Honourable Abdulahi Adamu (Candido) was a councillor, representing Jiwa Ward in Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and later the council secretary. He is the immediate past Executive Chairman of the area council. In this press interview with our CHIEF CORESPONDENT, ABBANOBI -EKU ONYEKACHI, he charged the senate to tackle insecurity seriously.
Excerpts.
Qtn: In which area will you the senate to improve upon, in performance of their legislative duties?
Ans: Well, there are so many areas they should improve upon, for things to move well with Nigeria and Nigerians. To me, from all indications, I don’t think that things are moving well, the way we expect. There is a lot of challenges economically and otherwise. So Nigerians are passing through a lot of difficulties and hardships. The National Assembly, especially, the senate should sit up and talk the truth to the presidency, so that whenever they legislate, they ensure that whatever they are legislating is people – centred; that whatever they are legislating on is what they can defend for the interest of the people, because things are not fine as expected right now.
Qtn: You are talking in general terms, can’t you be specific and point out the areas they are not doing well?
Ans: I think that an area I want the National Assembly, especially the senate to tackle seriously is security. Let there be a serious legislative oversight in the area of security by the National Assembly. A lot of billions of Naira are going into security, but still people are being assassinated, kidnapped, killed, all sorts of negative vices on daily basis. The National Assembly, especially the senate should sit up to ensure that there is security. Once there is security, business will flourish, everyone will find one or two things to do. As it is now, people are afraid of their lives and things are falling apart. I am appealing to the senate to do everything really possible to secure Nigerians first, because we can’t go out to farm or go out to look for food or normal business, unless there is security in the country.
Qtn: Their duty is to make laws for the executive implement, don’t you think that it is the duty of the executive to implement the law by ensuring that there is security?
Ans: They should use legislative oversight. They are the ones that assign duties to the security agencies, the military, the police, among others. The senate has committees on these areas and they are the ones appropriating funds for these security outfits. They should ensure that any money spent is properly used and accounted for. People are being killed like animals. If security is not handled properly, things will get out of hand.
Qtn: With the army, the police, among others under the executive arm of the government, are you saying that the executive doesn’t have any role to play in the area of security?
Ans: Let me tell you, they should call them to order. They are being funded. There is no amount of money that is not being given to the security agencies. The National Security Office is handling billions of Dollar; the police, army, others are being well funded and still Nigerians are suffering seriously in the area of security, and are being kidnapped, killed, assassinated daily. This means that the security agencies are not being monitored. The senate should monitor and oversight appropriately and decisively to ensure that every kobo meant for security is properly utilized.
Qtn: Can insecurity be linked to the ongoing hyper inflation in the country, especially in the area of food items.
Ans: Yes, it is, because farmers can’t go to farm again, due to insecurity in the land. Those living in the agrarian areas no longer find it easy to go to farm, because if you go to the farm, you are kidnapped; if you go to the farm you are killed. All the bushes remain uncut, and soil untilled. For the fact that farmers are no longer farming, food inflation is inevitable in our economy. That is why there is scarcity of food here and there and the little that is available, you can’t afford to buy, unless you have the means, and not all the people have the means and that is why people are crying that there is no food. That is why there is hyper inflation all over. And we must stop it by ensuring that the security situation is improved and we can only get it improved by ensuring that those who are managing security services, well funded by the government are monitored properly. Come to think of it, most people who are chief of this or chief of that are certainly richer than this country.
Qtn: Some attribute the inflation to insecurity, while others attribute it to fuel subsidy removal. Which of the two do you think is the major cause?
Ans: Fuel subsidy removal actually has to do with the policy of the government. So some of us who are truly not economists, may not understand what they mean, because we keep getting confused on daily basis. So I may not wish to discuss it, because I don’t have thorough knowledge and idea of what they mean by fuel subsidy removal. The less you look at it, the more you get confused and the more you look at it, the less you don’t even understand anything. So, where we are heading to, I don’t know. We must ensure that our security is improved, because if it is improved upon, certainly, all these things will drastically die down.
Qtn: As an indigene of the FCT, what is your assessment of your senator’s performance?
Ans: As a realist, I will not judge her from the point of any other thing or political party, but from the point of objectivity. So I am not sure that I can score her. I am not sure if she can attract my attention to say that we have a senator that is doing fantastic. For me, that is what I can say, but the house of representatives member, you can see him, attending a function or flagging of one or two social services for the people, that is service. You also see him saying one or two things in the National Assembly. That is how to represent the people. For the senator, I am very sorry as I may not be able to say anything. I have not visibly seen her perform.
Qtn: What are those things you expect her to do for the people?
Ans: I think that she is already eating her days and some times, if you don’t listen to advice, even advising you means nothing. So for those of us, Honourable Chinedu and co who care to seek for advice, we provide the advice. They can’t be seen around us all the time, but they seek for a device. But in the senator’s case, like I said, she isn’t available and she isn’t asking for advice. She has days counted and very soon, she will go back to the electorate.
Qtn: Behind every rumour, there is an atom of truth. There is this rumour that you want to contest for senate come next election, how true is this?
Ans: I don’t want to tell you yes or no as answer, because I don’t know what tomorrow has in stock for me. It is only God that will speak to me and tell me to go and contest, then I will go and contest. And if people call me to contest, then I will contest. All the public offices I have held, I had never come out on my own to contest. It is the people that usually call me to contest.
But if there is mayoral office in the FCT, I will contest for it. If governorship or mayoral position is in the FCT, count me in, because this is where I will serve the people, for them to feel the impact of democracy.
Qtn: The FCT doesn’t have mayoral or governorship position, are you going to sponsor a Bill for that?
Ans: We have sponsored a lot of Bills from 1999; it is only that God hasn’t hasn’t given us the required manpower in the National Assembly, for the FCT to have a mayor. If there is an opportunity for the FCT to have a governor or mayor, tell everyone that Candido will go for that.
