Some people say that the problem with your aspiration is that you’re from Kano State and the president-elect is from Katsina State in the same North- West zone; how do you marry your aspiration with this?
In the first place, I think we are getting the interpretation of the zoning completely wrong. The presidency is not supposed to be zoned. The president is Nigeria’s president. General Buhari was never presented as the candidate of the North-West; he was presented as the candidate of Nigeria. He is supposed to be neutral and not show bias to any zone.
The whole idea was for the president to emerge first. After the emergence of the president, then the six geopolitical zones will sit down and distribute whatever positions that are left, particularly those of the parliament. I think we need to get this properly right.
You are going to have seven segments, six are that of the zone and one is that of the president. This is really going to help the country when people realize that the president is not supposed to be included. If the president is included in the zoning, Rochas Okorocha wouldn’t have contested against General Buhari.
So, it was never zoned to the North- West. Yes, of course Mr. President will be very proud that he is from the North- West, but this idea of trying to exclude the North-West from other offices because the president comes from the zone is very unfair and is tantamount to blackmail and I don’t think anybody should blackmail the Northwestern part of the country.
We have the largest contingent of state assemblies’ members, the largest contingent of senators and the House of Representatives, and we gave the highest number of votes in the presidential election. Now if you exclude us, what do you want us to tell our people? What do you want us to go back and tell all the people that gave all those votes to the president? The president is for the entire country. So, we want other offices that we will take back to our people for them to be able to hold back to something. We don’t want to see the president-elect as that of the North.
I am calling on every eligible senator and House of Representatives member from the North-West to come out and contest for the leadership of the National Assembly. It is our right like every other zone. We shouldn’t be boxed into a corner; this is blackmail against the North- West, and we are not going to allow it. It is not about Abdulmumin; it is about the North western zone. I know the challenges we have in that zone. I know the population we have in that zone; I know what people went through to bring the APC on board. We have six zones and we should sit down and share these offices among them. That is why I am in this contest, and I believe that at the end of the day, I am going to win.
Looking back at history, has it always been like that?
History is a continuous process, and for every historical stage, there are circumstances and every segment of our history comes with its own peculiarity. So, this particular situation comes with its own peculiarity. We don’t have to say what happened in 1979, 1989 or in 1960 has to happen now, no. We have to look at the present reality, the maturity of our democracy, the nature of the merger that was consummated, the need for equity and have a Nigerian president and not a zonal president etcetera. All these issues combined to form my opinion that it is the right of every one to aspire to these positions.
Won’t there be Tambuwal scenario where Namadi Sambo became vice president from Kaduna and the speaker from Sokoto both in North West? Are you not playing the same drama?
I didn’t talk about every member. I am calling on eligible senators and eligible members of the House of Representatives to all come out and contest for leadership positions of the National Assembly.
I want to say it without any contradiction that the Tambuwal scenario cannot happen under the present circumstances. In 2011, it happened. I was in the tick of everything that took place. We did everything that we did, and we have no regrets or apologies. But it is not going to happen this time around.
In 2011, we were in PDP, and we were not happy with the party. We had issues with the president then, but the scenario now is completely different. We are happy with our party and we have a strong president-elect who is a well respected man of integrity, no nonsense president and everybody respects him.
The psychological feelings among members, is completely different. Everybody has respect for the party and the president-elect. If you look at it in 2011, there were no sufficient candidates from where the majority party wanted to bring the speaker from. But in this case, there are a lot of competent people who are gunning for the position of speaker. I think we are not going to have any challenge choosing anybody to come up as the new speaker. So, I strongly believe we cannot have the Tambuwal scenario.
If the party comes out to zone, it is very dangerous if you go against it, because it is going to lay a very faulty foundation for the Buhari administration and we don’t want to do that. It is in the interest of everyone to support the zoning arrangement of the party. I believe they are going to do it with fairness and justice, we will respect the zoning formula.
Based on what you said, will it be safe to say your aspiration is now subject to the zoning formula of your party?
Of course I have said that and maybe if you want an emphasis, I have said it very clearly. Every right thinking leader and member of the APC should support whatever zoning formula of the party, because if you don’t, it is going to set the party on a very wrong footing, and the foundation is going to be faulty; we’re going to have all sorts of problems. That is not what we want.
What do you think gives you the edge over others gunning for the speakership office and what is your relationship with your colleagues?
I came into the House four years ago and I have been chairman of the finance committee since then. I have participated in a lot of parliamentary investigations. I have served in a lot of ad-hoc committees and I have been in the centre of everything that has happened in the last four years. I have mastered the rules of the House. I understand the dynamics of working and leading equals.
My educational background also prepared me. I attended a lot of public schools in Nigeria from primary to my university. I went abroad and combined it with my vast local experience in Nigerian educational institutions. I ran through major institutions of learning from London Business School to Harvard and to the Swiss Business School. I graduated with an MBA. I think a combination of both my local educational pursuit in Nigeria and of course my exposure outside the country gives me different perspective about the issues of governance and economies of different countries.
If you’re not in the race for speaker, who would you have supported?
If I am not in the race for the office of speaker, of course to the best of my knowledge, I have two other colleagues that are contesting. I have Femi and Yakubu Dogara. Without thinking twice, I will support Femi.
Why?
Femi has an edge in experience. He has done so much for the party; he gave his body, heart and soul for the party. He has been the face of opposition and has led well. He is organised in the House the way he should be. He was part and parcel of the Tambuwal Tsunami in 2011.
So, by every standard, I would have supported Femi if I were not contesting. I never pretended about that.
Many Nigerians voted for Buhari because of his anti-corruption pedigree, but most people see the National Assembly as an epitome of corruption. If you emerge as speaker, how are you going to fight it?
When you said most people see the National Assembly as an epitome of corruption, you have to back it up with statistics. I think it’s a huge generalization that you cannot be substantiated. The issue of corruption, everybody agreed that it is a problem in this country, and I think anybody who is aspiring for any leadership position now should know that one of his key cardinal points is to tackle corruption with the very best that he has.
As far as I am concerned, if you look at all my previous speeches, you will understand that one of my own major priorities is also to deal decisively with the issue of corruption. Of course the president is going to lead the way, and he’s going to have the parliament that will give him the maximum support that he needs to deal the issue of corruption in this country.
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