The SOKOTO State governor, Alhaji Aliyu Magataka Wamakko, recently threw caution to the winds by flogging a member of staff of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), who is in charge of Wamakko’s substation, for his failure to restore power to the town and its environs.
An eyewitness told the Nigerian Tribune that for several months, the small town has not been enjoying steady supply of electricity.
According to the source, the epileptic power supply in the town was a serious embarrassment to the governor who felt that as the governor of the state, his town ought to be enjoying an uninterrupted power supply.
Findings revealed that the governor then invited an official of the PHCN to discuss how best the situation could be addressed.
The official, according to the source, wrote a proposal of N17 million which was approved by the governor without delay. The source added that the money was for the purchase of a new transformer, cables, and other items that were necessary for the installation.
However, to the chagrin of the governor, in spite of the money spent for the installation of the new transformer, the situation remained the same as the epileptic power supply continued unabated. The governor then decided to invite the official of the PHCN to find out from him why power had not been restored.
When the official could not give a satisfactory answer, the governor became annoyed and he flogged the PHCN official with the stick he was holding.
Onlookers at the scene were reportedly stunned by the attitude of the governor with some of them hurriedly leaving the scene for fear of a possible breakdown of law and order.
Attempt to speak with the Sokoto State Commissioner for Information, Alhaji Danladi Bako, was unsuccessful as all his lines were switched off.
The acting Managing Director of the company, Mohammed Adamu, confirmed the assault at a press briefing late on Monday, at the company’s Doka office, Kaduna.
Adamu said the affected member of staff was summoned and was beaten to a pulp by the governor and some of his aides.
“On Saturday, October, 20, our business manager, Gwiwa Business Unit, So-koto State, Moses Osigwe, was invited by Governor Aliyu Wamakko to his personal residence, over the issue of lack of power supply to his hometown, Wamakko, as a result of a failed 2.5MVA transformer.
“He accused Osigwe of deliberately denying his community, Wamakko, of power supply. As the business manager was trying to explain to him, the governor just brought out a horse whip and lashed him,” Adamu said.
According to him, the governor also invited two other members of staff, Isyaku Daura, Officer 2 (Electrical) and Nuru-ddeen Mohammed, Staff 1 (Lines) and ordered the mobile policemen to beat them up.
When contacted on phone, the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor, Sani Umar, told the Nigerian Tribune that “it is a case of N17 million contract failure, which is now in court and it will be prejudicial talking about it in the newspapers.”
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