By Emmanuel Addeh
Minister of Power, Mr. Sale Mamman, has reacted to reports that he was forced to postpone the inauguration of a transmission substation at Gagarawa Local Government Area, Jigawa State, after Governor Muhammed Badaru declined to appear at the event.
Although, a statement by media aide to the minister, Aaron Artimas, said the Mamman was only in the state to intimate the governor about the event which was supposedly planned for a future date, it however, did not explain how dignitaries, including the Emir of Gumel, Alhaji Ahmed Muhammed Sani and journalists were made to sit for hours before allegedly leaving the venue in anger.
The ceremony for the inauguration of the 2x60MVA 132/33KV substation which was scheduled for 10am on that day, was reportedly postponed indefinitely when the governor failed to appear and was said to have claimed to be disrespected, having been informed just a day before the event.
Further entreaties by Mamman, who personally drove to the governor’s office to appeal to him were also rebuffed, THISDAY learnt.
But in the statement, Mamman said the news making the rounds was a deliberate attempt to invent a misunderstanding between him and and the Jigawa government, even though he failed to explain why invited guests, journalists and local government chairmen were already seated for the occasion.
“To set the records straight, the ministry of power is planning a very elaborate commissioning of the project in reflection of the importance of the project to the state.
“The visit was therefore, to agree with the governor on a suitable date in order to bring everybody onboard especially industrialists and large scale farmers to the occasion.
“This is in view of the fact that the project was located at the hub of the industrial area of Jigawa state, where there are large scale farms, milling companies and other economic activities,” the statement said.
