By Roseline Okafor, Nasarawa State

Former Chairman of Karu Local Government Area of Nasarawa State, Hon. Joseph Kaura, has criticised the Panda Development Area Political Coalition Forum for defending what he described as inadequate and “fake projects” allegedly executed by the Nasarawa State Government in the area.

Kaura, who was a founding member of the Panda political coalition, made his position known in a strongly worded response titled, “Re: The Purported Achievements of Engr. A.A. Sule and Karu Local Government in Panda Development Area.”

He alleged that despite the administration of Governor Abdullahi Sule spending about seven years in office, there had been no significant physical infrastructure project executed by the state government in Karu Local Government Area, particularly in Panda Development Area.

According to him, the purpose of the Panda political coalition was originally to engage government and elected representatives on the need for development, infrastructure and employment opportunities for youths in the area, rather than serve as a platform for defending the government.

Kaura expressed disappointment with the current leadership of the coalition, accusing it of abandoning the original objectives of the group and becoming a “mouthpiece” for the government.

He stressed that political appointments should not be presented as substitutes for physical development projects.

“When we talk about projects, we do not mean political appointments. A project means visible, physical infrastructure that impacts the lives of the people,” Kaura said.

The former council chairman challenged the coalition and the state government to account for several projects which, according to him, had either been abandoned or remained uncompleted in Panda and its surrounding communities.

Among the projects he listed were the Gitata-Panda-Gurku Road, Panda Electrification Project, Panda-Akwap Road, Panda-Kube-Padan Gwari Road and Angwan Ayaba-Dutsen Gogo Road.

Kaura argued that the deplorable condition of roads in the area had affected economic and administrative activities, alleging that officials of the Panda Development Area, including the administrator and members of the management committee, sometimes found it difficult to operate effectively.

He further questioned what tangible infrastructure benefits had accrued to the people of Panda despite the area’s political contributions to the state, including its role in political campaigns.

Kaura also questioned the utilisation of funds allocated for projects in Karu Local Government Area.

He claimed that N460 million was released as a first tranche for projects in the local government and challenged those defending the administration to state how much of the money was actually spent on projects in Panda.

“Is it N6 million out of N460 million? And you are here defending such character?” he asked.

He urged relevant authorities and stakeholders to provide detailed accounts of project allocations and expenditures in the local government, particularly in communities that he said had continued to suffer infrastructure deficits.

The former council chairman also raised questions over the internally generated revenue (IGR) of Karu Local Government Area.

Kaura recalled that when he served as Advisory Committee Chairman to the administration of Abubakar Aliyu Madaki, he presented a blueprint aimed at increasing the council’s annual IGR to N1.5 billion.

According to him, the blueprint was implemented and subsequently verified, resulting in the generation of close to N1 billion during the period under review.

He therefore challenged the authorities to account for how the money generated was utilised.

“Almost N1 billion was generated. How was it spent?” Kaura asked.

He further argued that Karu remained one of the major revenue-generating areas in Nasarawa State, adding that monthly revenue generated from the local government was substantial.

Kaura also referred to the recent statement credited to the Chairman of the Nasarawa State Revenue Board, who reportedly disclosed during a press conference marking his first 100 days in office that the state’s monthly IGR had risen to between N3.8 billion and N4 billion.

He said the people of Karu deserved to see corresponding investments in infrastructure, social services and other development projects in view of the revenue generated from the area.

To buttress his argument on what constitutes meaningful development, Kaura recalled projects executed during his tenure as Chairman of Karu Local Government Area about 17 years ago.

He said his administration achieved several infrastructure and social development projects despite receiving monthly allocations of less than N200 million at the time.

Among the projects he listed were the construction of the Karu Youth Centre, which he said was named after the late Esu Karu, Dr. Ishaku Bulus Chetubo; the renovation and furnishing of the Karu Local Government Secretariat; and the procurement of 12 units of 300KVA transformers and one 500KVA transformer distributed across the local government to improve electricity supply.

He also listed the construction and equipping of a cottage hospital at Rugan Juli in Mararaba, which he said was furnished and supplied with drugs, a motorised borehole and a standby generator to support healthcare delivery.

According to him, the hospital was named after the late Amos Idakula, a prominent politician and one of the governorship aspirants in Nasarawa State in 1998.

Other projects he attributed to his administration included the construction of five-classroom blocks in Mararaba and Gurku, two classroom blocks in the Gurku Gwandara community and two classroom blocks in Angwan Mangoro.

He also cited the purchase of an 18-seater bus for the legislative council and three Peugeot 406 cars for the deputy chairman, council secretary and speaker of the legislative council.

Kaura said his administration also installed a 300KVA transformer and electrified Tudun Wada community, extended electricity to Jankanwa and Gidan Koro in the Betti community, renovated the Primary Health Centre at Kuda Yeskwa and established the Karu Police Division.

Other initiatives, he said, included the construction of five culverts in Masaka, provision of waste bins, security motorcycles and council vehicles, as well as sponsorship of 20 religious pilgrims, comprising 10 Christians to Israel and 10 Muslims to Mecca.

He added that his administration printed and distributed 20,000 exercise books to pupils in primary schools across Karu Local Government Area.

Kaura expressed concern over what he described as the gap between the revenue generated from Karu and the level of government investment in the area.

He alleged that Karu contributes more than N2 billion monthly to the state’s internally generated revenue and argued that residents should be able to see the impact of the revenue through infrastructure and improved public services.

He maintained that the people of Karu should demand greater accountability from elected representatives and government officials over public funds.

According to him, development should be measured by tangible projects such as roads, electricity, healthcare facilities, schools, water supply and other infrastructure capable of improving the living conditions of residents.

Kaura subsequently urged residents of Karu and other citizens of Nasarawa State to support the Social Democratic Party (SDP) governorship candidate, Mohammed Abubakar Adamu, a retired Inspector-General of Police, ahead of the 2027 governorship election.

He said the call was based on the need for accountability, peaceful coexistence and inclusive governance.

Kaura argued that the people of Karu needed a new political direction, alleging that successive administrations had failed to deliver commensurate development to the local government despite its economic and revenue importance to the state.

He also made reference to the political history of Nasarawa State, arguing that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Congress for Progressive Change/All Progressives Congress (CPC/APC) had collectively governed the state for extended periods without, in his assessment, delivering sufficient development to Karu.

He therefore called on residents to support what he described as a “change” in the 2027 election.

Kaura concluded by insisting that his criticism was based on his understanding of the difference between political appointments and physical development.

“So you think I don’t know the meaning of projects or infrastructure? Certainly, it is not political appointments. I rest my case,” he said.