance in Nigeria.<\/p>\n
“What happened to the N4.6 billion loan taken from a bank and paid
\ndirectly into a private company’s account?” \u2013 was one of the questions
\nDogara wanted to answer. He claimed it led to his decision to exit the
\nparty.<\/p>\n
Dogara, himself, knows firsthand the truth behind the non-existent loan.
\nBut he is eager to play dirty. He wants to play ostrich. Dogara knows
\nthe Bauchi Government never secured any N4.6billion loan.<\/p>\n
The supposed N4.6billion concerns a legitimate contract awarded to a
\ncontractor for the purchase of vehicles for the government. The Bauchi
\nState government, as most clever state governments do, issued the
\ncontractor an Irrevocable Standing Purchase Order [ISPO] \u2013 which in
\nlayman’s term means the Bauchi State government reached an agreement for
\nthe contractor to be paid in monthly installments through automatic
\ndeductions from the government’s bank account. Armed with the ISPO, the
\ncontractor approached a financial institution and presented the ISPO as
\ncollateral to secure a loan. The contractor was awarded the loan \u2013 and
\nthe vehicles were delivered.<\/p>\n
Dogara puzzlingly called the simple transaction a loan in an open letter
\nreleased to the public.<\/p>\n
And to know that Dogara was among the recipients of the vehicles is
\ndisheartening and exposes his hypocrisy. He collected a Toyota Land
\nCruiser. Yes, he even wrote a thank you letter to the State government
\nacknowledging the receipt of the vehicle.<\/p>\n
Dogara’s defection back to the APC may not be his last defection. It
\nshould be understood Dogara left the PDP for his personal gains and not
\nfor the benefit of good governance. The fear of EFCC prosecution and\/or
\npersecution propelled his exit [cowardice] \u2013 but to author a letter
\ndepicting the government of Bauchi as corrupt is weak and unnecessary.<\/p>\n
–<\/p>\n
Ikenna Ellis Ezenekwe is a Chemical\/Environmental Engineer who resides
\nin New York<\/p>\n
By Ikenna Ellis Ezenekwe [Chem Engr, NYC] Who does Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara thinks he is fooling? His decision to exit the Peoples Democratic Party [PDP] for the All Progressive…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":75074,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-75073","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles-opinions"],"yoast_head":"\n