PDP Crisis Divided House Of Reps – Yusuf Hon Tajudeen Yusuf represents Kabba/ Bunu /Ijumu federal constituency of Kogi State in the House of Representatives. In this interview with select journalists, he speaks on the effect of PDP crisis on the House, Kogi politics and other issues. Adesuwa Tsan was there for LEADERSHIP. As the 7th Assembly of the House of Representatives winds down, how would you assess the last 3 years? The last 3 years of the present House, in comparison to the previous House by privilege of records I’ve seen since I wasn’t in the 6th Assembly, if we are going to zero in on bills and motions, this House has done credibly well, better than the past assembly. It is natural that the glory of latter should be greater than the former, there should be improvement. I think reasonably, we have not failed in that direction and looking at the happenings in the polity, I think we have responded positively. When there was need for us to be heard, we were heard, when there was need for us to be a bit docile, we were docile. We might not have achieved all the set goals we set out to achieve, but reasonably the House has fared well in the last 3 years. What are the things you think the House should have done differently? We got too political at a point. Some of us did try, but we assumed foolishly that it was possible to insulate the House from the crisis of PDP and we made efforts to allow the gladiators sort themselves and come to reasonable conclusion because I can remember I told some of our colleagues that none of us were part of the equation that brought the crisis; our interests were not considered. It wasn’t about Nigeria, it was about ambition so you feel comfortable when you think what you desire is been satisfied. We tried but we failed and sincerely we lost our cohesion. I must say that the House at the initial stage was united, we took issues as it were. Yes, some persons may be benefiting from those things because no matter the position you take, some people will benefit from it, but if you are convinced, you take a decision based on the information at your disposal but we lost it a bit a year plus ago. Would you say the House has gone beyond that point now? Have you returned to track? We can’t return. Let’s not deceive ourselves because we must be sincere with ourselves. The political thermometer is heating up so we can’t return to it. To me, it is the 8th Assembly that will do whatever has not been done, it is politics and politics now. Nigerians are worried that when you come back from your recess you will be more pre-occupied with re-election process and probably abandon legislative work I don’t think we will abandon our legislative work but I will not lie to you that there won’t be politics. Nigerians too should expect those who want to seek office to play politics. However, do we now do that at the expense of national interest? Do we reduce national issues to politics? That is where some of us will stand and say no! However, some persons might not be on the floor as they used to be, you can’t take that away from them because the constituents will not understand that you have to be regular on floor. To them, if you want our votes, we need to see you. It took me some time to balance my activities in the House and get to my people as well because I hate missing sessions, even committee meetings I want to be there. We have not yet matured politically to that level that if you are sending someone to represent you, you should allow the person to do the job but I believe with time we will get there. For example, I don’t like switching off my phone but believe me, if I am in the chamber and my phone is on and someone calls like two to three times, the next thing the person will assume is that he is now a member of the House of Representatives and he can’t pick calls again, forgetting that at that particular time I have an assignment I’ve sworn to carry out. I am using myself as an example of what everybody is going through. Yes, when we return there is definitely going to be politics, let’s not deceive ourselves because even right now, politics is going on. My colleagues are in their constituencies because those who want to run against you are already on the field and unfortunately, it is natural that those who are outside will have bigger advantage. People tend to believe that whoever is here has a bag load of money, we still see politics as go and chop your own and let me chop my own. You are the vice chairman of the House committee on Information Communication Technology, ICT. What can you say about the 2014 budget implementation? It is not different from what it used to be. Some of us have advocated for the amendment of the Procurement Act because it is a bit cumbersome. It takes you minimum of 6 months to go through the process of procurement if you really want to go by the law, it was made that way to check certain excesses but we all know that it is not about the law, it is about the individual. It is not how effective the law is, it is the commitment of the actors to observe the rules. In as much as it was meant to serve certain good interests, it delays a lot of things. You will be surprised to know that most procurement process will be done between now and December, that is a really big issue. Would you say the present governor of Kogi State, Governor Idris Wada is providing good governance to your people? I must be sincere with you, I am really impressed. In assessing him, if you look at him relative to state A or B, you may not have the full picture. I am a Kogi man and I have the privilege of knowing what is in Kogi State. I know states that have monthly allocation of about N16 to N19 billion, Kogi State has an average of N3.5 billion monthly allocation with salary payment of about N2.7 billion. Though a lot of us complained about the slow pace initially,the governor has proven that he knows what he is doing. Maybe because of his profession as a pilot, he understands that you don’t take off without proper preparation. He has been able to source some funds and I am quite impressed with some of the things he did. He went to the stock exchange, entered into an agreement with the stock exchange that whatever project he wants to do, the contractor will liaise with the stock exchange and they will pay him directly, thereby cutting cost. The Kogi House in Abuja here, I am very sure that building wouldn’t have cost anything less than twice the amount if it were to be other states. N2.4 billion for a ten story building, why? Because those who are providing the fund are paying directly to the contractor and they are managing the building for like ten years to recoup their money! So he has realised the limitation and has sat down, put on his thinking cap and come up with ingenuity on how best to transform the state to an enviable level and I can tell you that he is moving in the right direction, I am fully impressed and I will support him. Still on Kogi State, the opposition, APC, seems to be making in-road to reclaim Kogi State come 2015. Do you feel threatened? In-road? They are losing grounds every day. Believe me, the former governor of Kogi State, Prince Abubakar Audu said publicly here that it is not about politics, he confessed that this government is doing very well. He publicly admitted that in the history of Kogi State, we have never had a governor that carries everybody along like the present government. You know one thing about opposition, they only function in the media, they are not on ground. To the best of my knowledge, Kogi State is solidly a PDP state and we are consolidating every day. Come 2015, what should your constituents expect from you? What should they expect from me? I expect them to revalidate my mandate. They can assess me within the last three years that I have been here. When I was coming here I did promise them what they should expect from me, the last time I checked, I printed out my manifesto and from my checks, what was remaining is my promise on primary health and by the grace of God, before the end of the seventh session, I will deliver on my promise to my constituents. By October and November, I am working with an NGO and we have signed an agreement. 60 doctors will be coming into town to do major surgical operations in my constituency for two weeks. I am not in the executive, I am a legislator, I made pledges in certain areas and to the glory of God I have delivered. I am not God; because some of my constituents call me ‘he says it and does it’, but like I said I am not God.
Posted on: Tue, 19 Aug 2014 05:02:22 +0000
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