Three of the 15 governorship candidates in Bauchi State have taken part in a debate where they unveiled their respective plans for the state.
The candidates are Governor Bala Mohammed of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Air Marshal Sadiq Baba Abubakar of All Progressives Congress (APC) and Barr. Umar Faruq Gwadabe of People’s Redemption Party (PRP).
The debate was aimed at promoting issue-based politics and discouraging personality attacks through provision of a better platform for the candidates to convince the electorate with their proposed policies and programmes.
The event was organized by Bauchi State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in collaboration with the Nigeria Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) and Nigeria Medical Association (NMA).
Presenting his manifestos, the APC candidate Air Marshal Sadiq Abubakar pledged to revisit what he described as lack of accessibility to education and healthcare facilities in the state if given the mandate.
He argued that the incumbent government has failed to address challenges in the sectors.
Also in his presentations, the PRP candidate Barr. Umar Faruq blamed both the incumbent PDP government and previous APC administration on mismanaging public funds.
He promised to be transparent and accountable if he emerged victorious in the forthcoming election.
On his part, Governor Bala Mohammed said his administration has succeeded in executing laudable projects that have direct bearings on the lives of citizens and corrected the ills of the previous APC administration.
He said a single tenure is not enough to provide all the needed development and therefore socilited for a second term to enable him consolidate the achievements recorded.
Speaking after the debate, Chairman of the occasion Professor Shuaibu Musa of Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Bauchi commended the candidates and their supporters for conducting themselves towards peaceful conduct of the debate.
