Bauchi was a failed state when I took over - Governor Mohammed

The Bauchi State Governor, Senator Bala Mohammed, has described the state as a failed state saying nothing was working when he took over power.

He stated this in his speech at the presentation of the 2020 budget proposal of over N167.2b to the Bauchi State House of Assembly on Tuesday christened "Budget of Renewal of Hope."

He said that despite the situation in the state, he will not be deterred from delivering the dividends of democracy to the people who voted him into office.

Mohammed said: "You are all witnesses to the grave economic realities of the state which we inherited from the past administration. It may not be an exaggeration if I describe Bauchi State as a failed state because virtually nothing was working when you (Lawmakers) and I, irrespective of party differences, took over."

"However, the gravity of the situation will not discourage or dampen our morale, rather I will convert weakness into opportunity and challenges into chances to ensure not only the survival of the state but taking her to greater heights."

The Governor said that the implementation of the 2019 budget was largely low due to the change in the mantle of leadership in the state.

He said that out of the Federal Account Allocation Committee Revenue including Excess Crude of N73,640,952,998, only the sum of N38,038,048,688 representing 51.65% was realized as at 30th September 2019.

He added that the Value Added Tax Revenue recorded a performance of only 42.50% as N9,294,364,256.39 was realized against the budgeted figure of N21,294,364,256.

"The low performance continues in virtually all the revenue sources. This is a clear indication of an overambitious budget coupled with the weak capacity to look outside the box in terms of revenue generation in its entirety.

"Independent revenue generation is also low as only N6,993,372,009 was realized against the budgeted figure of N17,946,976,275 representing 38.97%. Although these figures are as at September 2019, the message is simple, we have to sit up and do the needful," he declared.

Mohammed who said that his administration will definitely not allow this ugly situation to continue, but will take measures aimed at improving the revenue generation efforts of the state.

He said that the government will, therefore, reorganize the Board of Internal Revenue Service, block leakages through the implementation of Treasury Single Account as well as ensure constant monitoring of all revenue-generating ministries, departments, and agencies.