Submission of Transition Committee Financial Documents

At last, I was able to find time to put together the bits and pieces of papers that represent the transactions made under my secretatriat in the last Bauchi State 2015 Transition (Main) Committee as I promised the government and the public at the inception of the Committee.

It is a fairly voluminous document (387 pages, only) that contains detail of even the minutest expenditure that was incurred by the Comittee. It contains a summary page of the accounts followed by evidences of each expenditure in form of receipts, invoices, cheques, cash collection certificates, bank statements showing every single transfer that was made at different times to the members of its various committees as well as evidence of other expenditures that were necessary.

The membership was classified into five:

1) Transition Main Committee members

2) Transition Technical Committee members

3) Co-opted Members of Syndicated Subcommittees of the Main committee

4) Local Government Sub-committee members in each of the 20 local governments.

5) Technical support staff

Payments of members' emoluments were done in accordance with the existing government circular on government committee activities in the state.

All in all, in their nearly ninety days of its tenure and a total participating membership of over 250 people, the total of N53,932,034.44 was received and spent by the two transition committees.

This figure is less than one-tenth the N550million that mischief makers alledged at the inception of the Committee. It is just a third of what was spent by Yuguda's 2007 Transition Committee, and half of what the Yuguda administration spent on its handing over ceremony day. Comparisons, said Al-Mutanabbi, are necessary for clarity.

This does not include the sum of N8,820,000 that was paid by the SSG's directly into the account of the party that was contracted the task of workers' verification exercise in the state whose the committee suggested.

The numerous laptops, photocopiers, other digital equipment, office furniture, etc, have all been returned to the government and shared last August, under the supervision of the Secretary Transition Technical Committee, Engr Habu Mamman, among the SSG's office, the Deputy Governor's office and the Nigeria Labour Union, Bauchi State Branch.

I have made four copies of the collection of the financial documents. A copy will be submitted to the SSG from whose office the money was received, a copy to the Deputy Governor who was the interface between the Committee and the government, a copy to the Secretary, Transition Technical Committe whose expenditure was also included , while I retain the fourth. The Chairman and Deputy Chairperson of the Main Committee have since July been sent e-copies of the expenditure details.

On my part, I have, on my own, forfeited all my financial entitlements in form of allowances and personal expenditures which I incurred in the course of executing my job as Secreatry and member of the Committee.

Alhamdulillah.

Dr. Aliyu U. Tilde