A pro-democracy group in Taraba state has warned the opposition to stop distracting Governor Darius Ishaku as he works hard to deliver the mandate of his government. In a statement by the Taraba Mandate Group (TMG) and signed by the group’s Public Relation Officer, Esther Bakoji, the group noted that the opposition in the state is now just “clutching at straws” in its bid to find something negative to say about Governor Ishaku.
The statement reads: “it is now becoming clear that the
opposition has nothing more to say or do again to discredit our amiable and performing Governor. Now they are instigating footballers to lay siege at Government House, Jalingo to give the impression that the Governor is not performing. To be clear, Governor Ishaku came into office to meet a backlog of footballers allowances which he promptly cleared. In spite of the fact that this was not his priority and that it was not during his time the debt was incurred, he still paid off the outstanding. Since then, he has assisted them in anyway possible. So what’s all this now? What’s more, in these austere times, should the governor be more worried about football when there are pensioners who are dying of hunger? Do these footballers know that there is a recession at all? Do they even care that Ishaku is trying harder than other governors to pay salaries and build good roads amongst the many things he is doing?”

The statement added that many of the footballers are not even from the state. ” If you look at them, many of them came from outside the state. And although we are not saying Taraba state exist solely for the indigenes, should the governor allow his people suffer because he wants to please youths from other states? The food meant for children shouldn’t be given to strangers. What’s more, can anyone identify one solitary benefit of the football apart from entertainment? Football is good but it can’t replace food for the people. Please, they should stop disturbing and distracting our governor and the good people of Taraba state.”