Nigerian Governor Stops Construction Project Over Rift With Senator, Puts Residents At Risk Of Floods

The Kebbi State Governor, Atiku Bagudu, has allegedly ordered the stoppage of a drainage construction in the state due to a political disagreement with a former governor of the state and current lawmaker representing the Kebbi Central Senatorial District at the National Assembly, Adamu Aliero.

UGAMATV learnt that the ongoing work from Illelar Yari beside Old Correctional Custodial Center to Malala area up to Dukku Famada being carried out by Aliero last Thursday was stopped by the civil engineering firm handling the project on the orders of Bagudu.

UGAMATV gathered that the Kebbi governor had been at loggerheads with the federal lawmaker over the latter’s insistence to contest the position again in 2023 because Bagudu was planning to replace him at the National Assembly when his second term in office elapses at that time.

Aliero, who was governor of Kebbi from 1999 to 2007, was first elected into the Senate in 2007 but was appointed the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory on December 18, 2008.

He returned to the upper arm of the National Assembly in 2015 and has remained there ever since.

Despite both being members of the All Progressives Congress, the two men have become sworn enemies in recent times over the issue, according to top insiders.

Party leaders in the state have also been unable to settle the rift between both politicians, it was gathered.

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“Governor Bagudu is desperate to go to the Senate when his tenure as chief executive officer of Kebbi State expires in May 2023.

“The only stumbling block to that ambition is Adamu Aliero, the current senator representing the district where Bagudu also emerged from.

“The lawmaker’s unwillingness to step down for him is what has caused their rift. The governor is using every means possible to frustrate and fight Aliero over the matter,” a source revealed.

The ongoing drainage construction stopped on the orders of Governor Bagudu was initiated by Aliero to tackle the problem of flooding in some sections of the metropolis in Birnin Kebbi, the state capital.

Residents and road users are said to suffer a lot around the area whenever rain pours down heavily as the entire place becomes flooded.

The situation causes a lot of damage to property in the axis and illnesses among persons living in the area at such times.

A lot of people have been forced out of this part of the city due to the government’s failure to tackle the situation, it was revealed.

Following the directive by the governor on Thursday, heavy duty machines and other equipment meant for the work were hurriedly evacuated from the site of the construction, UGAMATV gathered.

“The stoppage of the drainage construction will cause more harm than good in the city if the decision is not reversed by the governor.

“We have suffered a lot; this construction was meant to help lessen that problem until this new development. We hope that the decision to stop the work can be reversed soon,” a resident of the Malala area of the Metropolis, said.

Bagudu has been governor of Kebbi since 2015 after first serving as a senator from 2011 to 2015.

He was arrested and sent back to Nigeria in 2003 by United States authorities after agreeing to return $160million of stolen public funds.

In October this year, he was mentioned in the Pandora Papers of being among persons around the world hiding their stolen wealth in safe havens.

Despite sufficient evidence supplied by the US authorities, the Nigerian government refused to question or prosecute Bagudu since his return to the country. The governor later gained immunity against such after becoming Kebbi governor in 2015.

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