Dare Babalola
Former Attorney-General of the Federation and Kebbi State governorship aspirant on the platform of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Abubakar Malami (SAN), has criticised the Kebbi State Government over what he described as misplaced priorities and failure to address key challenges facing residents.
In a statement issued on Sunday by his Special Assistant on Media, Mohammed Bello Doka, Malami reacted to the state government’s response to his formal declaration to contest the 2027 governorship election.
According to the statement, the government’s response focused on personal attacks and unverified claims while failing to challenge the statistics earlier presented on education, poverty, healthcare and insecurity in the state.
“The 1,500-word statement by the government contained ad hominem attacks, unsubstantiated allegations and a list of unverifiable achievements. Notably, it failed to refute any of the figures we cited,” the statement said.
Malami’s camp listed several concerns, including a high number of out-of-school children, poor school attendance rates, widespread multidimensional poverty, child malnutrition, malaria prevalence, and recurring insecurity across communities.
“The people of Kebbi deserve answers on why 67.6 per cent of children aged 6 to 15 are out of school and why net school attendance remains among the lowest in Nigeria,” the statement added.
The former minister also questioned how the state had utilised resources received in recent years, claiming that Kebbi had benefited from substantial revenue inflows following the removal of fuel subsidy.
“Between statutory allocations, local government funds, internally generated revenue, loans and grants, Kebbi State has received in excess of ₦1 trillion in the last three years. Yet there is no visible transformation in education, healthcare or security,” the statement said.
Malami further stated that his governorship ambition was driven by the need to restore security, improve public education, strengthen healthcare, revive agriculture and create opportunities for young people.
“My declaration is centred on restoring security, rebuilding education, strengthening healthcare delivery, reviving agriculture and restoring dignity to governance. I have no personal agenda beyond service, accountability and sustainable development,” he said.
He maintained that the people of Kebbi State would ultimately assess the performance of the current administration based on tangible results rather than political rhetoric.
“The era of empty propaganda and ineffective leadership must end. We will rebuild Kebbi into a safer, stronger and more prosperous state for all,” the statement concluded.
