Governor of Yobe State, Mai Mala Buni, has purchased Sports Utility Vehicles worth N600m for some traditional rulers in the state, SaharaReporters can exclusively confirm.
Buni, who gifted 14 emirs one of the vehicles and a bus each, is owing retired civil servants in the state gratuities running into several billions of naira.
Yobe State has one of the highest poverty rates in Nigeria with 2.2 million people out of its 2.3 million residents living below $1 – N360 – per day.
The literacy level in the state, which stands at 24.3 per cent, is one of the lowest in the country according to figures from the National Bureau of Statistics.
SaharaReporters gathered that instead of fixing the abysmal educational system in the state or compensating retired civil servants, Governor Buni went on the spending spree for the traditional rulers to reward them for convincing their subjects to vote him into power.
“Look at Government Day Secondary School, Gashua, under Bade Local Government Area for example, the children sit on the floor for lessons while the roof is almost collapsing on their heads,” a state official told SaharaReporters.
Some lawmakers from Yobe, who spoke with SaharaReporters, said the action of the governor was slowing down governance in the state.
“People are dying, things are not going well. We want the governor to re-evaluate his decisions and prioritize the people,” one of the lawmakers said.
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