Iliyasu Abdullahi Bah
Yobe State Governor Mai Mala Buni has assured the people of the state that his administration will not raise taxes as doing so would further worsen their economic woes.
Governor Buni stated this at a media chat in Damaturu on Friday, as part of activities marking his six years in office.
In 2022, SFTAS, a World Bank programme, rated Yobe the overall best in the 36 states of the federation and Abuja in disbursement link indicators and second best in debt sustainability.
The governor stated that the prize of 5 billion naira he received from the World Bank was informed by due process in awarding contracts, adherence to budgetary rules, control of government spending and debts, among others.
He said he had resisted the idea of seeking foreign loans, adding that his focus was to execute projects and programmes which had direct bearing on the people with available limited resources.
Buni said he had no intention of raising taxes in the state, even as there was a need to source for more funds to complement statutory subvention.
“In the circumstance, raising taxes because you need money for projects is sheer insensitivity. I won’t be a party to that,” he said.
According to him, the state government spends over N600 million every month on feeding boarding school students, and N200 million on payment of gratuities.
The governor said 230 youths had benefitted from the state‘s foreign scholarship scheme since 2020 and many had since returned home to practise their professions.
Mr Buni said over 2,000 health workers, who were mainly youths, were employed by his administration into various health care centres across the state.
He said it took the intervention of his administration for the Yobe University, Damaturu, to accept N55,000 as registration fee for medical students, when other universities were charging over N300,000.
Mr Buni said the subsidy was aimed at enhancing access to learning by youths and minimising hardship amongst parents.
The governor added that there was an improvement in the security situation of the state, linking the success to synergy among troops and sister security agencies.
“Security has massively improved in Yobe, contrary to the erroneous perception of some people.
“I have always said development and security are two sides of a coin. Without security, there can’t be any development,” he said.
