FCT natives’ agitation for minister is backed by law – Sokodabo

Alhaji Hassan Usman Sokodabo is a House of Representatives member for Abuja South Federal Constituency. In this interview, he speaks on how he intends to initiate a scholarship scheme to support the indigent students of his constituency. He also said the agitation by FCT natives for Buhari to appoint their kinsmen as minister is backed […]

Alhaji Hassan Usman Sokodabo is a House of Representatives member for Abuja South Federal Constituency. In this interview, he speaks on how he intends to initiate a scholarship scheme to support the indigent students of his constituency. He also said the agitation by FCT natives for Buhari to appoint their kinsmen as minister is backed by law, among other issues. Excerpts:

 

Did you envisage winning House of Representatives seat in the last National Assembly election, especially when you contested with a strong opponent from the ruling APC and also an incumbent?

First and foremost, we give glory to God. I can say my victory at the polls can be attributed to my past records and that the people are so convinced with what we have achieved in the past which gave us the overwhelming support across the four area councils. And we will continue to give glory to Almighty God who has made it possible for us to win the election, while hoping that we will deliver as we have always done in the past.

So, we envisaged the victory based on our past record of achievements and we pray for God Almighty to give us the wherewithal to continue with the good work, because that is why the people of Abuja South gave us their overwhelming support at the election.

What constituency projects do you intend to embark on for the people of Abuja South?

When you talk of constituency projects, there are areas we intend to look at. We have so many graduates that are idle and we all know that an idle mind is the devil’s workshop. Therefore, we intend to engage them in vocational training so that they can become useful not only to themselves but the society. We also have a lot of women, including widows, who we also intend to empower not only to be useful to themselves, but to the entire society. When you engage them in doing something gainful, you have empowered them. After that you will now assist them with capital to start petty business.

So these are the two things we intend to combine together. Then some of the indigent students of our area councils, we intend to introduce a scholarship scheme in order to assist some of them. And even those who will be writing WAEC and NECO, we are also looking into it to see how we can assist them too.

However, there are other projects we will also embark on like water, community health centres and provision of other viable amenities that will impact on the lives of the people of my constituency. Any project that we cannot handle, we will liaise with the FCT Administration to see how it will be factored into their budget, particularly rural roads, because a large percentage of indigenes of the FCT are farmers. At the end of the day, whatever harvest they make in their farms, without good roads they will not be able to bring their goods to even the nearest markets.

So instead of them farming year in year out having challenges, we will liaise with the FCT Administration to come to our rescue in this direction. Besides there are roads leading from Kwaita-Yebu-Kwaku down to Kabi and so on and that linking Yaba- Gurdi to Gawu where so many food items rot on farms due to lack good access road to transport them to the market. So once those roads are motorable, our people will be able to transport their crops from the hinterland to the city.

There are also other roads like Gwagwalada-Dobi-Izom road, where majority of the inhabitants there are farmers but they cannot move their farm produce to the market due to bad road which is why we see the need to liaise with the FCT Administration to come to our aid.

Many of the area council chairmen are not from your party, what kind of relationship do you have with them. Is it possible to work with them across party lines to deliver dividends of democracy to the people of Abuja South?

You see, first and foremost, there are certain things we need to put at the back of our minds. The political parties are vehicles that you use in getting to office, they are more less a ladder you use because the Nigerian Constitution does not recognise independent candidate. Therefore, once you have been elected, you should have it at the back of your mind that those that came out en masse to vote for you, majority of them are not card-carrying members of a political party, likewise those that voted in the APC government into power, majority of them are not card carrying members of APC.

So if the intent of the PDP man elected into office is service delivery to the people and the APC man also elected into office has the same aim, then all of us have the same goal of service to the people. So the issue of serving the people that elect you through party lines is immaterial. The focal thing is for all of us to put our energy together and see how we can deliver dividends of democracy to our people. Therefore, I do not see it that because three out of four in my area councils are being led  by APC it is going to be a challenge to me. We are going to have a smooth working relationship them.

Abuja South constituency has for quite time been facing the challenge of insecurity, especially cases of kidnapping in Abaji. What is your advice to security agents toward tackling this menace?

The issue of insecurity on a general term is not peculiar to my constituency alone. It is a general problem across the country but then that does not stop us from taking our own steps in remedying the situation. We have had a lot of security meetings – the political elite, traditional institution and other critical stakeholders – in mapping out strategies to see how we can overcome the menace. But then I don’t think this will be the right forum for me divulge the steps taken because everybody knows what security means. But have it at the back of your mind that an idle mind is the devil’s workshop and this is why the issue of empowerment for our teeming youths.

Therefore, we are making all concerted efforts in collaboration with security agencies in our constituency to see how this issue, if not completely eradicated, is reduced to its barest minimum.

As a House of Representatives member and stakeholder, what is your take on the agitation by natives of the FCT calling on Buhari to appoint their kinsmen as minister?

We have been agitating for quite some time now – since the coming of democracy in 1999 – but thank God there was an issue on which the court has given pronouncement that FCT indigenes are also supposed to be part and parcel of the Federal Executive Council. Therefore, we are trying to see what we can do so that the president obeys the pronouncement of the court and in the next cabinet, indigenes of the FCT will equally be represented at the Federal Executive Council.

This is how far we have gone and we are going to continue to pursue the executive to see that the pronouncement given by the court is obeyed. Period. So, it is not just a mere agitation but one backed by law and since the court has given the pronouncement, I think it is simple.