Dr Mustapha Inuwa, a chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), has chided Governor Dikko Radda of Katsina State over his recent state-wide tour, describing it as more of a political campaign jamboree.

Speaking in an interview with newsmen, Inuwa described the tour of the councils as unnecessary and said the exercise only revealed how lacking the councils were in much-needed infrastructure.

He clarified that there was nothing wrong with a state governor going round council areas to assess performance, identify challenges, and determine what remains to be done before the end of the tenure.

He, however, added that such a tour should not be an avenue to indirectly kick-start political campaigns when the time for such activity was still several months away.

He further said that the All Progressives Congress (APC)- led government only inaugurated the distribution of empowerment packages during the tour, as there were no concrete projects executed at the councils for commissioning.

Inuwa, a former Secretary to the Government of the State (SSG), added that even the empowerment packages were doled out deceptively, as many of the items displayed were either hired or temporarily assembled for public display and media coverage.

“If you followed the governor around the state, you would realise that there was virtually no tangible project to commission in any of the local governments. Virtually nothing.
“What we saw instead was what they called ’empowerment.’ Even that empowerment was deceptive. Many of the items displayed were either hired or temporarily assembled for public display and media coverage.

“Immediately after the events, those items were returned to their owners. In cases where money was distributed, for instance, ₦50,000 given to women, we later discovered that the money was collected back after the ceremony, and only about ₦5,000 was eventually left with them.

“Now, let us even assume—just for the sake of argument—that the empowerment was genuine. Are we saying that after two-and-a-half years in office, the only thing a government could do was empowerment?
“And even that empowerment was selective, targeted mainly at known APC members and loyalists.

“Government is not meant to operate on partisan lines. Public funds from Abuja and internally generated revenue belong to all citizens, not to members of a particular political party. Development should cut across all communities.

“If they had focused on education, for example—renovating schools, reducing congestion, employing teachers—everyone would have benefited. If they had improved healthcare—by fixing hospitals and providing water, electricity, and equipment—everyone would have benefited. But instead, what we saw was a jumble of activities without real impact,” he added.

Reacting to the allegations, the Director General of Media to the state governor, Maiwada Danmalam, said the governor did not contravene any constitutional provision by embarking on the said tour.
Danmalam also dismissed the allegation of hiring empowerment items distributed during the tour, adding that such allegation went contrary to realities on the ground.