Gov. Isa Yuguda of Bauchi state on Thursday in Abuja linked the insecurity situation in the country to the dearth of infrastructure.
He said this when he delivered a lecture entitled: “Contemporary Development Challenges in Bauchi State’’ at the State Security Service (SSS) Institute for Security Studies.
The governor said that on assumption of office in 2007, he inherited a debt of N22 billion and poor infrastructure.
“There was no record of government contract activities from 1999 to 2007 when we came into office.
“There was no need to have the records because contracts were being awarded illegally.''
He said that some of the security challenges which the state government had been grappling with were as a result of the decay in infrastructure.
Yuguda noted that he had consequently set up a committee to take a critical look at the issues of security, education and health “but the committee’s findings are an eyesore’’.
He said that the administration had established an agency to re-orientate youths in the state as means of addressing some of the challenges.
According to him, the initiative has been able to get irate youths off the streets.
He identified education, healthcare, employment opportunities and security as critical factors that should be addressed by government at all levels to ensure peace in the country.
The governor said that so far, the administration had built four hospitals and rehabilitated 80 classrooms as part of efforts to make life meaningful for the people of the state.
Yuguda decried the rate of corruption in the country and called on anti-graft agencies such as the ICPC and EFCC to be thorough in their investigations in order to bring culprits to book.
In his remarks, the Director of the institute, Mr Olalekan Odugbemi said that there were many challenges confronting the nation.
Odugbemi expressed hope that the country could overcome its challenges with good governance and commended Yuguda’s patriotism and vision for the people of the state.
However, 28 participants drawn from strategic institutions across the country attended the lecture. ?
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