Nothing like ‘automatic tickets’

That is why I am not surprised to hear some African leaders expressing their desire to stay in power till eternity. Or, alternatively, arrogate themselves in power perpetually to enjoy the goodies of leadership, while the majority of people suffer in the hands of poverty, disease and hunger. We had many of them like late […]

That is why I am not surprised to hear some African leaders expressing their desire to stay in power till eternity. Or, alternatively, arrogate themselves in power perpetually to enjoy the goodies of leadership, while the majority of people suffer in the hands of poverty, disease and hunger.

We had many of them like late Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia, late Mabuto Seseko of Zaire, Field Marshall Idi Amin of Uganda, etc.

Now, we have Pesident Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, President Tanja Mamodu of Niger Republic and others. It nearly happened here in Nigeria about two times, in the form of “tazarce”, and two times it failed woefully because pressure groups both within and outside the government realized its political and economic repercussions.

In order to avoid the occurrence of power drunkenness of our leaders, we would like the PDP senators to provide us with details of the following questions to enable the electorates assess their performance so far. It’s on record that the legislative bills passed in the previous years were found to be relatively higher than the bills passed by the present crop of distinguished Members of the National Assembly.

They should, please, clarify these statements:

 1) What is the position of the constitution review/amendment? How far have they gone? Is there any success or failure? Were they able to reconcile their differences with the committee members of the House of Representatives?

2) Some senators who went to Ghana on official assignments were accused of corrupt tendencies. How far has investigations gone into this?

3) How about the EFCC bill? Has it been passed to allow the Commission free hand and autonomous power to prosecute and convict its detainees together with those currently under bail, through the setting up of its own courts?

It’s good to equally note that the senators’ vital role in those areas far exceeds what remains to be unknown, i.e. 2011. Achievements are the determining yardstick to measure success or failure. PDP has earlier on made its stance known to the public: No automatic tickets for its elective members as it would be a sign of injustice on the part of the party hierarchy to favour one member over another. Above all, senators and other elective public officers are accountable to the electorates who possess the automatic tickets not from the party leadership.

Alh. Abbati Dankanti Gumel, Darmanawa Quarters, Tarauni Local Government, Kano State. [email protected]