By Samuel Luka
Retired Airforce Captain, Bala Jibrin has called on leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to resist any attempt to impose former Governor Barr. Mohammad Abdullahi Abubakar (SAN) as the party’s candidate ahead of the 2027 elections, warning that his return would amount to imposing a rejected harm on the state.
Addressing a press conference at the Bauchi NUJ secretariat on Monday, Captain Bala Jibrin called on former Bauchi state Gov. Isa Yuguda and Health Minister Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate should not short-change Bauchi people by supporting Abubakar’s candidacy.
He said both men have a measurable level of integrity and risk damaging their reputations if they back the former governor.
“The whole of Bauchi State will hold you individually and jointly responsible for what may befall us in the event of your insistence on pushing down our throats the man, Barr. M.A. Abubakar,” he said.
Jibrin who is a former Bauchi governorship aspirant, cited the 2019 elections that got M.A Abubakar defeated by Bala Mohammed, arguing that the events leading to APC’s loss of the state to the PDP should serve as a lesson.
He accused Abubakar’s administration of gangsterism and said victims of gunshot wounds were treated at ATBUTH during his tenure.
Captain Bala Jibrin criticized ex-Governor Abubakar for abandoning 38 medical doctors trained in Egypt under a state scholarship program.
According to the speaker, the program cost $3.42 million, equivalent to about N5.3 billion at current rates, covering 23 female students at Ain Shams University, Cairo, and 15 male students at Alexandria University.
He alleged that Abubakar refused to employ the doctors after graduation, despite them signing bonds to serve the state.
Captain Jibrin said Bauchi state urgently needs the doctors, particularly the female graduates, to staff hospitals and provide care for women.
He singled out the case of one female doctor who completed her studies but could not obtain her MBBS certificate due to an outstanding $8,000 fee for two repeated academic sessions after having children.
He said the failure to pay the amount nullified the $90,000 already spent on her training and delayed her entry into Nigeria’s medical system.
Jibrin said the certificate was eventually released after Borno State Gov. Babagana Zulum paid the $8,000 during a visit to Egypt.
He said the certificate was handed to the doctor by the Minister of Foreign Affairs in Abuja in a ceremony covered by the media.
“Where MA failed, refused to pay, but the neighbour with a large heart, filled with love, compassion, and devoid of envy, paid the $8,000.00,” he said.
The APC chieftain also raised issues of abandoned road projects, including roads in Federal Low-cost, Jos Road through Zaranda Hotel to Miri, and questioned spending on agriculture and education during Abubakar’s 2015-2019 administration.
He alleged that students in tertiary institutions were not paid stipends and that pensioners suffered during verification exercises.
Addressing Gov. Isa Yuguda directly, he asked whether he was pleased with the loss of the N5.5 billion spent on the medical training program.
He urged Yuguda to make an instant U-turn and avoid supporting Abubakar’s return.
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