POLITICS TODAY

By Aminu Mohammed

In life, it is not how long you live but how well you impacted on the community, society and humanity at large. The impact of the Governor Ahmed Aliyu’s administration in the last 40 days is so monumental that, it has already overshadowed the eight- year administration of Tambuwal which came, goofed, fumbled and left.
Governor Ahmed Aliyu hit the ground running right after he was sworn in, on May 29, 2023. Hours after he took the oath of office, he headed straight to the premises of the Sokoto state water board where he was briefed on the problems bedeviling the board which was before May 29, 2023 operating on a zero level.
The Tambuwal administration failed to provide this essential daily necessity and for almost 365 days before the PDP left, water was gold because searching for it was just like searching for diamonds in the Sahara. However, as part of his 9 point agenda, Gov. Ahmed Aliyu is gradually making Sokoto to work again because the perennial water scarcity artificially created by the PDP under Tambuwal is now becoming history.
The May 29 visit by His Excellency, Dr. Ahmed Aliyu Sokoto to the state water board has already brought respite for the inhabitants as over 80 percent of taps in the state capital are running while efforts are in top gear to cover the remaining 20 percent. In short, the last 40 days have been full of praises for the APC administration under Gov. Ahmed Aliyu for the drastic measures taken in making life meaningful for the people. Water is life and life is back again in Sokoto.
Again, civil servants who were before May 29, 2023 not getting their monthly salaries as at when due can now smile home at the end of every month as experienced last month when salaries were paid even before the month ended. Although, the May salaries couldn’t be paid on time as a result of the empty treasury Tambuwal left, yet the Ahmed Aliyu administration was able to pay the May and June salaries with just 10-day interval which enabled civil servants in the state celebrated the Eid Adhan with smiles, a clear departure from the PDP insensitive administration. In fact, the government is assuring civil servants that salaries would be paid on or before the 25th of every month and expect service delivery in return.
Another milestone was the visit to the Sokoto Specialist Hospital which the governor took the authority unaware. He visited the Hospital at midnight in a public transport ( Keke Marwa or Napep) and after an hour of inspection, he expressed dismay and directed the management to meet him for discussions. As a former commissioner for health in the state, he had every reason to fume because the Tambuwal administration turned the hospital to a mere consulting clinic with a zero monthly allocation.
Furthermore, the inspection at the Orphanage Home was yet another visit with positive impact. As a former commissioner of the social welfare ministry in Sokoto state, the governor directed that food supply to the orphanage should be prioritised while adequate care should be taken on the welfare of orphans. He assured the the Orphanage Home of a befitting vehicle which has already been fulfilled. The bus donated is however a personal donation from the governor and has assured that a lot of goodies would follow. In fact, it was during his time as a commissioner for social welfare that hundreds of girls in the Orphanage Home were married off by the Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko administration and now that providence has brought him back to power, the Orphanage Home is expected to receive all the attention needed to make life comfortable for the orphans in that place.
In addition to all the above, the governor was in Tangaza local government to condole with the people when armed bandits attacked the area and killed over 30 people. Again, administratively, he has set up Committees to review all crazy appointments made by the Tambuwal administration from January to May 2023 with a view to setting the records straight. The committees are those of Appointments Review and Sale of Government property with tested technocrats in charge.

Another milestone recorded by the Ahmed Aliyu- led administration is the hope restored on the faces of disabled persons in the state who were hitherto the coming of the underwhelming Tambuwal administration, being paid N6,500 by the Wamakko administration. The Tambuwal administration which took over from Wamakko failed to honour that gesture for over five years and now that the state has another people-oriented government which is an off-shoot of that of Wamakko, the disabled can smile once again and would surely soon smile.
Already, a committee has been set up with sub-committees in all the 23 local governments to verify and reregister those to benefit from the goodwill.
To crown all these achievements within the last 40 days, the governor has also set up a committee to look into the shady appointments Tambuwal made from January to May 2023 with a view to setting the records straight. Again, on the indiscriminate sale of government property, another committee is in place to review all fraudulent cases involving the allocation of lands and other government property.
As we journey into the next 60 days in preparation for a grand celebration of a purposeful 100 days in office, Governor Ahmed Aliyu deserves a big pat on the back for his efforts so far to reengineer Sokoto state which was once first among equals. For the people of Sokoto state, so far, so good. This APC administration has already proved that it is an off-shoot of the glorious Wamakko era, a government with a listening ear.

Aminu wrote from Sokoto