I Learned From Being Deserted By My Political Associates – Former President Jonathan
BY ADEYEMI AKANJI, BAUCHI – Former President GoodLuck Jonathan on Tuesday in Bauchi reflected over his political sojourn so far, declaring that from his experience in leadership, he has come to understand that most political associates usually desert a leader after leaving office.
Jonathan, who was in Bauchi to commission the newly constructed road named after him by the State government, said that he has learnt a lot of lessons of life from the development.
He however singled out and commended Governor Bala Mohammed for standing by him even after leaving office as President for over six years.
He said that Governor Mohammed’s invitation to him to commission the first legacy project in the state and immortalizing his name with the road project was a big honour to him which he will always live to remember.
Jonathan also commended the people of the state for voting for Mohammed in 2019 and urged them to continue to support the administration to enable it succeed.
He said; “Governor Bala Mohammed is my adopted political son. His performance while he was the FCT Minister really impressed me because he did his best to make Abuja one of the best Federal capitals of the world”
Earlier, Governor Mohammed said that former President Jonathan impacted his life greatly by teaching him the art and science of leadership as it has manifested in the results he has achieved within the two years of his administration.
Mohammed said that at the inception of his administration in May 2019, the government hit the ground running by embracing good governance as a deliberate policy for development, adding that the administration aimed to create the desired impact.
He also said that his administration’s policy thrust is predicated on global best practices of implementing programmes that are targeted at improving the quality of lives of the people.
He also said that his administration met a sorry state of infrastructural deficit in both urban and rural areas, adding that his government confronted the situation by embarking on accelerated urban renewal, development and programmes as it is the only way to reverse the ugly trend.
The Governor further said that through this initiative, his government has so far constructed over 100 km of both urban and district roads across the various districts in the state, adding that the government has also completed the Bauchi Urban water supply scheme through the assistance of the World Bank.
Mohammed further said; “The newly constructed 6.2km road will provide vital access to Sabon Kaura community that leads to Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University campus in Yelwa and equally serves as a bye-pass linking Jos road with Dass Tafawa Balewa roads.
“The road was among the first legacy project embarked upon within the first 100 days of my administration and was awarded to Habib Engineering Nigeria LTD at the cost of N2.2 billion and was completed within 6 months.
“Again with the mentorship you have taught me, we executed all infrastructural projects through evaluation and revaluation in tandem with basic engineering management and evaluation to ensure value for money and price competiveness,” he said.
