Explaining the reason for his resignation, Mr Andirya stated that he was only a commissioner on paper and had no real power to help his people. He alleged that the governor, Muhammadu Inuwa, made himself inaccessible and he had only met him once during a state executive council meeting since his appointment three months ago.
"I have been in the All Progressives Congress (APC) since 2015, and after our victory in the 2019 elections, the governor promised that we will work together to help our people. But I was only appointed as a commissioner last October after a minor cabinet reshuffling. And since my appointment, I couldn’t help my people because I was only a commissioner in name without getting anything to help my people," he said.
Mr Andirya claimed that he had tried to reach out to the governor several times to explain his predicament but to no avail. He was told by other members of the cabinet that he could only see the governor during the executive council meeting.
In his resignation letter obtained by Prime 9ja Online, Mr Andirya stated that he resigned with effect from February 20, 2023, and thanked the governor for giving him the opportunity to serve his state as a commissioner.
The resignation of Mr Andirya comes at a critical time for the APC in Gombe State, as the party is preparing for the governorship election scheduled to hold on March 11, 2023. It remains to be seen if the resignation will have any impact on the election, which is expected to be closely contested.