Senator Bayero Usman Nafada is the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Gombe state in next month’s elections. He was the pioneer Speaker of Gombe State House of Assembly in 1998-2003, a former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives and now the senator representing Gombe North Senatorial district. In this interview with Auwal Ahmad, the governorship hopeful bares his mind on the chances of the PDP in winning the general elections, among other political issues.
What are chances of the PDP in the general elections?
The chances of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Gombe state and other parts of the country are very bright and the coast is very clear for the success of the party in the upcoming elections at all levels.
You see, success doesn’t come on a platter of gold or by mere rhetorics but one has to work for it and devise productive means to actualise it.
In Gombe state, what our people know is the PDP as far as politics and good governance is concerned. PDP is conterminous with the development of the state, especially under the reign of the present administration of His Excellency Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo, which has successful transformed the state to an enviable status.
It’s an undeniable fact that all the sectors of the economy have been overhauled; education, agriculture, heath, infrastructure, and what have you.
We are all aware that the Buhari and APC’s ‘tsunami’ swept away the PDP in the Northern part of the country during the 2015 general elections but met a brick wall in Gombe state. Governor Dankwambo and his Taraba state counterpart, Darius Ishaku, defied all the APC’s propaganda and emerged victorious in their respective state. What’s going to happen in 2019 is just a replica because the APC government has failed Nigerians and if PDP could win in 2015 when the APC’s ineptitude wasn’t exposed, what more of 2019?
But you were in the APC before?
Yes, how many people were in the APC and left when they realised the party lacks implementable manifestoes? When you are in a ship and realises that it will not take you to your destination or the captain is a novice, what you should do is to disembark for your safety. In Gombe state, those in the APC are the problems of the state; majority of them ventured into politics just to accumulate wealth to the detriment of the masses. You could see how one of their leaders stymied President Buhari’s budget in the National Assembly and it sounds ridiculous for that person to come down to Gombe and talk about party ideology. I can’t remain in a party that has become an individual investment in the state.
You were the pioneer Speaker of the Gombe State House of Assembly, former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives and now a serving senator. Don’t you think others deserve to be given the chance to serve?
Politics, like any other meaningful venture, requires experience and familiarity. And electing someone that doesn’t have a vast knowledge of the workings of government and legislation, will surely take the state back and that, we’ll never allow.
As you rightly said, I was in the State House of Assembly as the Speaker and I later moved to the National Assembly where I served as the Deputy Speaker and now serving in the Red Chambers as a senator. Can you then match my credentials with someone who was only a commissioner in the state?
If elected as the next governor, what will you do differently?
Government is a continuous process. We came from deep-rooted democratic cycle from the state to the National Assembly, from Green to the Red Chambers and coming out with a lot of experiences and accomplishments. I will deploy such skills and experiences to further develop the state and boost its economy to more advanced and sustainable status. I’ve to continue from where my predecessor has stopped and consolidate on the gains of the democracy the state has been enjoying.
Some of the people who contested the ticket with you are aggrieved with the result. What are you doing to pacify them to support you?
I’ve said it severally that as far as PDP is concerned in Gombe state, there’s no loser, we are all winners. About 12 of us contested in the primaries and with deep knowledge that only one of us will emerge at the end of the process. And for those you called aggrieved, I don’t know them because PDP in the state is united and committed to winning the upcoming elections.
Two of the contestants, Jamilu Gwamna and Abdulkadir Hammasaleh, left the party to the APC after the primaries, alleging irregularities…
I don’t want to mention anybody’s name or join issues with anyone but since you’ve already asked me, let me tell you something. It’s normal in politics, while they are leaving, others are equally joining the PDP. For Jamilu Gwamna, no one will tell you when he joined the party (PDP) because he was last seen or heard of in the state politics since 2007 and all of a sudden he came out from political hibernation, claiming to contest for the highest seat of the land. Well, I overwhelmingly defeated Hammasaleh in the Senatorial contest in 2015 and you can imagine how someone who could not win at the Senatorial election dream of contesting the gubernatorial election. But the most important thing is that they all have the prerogative to join any party of their choice. We in PDP, we’re united as other contestants are assiduously working with us for the success of the party at various levels. I’ve been a grassroots politician and politics is also about dialogue and I will use this avenue to call on any person that feels disenchanted to come forward and resolve the grey areas for the betterment of our party and the state in general.
How do you measure your capability to be the governor of a state like Gombe?
What do you mean by capability? If an ordinary former commissioner in the state will feel capable of governing the state, I think a former Speaker in the State House of Assembly, former Deputy Speaker in the National Assembly and a serving senator is more capable, qualified and deserving.
What is your reaction to the suspension of Walter Onnoghen as the Chief Justice of Nigeria?
Though, there were different legal interpretations and divergent reactions from Nigerians but in my candid opinion, whatever we are doing as a government, we should do it within the confines of the law and avoid over heating the polity unnecessarily. In this particular scenario, the hastiness of the suspension and the timing were questionable and people may smell political motives behind all the drama. This is because for the government that failed to honour about five different court orders granting bail to the former National Security Adviser in President Jonathan administration, Col. Sambo Dasuki, to hastily suspend the CJN on a single court order, there must be political undertone. The judiciary as the last hope of the common man should and must be allowed to operate independently without any sense of prejudice.
The APC is the ruling party in the country; can you beat it in Gombe state?
Politics is very local and voters are the determining factor in all the contests. I want to assure you that Gombe is a PDP state and I’m very optimistic that God’s willing we are going to win the 2019 elections at all levels with or without the federal might. Let me tell you, during the election, everybody must be at his own local constituencies and we’re going vote and protect our votes in Gombe.
Are you comfortable with the preparations of the INEC so far to deliver a free and fair election?
So far, so good and the only thing I will say here is that INEC as an electoral umpire should as much as possible maintain its independence and provide equal opportunities for all candidates by conducting free, fair, and credible election. Anything contrary to this, Nigerians will not tolerate any act of injustice and impunity.
