Commendation
From Figures to Fairness: How Bauchi’s Finances Found Order
By Usman Abdullahi Koli
Across Nigeria, commissioners of finance are rarely remembered with fondness. They are often cast as men who ration the public purse with cold arithmetic, calculators without compassion, figures without feelings. Yet Bauchi presents a different example. Under the visionary leadership of His Excellency, Sen. Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed, Kauran Daular Usmaniya, Governor of Bauchi State, and with the stewardship of Dr. Yakubu Adamu, finance has been given a human face. Numbers have been made to breathe and figures have learned to serve lives.
His Excellency set the tone; Dr. Adamu followed the compass. Together, they have quietly redrawn the financial map of Bauchi. They have shown that finance is not only about balancing books but also about shaping destinies. When the foundation is firm, the structure above will endure. In Bauchi, Sen. Bala Mohammed chose to repair the foundation, and the Commissioner for Finance carried that mission with discipline and precision.
For more than two decades, civil servants endured a fractured salary structure that mocked both fairness and logic. Two officers of equal grade could collect different payslips, one heavy and one light. It was a bureaucratic wound that outlived successive administrations. Where others ignored or postponed it, His Excellency gave the order to confront it. Dr. Adamu, armed not with slogans but with spreadsheets, harmonised the system under that guidance. Today, Bauchi workers stand on a single transparent footing. Arithmetic at last became justice, courtesy of leadership that listens and a team that delivers.
But salaries were only the beginning. The financial house His Excellency inherited was leaking from every corner. Ghost workers haunted payrolls, phantom claims appeared on vouchers, and channels for siphoning public wealth ran deep. Where others might have patched the roof, Sen. Bala Mohammed directed a rebuild. Under that directive, Dr. Adamu blocked leakages, sealed loopholes, and dragged corruption into the light. Suddenly, those who once believed themselves untouchable were forced to answer questions.
Then came pensions, the cruelest wound of all. Retirees who had given their prime years to service were left to beg at ministry gates, their gratuities buried in dusty files. In Nigeria, retirement too often feels like punishment. It took His Excellency’s firm resolve to end that neglect. Dr. Adamu executed the directive with precision—dusting off files, reconciling debts, and signing cheques. For many, it was not only money but the restoration of dignity. Old men wept openly, women whispered prayers, and families felt relief return to their homes. Governments are remembered not for promises but for debts they choose to honour. On this score, Sen. Bala Mohammed reset the record.
Reform also meant opening windows, not just closing doors. Transparent processes and disciplined portfolios created the scent of order. Investors who once dismissed Bauchi as opaque began to look again with interest. His Excellency’s credibility and commitment to transparency gave confidence to the markets. Under his auspices, credibility was built steadily, without noise, and the state began to appear quietly on investment radars.
Inside the civil service itself, a cultural shift is unfolding. Performance management is no longer an empty phrase. Officers know that productivity must match pay. The culture of simply being present is giving way to the culture of results. Corruption, once treated as routine, has become a dangerous gamble. There is firmness, but there is also fairness. Staff have come to see that there is both an eye that watches and a hand that guides—and that hand is His Excellency’s, implemented faithfully by his finance team.
What distinguishes this reform era is not only the achievements but the manner in which they are carried out. His Excellency does not summon cameras to record every step. He does not rent billboards to plaster his name across city walls. His revolution is quiet but deep, silent but visible. The worker with a unified payslip feels it. The pensioner clutching a long-delayed cheque feels it. The investor negotiating with new confidence feels it. It is better to show than to tell, and His Excellency has chosen to let results speak for him.
Nigeria is too familiar with betrayal and squandered resources. Yet every so often another kind of account emerges, one of a leader who treats finance as a sacred trust rather than political loot. Bauchi today carries the mark of such an account, built under the leadership of Sen. Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed, Kauran Daular Usmaniya, and executed by loyal hands.
These reforms may not be announced with drums, but they carry dignity. Long after the noise of politics has shifted elsewhere, the echo of His Excellency’s work will remain in the payslips of workers, in the relief of pensioners, and in the confidence of a state that has found discipline as the foundation of its renewal.
In the arithmetic of governance, His Excellency has added fairness, subtracted leakages, multiplied credibility, and divided corruption. Few legacies speak louder. Few reforms cut deeper. And in years to come, when Bauchi looks back on its economic history, this era will be remembered not only as a time of reform but as the moment when the arithmetic of justice finally balanced.
Usman Abdullahi Koli,
mernoukoli@gmail.com.
By Our Security Reporter
The leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Gombe State Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya has been commended over the introduction of the Forest Guard initiative aimed at tackling insecurity.
Honourable Abbas Umar Nabingi, an APC chieftain from Yamaltu-Deba Local Government Area, gave the commendation while speaking to journalists in Gombe.
He described the Forest Guard programme as a timely intervention that will strengthen security, particularly in border communities and forest areas prone to criminal activities.
