I don’t know authenticity of impeachment charges against Al-Makura – Agabi

Alhaji Yusuf Agabi is a Nasarawa state governorship aspirant on the PDP platform in 2015. In this interview,  the politician speaks on his  chances, his priorities and the politics of zoning in the state. AHMED TUKUR reports

 

Impeachment saga
My friend, let me tell you, it is neither here nor there.  I am saying so because I am not a member of the legislature and you know charges have been framed against the governor and I am not privy to knowing the authenticity or otherwise of these charges and therefore I can neither say yes or no.
If I were a member of the legislature and I knew the premise on which these  charges are  made and I have been able to ascertain without iota of doubt, the authenticity of these charges, why  wont I support them because the state resources are meant to be use for the state.
So, if anybody tries to take accountability to the background, why should you spare  that person? But , like I said, i am not in a position to ascertain the authenticity of those charges against the governor and so I can’t not say either yes or no.
Top PDP stalwarts not comfortable with deputy  governor after impeachment.
I am not one  of those advocates, I am on my own and I believe power is from God and He will give it to anybody He chooses to give it to anybody at any point in time.
So whether the deputy governor or any other person for that matter, if God says it’s going to be me, it must be me. That is my conviction.

Your confidence at the primaries
Let me call myself somebody that believes in winning all the time. I also believe that this time around, I am going to be winner. Well in the bible, It is said that many are been called but very few are chosen. Among the few that are chosen, there is a leader and I consider myself as one.

In event of a loss
You see, fortunately for me, I am one of the founders of PDP.  I  have never stepped out of the PDP since its inception in Nasarawa state, and so, that I have not won an election call it primary, call it general election will never at any point in time make me leave PDP. PDP have been in me and I have been in PDP and by the grace of God I will remain so.
Major priorities
Thank you very much indeed.  I am aspiring for the governorship of Nasarawa state and it is certainly no doubt a project that I am out to make sure it is actualized and to do that, I think I have some projects at the back of my mind, principal of which is agriculture.
That is because Nasarawa state is certainly an agrarian state and I also want to see that the mineral resources that are in the state are tapped so that revenue coming to the state will be enhanced and also the issue of healthcare delivery is going to be another priority.  But  of greatest importance is the education to my people.
You also know that my people are lacking in so many areas, particularly in science orientation and I think this is one of the areas I want to place my emphasis if given this mandate and to make sure that men and women of Nasarawa state can compete scientifically or through science knowledge like any other person, not just in all parts of Nigeria but in the whole world at large.  And  for us to be able to do that, we are going to give the sound scientific foundation and that is one of those areas I will want to make a mark.

Generating resources
That is why I want to make a difference, I am a finance man, an accountant by profession, a chartered accountant for that matter. So, what I want to do, is to be able to tap resources both within and outside the state of Nasarawa.
You know our proximity to the federal capital is a very serious advantage and so there are so many areas that can be tapped and for you to do that effectively as a finance man, I know where there are leakages and I should also know how to block those leakages.
You know we are not going to rely solely on whatever comes from the federation account. Definitely we have to look inwards and that is exactly what we are going to do but this thing requires a long time investment for you to be able to achieve. So, we don’t mind we are going to do the planting and allow people to do the harvesting.
It may be harvested during our time; it may be during the time of some other persons that will come. But we will make sure that we have laid a solid foundation, a long time investment for the state. We are not just going to look at the short run, the medium run and then the long time. We are going to have our focus on the long run so that the state will now have a sustainable development because that is the only area that dividend of democracy can be realized.

Programme on security
You know we have a lot of discontentment in the state because of inequality in the distribution of resources. That is one; the second issue is that there are people that want to make election or administration as winner take all. You have to be able to understand the intricacies of the state so that you will be able to know how to handle all these intricacies. You know we have a lot of differences in Nasarawa state but these differences are coming in because of the distrust.
If people can come to a round table and have a conference, you should be able to understand where I am coming from and I can also understand where you are coming from. By the time we are able to aggregate our difference, we should all be able to know that the primary thing is Nasarawa as a state. The primary thing is not a tribe, the primary thing is not a religion as far as Nasarawa state is concerned.
But we should have at the back of our mind what does the state want. What is this state yearning for? We should now all work towards that. At time we make people to realize that we are not talking about individualism, we are talking about what sacrifice we can all make for the state and by the time we are able to realize that I am telling you that the issue of insecurity will take care of itself.
By the time you aggregate all these differences, you bring people together on a roundtable, people should not think that you, being  a winner should take everything. Allow other people to also have a taste of whatever there is to share in the state and eventually the state should be better for it.

