Minister Sadiya Blast APC Initiative Group Over Vituperations

By Khalid Idris Doya

Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouq has said that she will not be deterred by belly-aching detractors who will stop at nothing to derail the lofty Social Investment Programmes (SIP) of the Buhari-led administration to lift 100 million vulnerable Nigerians out of poverty by 2030.

The minister explained in a statement that at no time did she divert the programme meant for the 36 states of the federation and the FCT to Bauchi, nor did she ever abandon the responsibilities in her office to relocate to Bauchi.

According to the statement signed yesterday by her media officer, Nneka Ikem Anibeze and made available to journalists in Bauchi, the minister has on the contrary been working tirelessly and assiduously to ensure that no vulnerable Nigerian is left to go hungry, and to lift them higher than where she met them.

It could be recalled that a Bauchi based group, “APC Initiative for Good Governance”. In a statement signed by one Nasiru Cigari alleged that “Hajia Sadiya Umar Farouq diverted Social Investment Programmes meant for the entire country to Bauchi State.

The group also accused the Minister of “abandoning her office and relocating to Bauchi to push the political interest of her husband, Air Vice Marshal Abubakar Sadique (Rtd), who is contesting the 2023 governorship of Bauchi state on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The Minister however recalled that since the creation of the ministry in August 2019, at least 20 million Nigerians have so far been empowered through various programmes and initiatives which included the upskilling of 1,064,774 youths in the graduate and non-graduate programmes under the N-Power scheme.

She explained that under the N-Power Scheme, the number of beneficiaries in Bauchi state ranked 11th out of the 36 states and the FCT, namely Benue, Delta, Enugu, FCT, Kaduna, Kano, Lagos, Osun, Oyo and Rivers states before Bauchi.

“Under the National Home Grown School Feeding Programme, a total of 9.9 million children from primary 1 to 3 in 53,000 public schools nationwide are currently being fed one hot nutritious meal every school day with Bauchi state being the 4th highest in terms of benefitting number of primary schools behind Kano, Benue and Kaduna states”.

The media officer who described the Minister as a detribalized Nigerian politician, mother and wife, further explained that Sadiya spreads love evenly to the poor and vulnerable regardless of their state of origin, tribe or religion. 

Nneka Ikem Anibeze said ordinarily, the Ministry would not have expended its time and energy or give credence to the malicious report by responding to this hopeless group of detractors, but for the sake of putting the records straight.

“Sadiya Umar Farouq is a native of Zamfara state and married to a former Chief of Air Staff, Air Vice Marshal Abubakar Sadique. By virtue of her marriage to an indigene of Bauchi state, the full rights of any Bauchi woman have been bestowed on her”.

Anibeze stated that the unregistered and unknown APC Initiative for Good Governance group cannot stop the minister from reaping or sowing the seeds of development in her husband’s state to the extent of its rightful share from the Ministry she heads, neither can the group mischievous falsehood prevent her from supporting the political interest of her husband.