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| Nigeria President |
Hamza Dalhatu Batagarawa(CPC) represents Batagarawa/ Rimi/ Charanchi Federal constituency of Katsina State. He speaks here on the next elections and other matters.
Will you say that President Goodluck Jonathan has achieved much to deserve another term in 2015?
My simple and brief answer is no. And as our political leader General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) is wont to say, the heat is everywhere and does not spare anybody, we are all feeling it. There’s nowhere in this country you can go and sleep with your two eyes closed or even travel freely. Especially we in the north who are now living in a war-like situation with all the security presence, police, soldiers and the check points, we don’t have rest of mind. Which Nigerian or which northerner who is in his right senses will come and tell us to vote for Goodluck Jonathan in 2015? Nothing is working, economically, socially, security wise, politically.
But it sounds surprising that you as a serving member of the parliament is lamenting, does that mean you are helpless?
Every Nigerian knows that this government does not have regard for the National Assembly especially the House of Representatives. They say our resolutions are mere expression of opinion, laws passed are not implemented. The House has been trying to expose corruption through various investigations so that things can be corrected. Look at the billions stolen in subsidy, capital market and pension. But this government is lawless. The President thinks that the House is another arm of the opposition.
But the Constitution has given you powers to tackle every situation including impeaching the President but you keep lamenting instead of taking action….
It’s a matter of time. But if Nigerians will be fair to us, we know that we have been doing our best especially on issue of budget implementation which we went round the country to make sure that funds appropriated are judiciously utilized and we brought the report but they came and apologized and said they will make corrections but they didn’t. We are watching them but we won’t continue to allow this happen, the House will take the right action at the right time.
We are giving him time to correct things because of the situation we are in now, we don’t want to overheat the polity but if they continue we will surely act. If he continues, we will act appropriately because Jonathan did not come through the barrel of the gun, he was elected and all of us were also elected from our constituencies, so he can’t come and make us stooges or his yes boys. There is limit to what we can take and when the time comes we will act and Nigerians will vindicate us.
The executive also said it has moved the implementation of constituency projects to ministry of special duties, are you satisfied with that?
Two things, in the first place to say that they have now taken it to the minister of special duties to implement is false because even before now it was the executive that implements it, we don’t award contracts, we don’t execute. But the question I will ask Jonathan or his aides to answer is that among them who has the power to make appropriations, or amend budget laws passed by the parliament? Even if they’ll do something like that, common sense entails that they should sit with us and forward their requests and lobby so that we make the necessary amendments. But up till now as an MP I do not believe they did that. I find it unbelievable. There is nothing to show they did. But if they actually did , then our leaders should brief us adequately but for now I only read it in the newspapers and we won’t work with that. The executive implements budgets including constituency projects and we are not bothered all we want is to see that they actually implement the budget for the benefit of all Nigerians.
Recently, national chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Alhaji Bamanga Tukur said that PDP will win 32 states in 2015, do you think it is possible in view of the fact that opposition parties are about merging?
Based on the kind of discipline and upbringing I have, I am not supposed to react, contradict or even argue with what somebody like Bamanga Tukur says because of his age, he is like a father to us, he is old enough to be my father, we won’t respond to his comments anyhow. However, I really think that old age is affecting him, you won’t blame an old man for anything he says because of what age can do to people. So, we as his children can only pray for him that God will heal him because no right thinking person will ever say PDP will win 32 states in 2015, unless all Nigerians alive now are killed and new set of people brought in otherwise if there are Nigerians alive in 2015, that won’t happen. So I think he was either quoted out of context or they didn’t hear well, he might have said that PDP will lose 32 states in 2015.
Source: Daily Trust
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