Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed has declared President Bola Tinubu’s economic reforms are giving States more money to invest in infrastructure and public services, while federal military interventions have helped restore peace in troubled parts of his State.
Bala made the remarks during a visit by Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister of the Economy Taiwo Oyedele and Health and Social Welfare Minister Ali Pate.
The Ministers were in Bauchi on Monday for the inauguration of a diagnostic centre at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital.
“We don’t always oppose and criticise for the sake of criticising. When we see good things, we say it,” Bala said.
“The President has done so well in so many aspects, especially in the area of finance, because the states are getting more.”
The Bauchi Governor said increased resources were creating opportunities for state governments to improve infrastructure and service delivery.
NewsQuest reports that Governor however did not provide figures on the additional revenue received by Bauchi or identify projects financed with it.
His remarks linked the administration’s economic programme to two areas where he said federal support was delivering benefits: healthcare and security.
Governor Bala welcomed the development of diagnostic facilities across the country, saying closer cooperation between federal and state governments would improve access to healthcare.
“We are very grateful for what you have brought to us,” he told the visiting ministers.
“Definitely, more Nigerians will have access to improved healthcare and a better standard of living.”
On security, Governor Bala credited President Tinubu with responding to his request for assistance when bandit attacks threatened communities in Bauchi.
He said the Federal Government had established two military battalions, one in Alkaleri and another in Tafawa Balewa, and deployed a contingent involving the military and other security agencies.
“When we were almost overrun by bandits, nobody was coming to our aid. I went to him, and he responded,” Bala said.
The intervention helped restore peace and allowed displaced residents to return to their communities, according to the governor.
He pledged continued cooperation with the federal government to improve living conditions in the state.
Minister Pate said the Bauchi diagnostic centre formed part of a broader federal programme to expand access to modern medical equipment and services.
He said the government had established 10 radiodiagnostic facilities nationwide and that eight other completed centres would also be inaugurated.
The Minister described the programme as a major expansion of Nigeria’s health infrastructure, alongside investments in research and training.
Additional specialist centres and multi-specialty hospitals were being developed, he said.
Oyedele presented the healthcare investments as an example of what the administration intended its economic reforms to make possible.
“That project is a small picture of a larger point,” he said. “The reforms we are pursuing nationally – stabilising the macro-economy, restoring investor confidence and strengthening our institutions—are not ends in themselves.”