The initiative, which covers five states — Osun, Adamawa, Kwara, Kogi, and Gombe — is designed to recruit and train local hunters and vigilante members to complement conventional security agencies.
Honourable Nabingi also expressed appreciation to the National Security Adviser, Malam Nuhu Ribadu, and retired Deputy Commissioner of Police, Muhammad Ahmad Jarman Deba, for their commitment to improving security across the state and the nation.
Screening of applicants is currently ongoing at the Police Mobile Force base along Kwami Road in Gombe. The exercise, which began on Monday, February 23, 2026, is expected to end on Friday, February 27, 2026.
According to Nabingi, about 650 applicants will be selected strictly on merit from across the 11 Local Government Areas of Gombe State. Successful candidates will undergo a two-month intensive training in Osun State before being deployed back to Gombe to commence duties.
He explained that the Forest Guards will work in collaboration with the Nigeria Police Force, the Nigerian Army, and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps to safeguard towns and villages across the 114 political wards of the state.
Some of the beneficiaries, including Mamuda Sulaiman Kuri and Aishatu Meli from Yamaltu-Deba, Josephine Galadima Audi from Kaltungo, as well as Yakon Yunusa and Rejoice Joshua from Billiri Local Government Area, expressed appreciation to President Tinubu, Governor Inuwa Yahaya, the National Security Adviser, and DCP Muhammad Ahmad Jarman Deba.
They described the programme as an opportunity to serve their communities while contributing to efforts aimed at restoring peace and stability.
The Forest Guard initiative is expected to boost grassroots security and enhance coordination among local and formal security structures in Gombe State.
By Our Correspondent
The leadership of the Gombe State Students Association (GOSSA) has expressed profound appreciation to the Governor of Gombe State, Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, for approving the payment of 6,000 Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) registration forms for indigent students across the state.
In a statement issued on behalf of the association, the National President of GOSSA, Comrade Muhammad Al-Amin Bako, who also serves as Senior Adviser to the Governor on Student Affairs representing Gombe North, described the gesture as a “lifeline” for thousands of families struggling to support their children’s educational ambitions.
Al-Amin commended Governor Inuwa Yahaya for his sustained investment in the education sector across the 11 Local Government Areas of the state, noting that the free JAMB forms would significantly ease the financial burden on parents and encourage more students to pursue higher education.
According to him, the intervention reflects the governor’s commitment to human capital development and his administration’s determination to make education accessible to all, regardless of socio-economic background.
“This initiative is not just about paying examination fees; it is about securing the future of Gombe youths. It demonstrates His Excellency’s passion for education and his desire to see our young people succeed,” Al-Amin stated.
He further noted that beneficiaries were carefully selected to ensure that the support reaches students who genuinely need assistance, especially those from less privileged backgrounds across Gombe North, Central, and South Senatorial Districts.
The GOSSA president reaffirmed the association’s continued support for policies and programmes that promote educational advancement and youth empowerment in the state.
Stakeholders in the education sector have also lauded the initiative, describing it as timely and impactful, particularly at a period when many families face economic challenges.
Observers say the governor’s consistent focus on educational development — including infrastructural upgrades, improved learning environments, and student support schemes — is gradually repositioning Gombe State as a model for educational growth in the North-East.
With the sponsorship of 6,000 JAMB forms, many prospective candidates in Gombe State now have renewed hope of gaining admission into tertiary institutions and achieving their academic dreams.
By Our Correspondent
A group known as the 19 Progressive Comrades has applauded the vote of confidence passed on the Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the President on Student Engagement, Hon. Asefoun Sunday, describing his leadership as bold, visionary, and people-centred in advancing youth inclusion in governance.
In a statement, the group commended Hon. Sunday for what it called his unwavering commitment to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, particularly in the areas of education reform, student participation in governance, and strengthening institutions within Nigeria’s education sector.
The comrades said his approach reflects political will and strategic foresight in repositioning Nigerian students as active stakeholders in nation-building rather than passive observers.
They noted that his continued engagement with student leaders, progressive blocs, and ideological movements across the country demonstrates a deep understanding of youth mobilization and inclusive governance. According to the group, under his stewardship, the Office of the SSA on Student Engagement has become a credible platform for constructive dialogue, policy confidence, and renewed trust between the Federal Government and the student community.
The statement emphasized that sustainable national development cannot be achieved without deliberate investment in education and structured engagement with students. Consequently, the group called on student leaders, youth-based organizations, and progressive forces nationwide to rally behind the Renewed Hope initiative and actively contribute to shaping its outcomes.
“As a progressive ideological movement, we reaffirm our readiness to mobilize, engage, and defend policies that prioritize education, accountability, and youth empowerment,” the statement read.
The group reiterated its support for President Tinubu’s reform agenda and commended Hon. Asefoun Sunday for translating presidential vision into practical engagement within the Nigerian student constituency.
The statement was signed by the 19 Progressive Comrades.
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