Dogara benefited a Toyota V8 from the loan he is condemning –Bauchi govt

The Bauchi State Government came openly on Thursday to say that a former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara got a Toyota V8 vehicle from the N3.6 billion bank loan facility he is complaining about.

The revelation was made by the state government in an advertorial on Thursday by the Senior Special Adviser to the Governor on Media and Publicity, Mukhtar Gidado.

It was gathered that Dogara had previously made some allegations against the state government in his letter to the Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ward in Bogoro Local Government area of the state.

The allegations formed part of his reasons for defecting to the All Progressives Congress (APC), according to the former Speaker.

The state government further said that the loan facility obtained from a bank to buy vehicles for members of various arms of government followed due process.

The government also made an explanation that there was nothing improper about the loan, as Dogara alleged.

Gidado also said that the government only adopted “the well-known contract financing approach to handle an immediate need without piling too much pressure on our cash flow”, adding that the former Speaker was among the beneficiaries of the facility.

The government said it secured N3.6 billion loan from a bank, and not N4.6 billion as alleged by the former Speaker.

It added: “Besides being mandatory, payment of the revised Customs duties was imperative so that the beneficiaries of these vehicles will not be subjected to embarrassment… Of course, as one of the illustrious sons of the state who falls in the legislative category, Dogara got a Toyota V8 that he gleefully collected with thanks.”

The state government accepted the note that it promised to conduct local government elections on assumption of office but did not specify that it would be done within six months, as Dogara alleged in his letter.

It said: “Unless he was being plainly mischievous, we can excuse Dogara for the misrepresentation, since he never participated in our campaigns to know what we promised.

“Yet, the truth is that two previous attempts by the Bauchi State government to conduct the local government elections were shelved because of the COVID-19 crisis that has affected schedules globally. We had to postpone the elections in line with the cautious approach of the Federal Government, to prevent the spread of the virus.”