How true is it that you a Candidate of the traditional rulers
Well, let me tell you, people are always entitled to their own opinion. It is not untrue that I associate myself with the traditional rulers but that is not true that these are the group of people that are flouting me for my ambition. Far, far, far  from that.
Uniting the people of state against mutual mistrust

What are those sentiments? Let me know them.
The sentiments are such that people are saying that you have gone into alliance with the Eggon tribe in the event their son does not get the top job.
You see I am a realist. I know the background from where I am coming and I know the tribe because that is one of the sentiments in the state. Whether I belong to this majority tribe or that majority tribe, whether I belong to this religion or that religion, I have never been an advocate of any of these sentiments because I told you, I started my primary school in catholic background. I went to a secondary school with catholic background.
I went to ABU where I had my first degree; I went to ATBU where I had my second degree. I don’t subscribe to these sentiment being spread about by people. I believe in Nasarawa state and in Nasarawa state I will continue to work for.

Priority  projects for the three zones
You see, I don’t think there is anything specific for any zone. I will just sit down by the grace of God, watch maps on ground and I see equity, justice and fair play. I am not going to give priority to any zone or any local government. I will treat every local government according to their need.

Building an elitist government.
Contrary to what you have just asked, you know people have been saying it around that I don’t carry elders along what is your take on this? I have always been walking along with youths because that is what I believe in. you should give youths the room to grow. Yes, If we continue to say elders, elders, at which point in time will they allow the youths to take their centre stage. At every point in time, anywhere we go we are told that the youths are the leaders of tomorrow.
So, at what point are we going to allow these youths take their rightful position. And that is precisely what I am doing. I believe more in the energetic youths than the elders.

What about the women sir?
I believe in gender. I believe that there should be equality of position and that is why the transformation agenda of Mr. President is imbibed by me. I believe in transformation because it is all encompassing. It takes care of the youths, it takes care of women. It takes care of the aged. So that is one of those areas of conviction that I have.

 Zoning in PDP
Well, if you want to call it injustice, certainly you are entitled to your own view. But my own view is that PDP has advocated zoning formula in three senatorial districts. Nasarawa west with headquarters in Keffi has had its own share of two terms. Nasarawa south where I come from with headquarter in Lafia has had one term only under the arrangement of PDP. So what we are saying is that we should be allowed to complete the remaining one term of Nasarawa south with its headquarters in Lafia. I know power is not given on a platter of gold.

So, you will go for one term or four years?
Yes, one term, four years.

 Views about Almakura, s administration.
You know the antecedent of the current governor and where he is coming from. He is  strictly and purely a businessman who had never had any public office job to do and therefore he finds it very difficult to know how to balance power. I have worked with everybody in the south, I have worked with everybody in the north, I have worked with everybody in the west. I have been in the civil service for up to 34 years and I have been at the management cadre for eight years. So I should be able
to know what a Yoruba man wants, what an Igbo man wants and what a Hausa man wants. So by extension I am just trying to say that he should aggregate the interest of everybody and know how to marshal it.

Tom Ikimi as a spy in PDP
I don’t agree with that opinion. You know PDP has room to accommodate everybody no matter who you are, no matter what your position is. PDP has a room for you. There is what we call checks and balances in PDP. In PDP it’s like the most powerful state in the world. So from whichever angle you come from, we have a machinery of curtailing you and we will always do that.

Way out of insurgency
Fighting insurgency in Nigeria is supposed to be the collective effort of everybody. Nobody should be spared. We have an instance like this before like the OPC in the west and MASSOB in the south. This is not a peculiar situation. Federal government is doing everything possible to ensure that insurgency in the country is curtailed in the shortest time and I want to believe that within the shortest possible time before the general election, federal government is working very hard to make sure that insurgency is not only curtailed but it is stopped.

What is your advice to people of the state with regards to security?
People of the state should have the interest of Nasarawa state at heart, differences should not divide us. God knows why He has created us and put us together in Nasarawa state. Whether you are a Christian or you are a Muslim or you are a pagan, whether you belong to the Alago tribe or the Eggon tribe or any other tribe that you can find, wherever you come from, the primary thing is to have interest of Nasarawa state at heart, not individual interest.