Hon. Abdulrahaman Abubakar Isa is a member of the Adamawa State House of Assembly where he chairs the House Committee on Appropriation Budget and Planning. In this interview with The Dream Daily’s Tom Garba in Yola, Hon. Isa bares his mind on how the Adamawa House of Assembly is working with the executive arm of government to implement the All Progressives Congress (APC) change mantra in Adamawa, among other salient issues
Can we meet you sir?
My names are Abdulrahaman Abubakar Isa. I am the Member representing the good people of Mubi South in the Adamawa State House of Assembly where I chair the House Committee on Appropriation, Budget and Planning. I am also the chairman of the Integrity Group in the House. It might interest you to know that before becoming a lawmaker in this honourable House, I worked as a legislative aide to the current Governor of Adamawa State, Senator Mohammadu Umaru Jibrilla Bindow, when he represented Mubi North/Mubi South Senatorial District in the Senate.
Few months into the life of the Assembly, we are beginning to notice your vibrancy in the House. What are your plans for Mubi South Constituency and the state at large?
What I am doing or trying to do is exactly what my people are yearning for; they yearn for change and I am for change. My people sent me to work for them, in working I mean to defend their constitutional rights and Mandate.
I am here primarily to make laws that will change and help my people economically, socially and morally. I also endeavour to share the little I have to reduce poverty that has being ravaging our people, although our people must understand that the main job of a lawmaker is law creation and to serve as checks on executive with our oversight functions.
We know that government is yet to settle down and constituency funds have not been made available to lawmakers in the Assembly. However, you recently commissioned some projects in your constituency. How did you achieve this?
I am an experienced man in the issue of legislation, having worked as an aide to three lawmakers in the National Assembly, including the present governor of Adamawa State. You need to be close to your constituency – the people who voted you into power. I know what our people want from the government. I know that our people lack social amenities. As such in my own little way, I am constructing hand pumps water boreholes in communities across my constituency. I am also giving little financial incentives most especially to those aspiring for something meaningful in their lives. I am a giver by nature, I can’t stop giving no matter what. I can go hungry for somebody to eat. Eighty per cent of all I have or I will still have goes to my community and the remaining to myself and family.
What are some of the bills we should expect from you in the next four years?
I intend to present a bill to create the Adamawa State Road Maintenance Agency. Good roads within the nooks and cranny of the state can create wealth for our people. When our towns and villages are accessible with good roads, this will boost economic activities, attract investors to the state, which will generate revenue for the state.
I also intend to propose amendments to the laws that govern how revenue is generated in Adamawa. The state has low income in terms of internally generated revenue (IGR) and the way the revenue formula is shared it has to be revisited so that the state can begin to generate high revenue. I even discovered that the treasury unit is not working well; I will try my best to see that it is working. I believe if it is working well, that alone can enhance our IGR in the state.
And I want to delve into the education sector, not to create new laws per say but to have a sort of scholarship programme that will help the less-privileged to gain access to quality education.
You belong to the integrity group in the House and you even oversee the group’s affairs. Does that mean that you are watching over your colleagues?
As the chairman of the Integrity Group, my duty to my colleagues includes giving them the right advice on the critical issues that are bound to crop up in the course of our four-year service in the House. Of course to do that, I must always check myself first, to make sure that I am in the right standing order.
Also, by virtue of my position in the House as chairman of the committee on appropriation, budget and planning, I have the constitutional powers to see that the finances of the state are in order. This I hope to do religiously to the benefit of the Adamawa people. It appears that in the past Adamawa State has been afraid of due process. Perhaps this is because some people have carried out some shoddy deals and they did not want the system to expose their shameful acts. Take it from me however, due process must be followed in Adamawa now in order to have a successful government in this state.
How cordial or otherwise is the relationship between the Legislature and the Executive in Adamawa?
Honestly it is very cordial. The reason you sometimes see disagreement among the three tiers of government, the Executive, Legislative and Judiciary is as a result of interference from either the Executive to the Legislature or Judiciary. However, the three tiers are supposed to be independent, working without any form of interference.
Here in Adamawa we have a cordial relationship with the Executive. Although the governor might be new in terms of executive duties, he has a wealth of experience in legislative matters, having been a senator, hence the governor knows how to relate with us, the lawmakers. While most of our lawmakers are new to their posts and duties, I will say we have established the synergy needed to change the state for good. Most of us are from the APC and with our change slogan, believe me, all the members of the Adamawa House of Assembly are for change to develop our state.
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