Hon. Garba Chede Hammanjulde is the Member representing Bali/Gassol Federal Constituency of Taraba State in the House Of Representatives. In this interview with The Dream Daily’s JOHN EMMANUEL, Hon. Hammanjulde submits that federal lawmakers from the governing All Progressive Congress (APC) must stand by President Muhammadu Buhari if the President is to succeed. Excerpt:
One year after inauguration, how has the House been able to deal with the series of crises it encountered at the start of this administration?
Thank you very much for this question, first of all we are one year and we say glory be to God. In the beginning we had leadership tussle. Of course that almost tore the House into shreds but we were able to surmount that challenge. We are part of the people who had agitated that we, the majority, were cheated being that most of the committee chairmen were shared equally with colleagues who are PDP members. However, after much consultations, intervention from leaders of our party and the hard work of the Speaker who carried out consultations among the diverse interest groups in the House, we became a formidable unit and has since buried the hatchet and forged ahead. The Speaker’ consultations with various interest groups in the House have brought about stability in the House of Representatives.
After one year, are you confidently saying that there is unity in the House?
Yes, the House of Representatives has a formidable unity and that is why we have achieved a lot in terms of number of motions and bills passed. This has also been demonstrated in terms of individual relationships. All the members of the House of Representatives work as a unit irrespective of party affiliation.
The North-East caucus, which you are a member of, had earlier supported the candidature of Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila for the position of Speaker. How were you able to reconcile that with the emergence of Hon. Yakubu Dogara who is also from the North East?
As far as the members of the North East Caucus are concerned, Hon. Dogara’s emergence as the Speaker of the House was an advantage to them because he is from that zone. As far as we are concerned, there is no cause for alarm. It is true we threw our weight behind the candidature of Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, but we did that for a reason. We wanted our candidate to be the deputy Speaker. But as things turned out, our zone produced the Speaker. That is politics. Like I said earlier, we have put all that behind us now and the House is enjoying an uncommon harmony. That was even confirmed when Hon. Gbajabiamila openly conceded defeat and congratulated Hon. Dogara after the contest. That shows there is no ill-feeling as politics is about win or loss.
After one year how would you describe your representation of the people of Bali/ Gassol?
You know when we came here there was no budget for us to deliver on our campaign promises to our constituencies. That notwithstanding, I have tried my best within this one year to ensure that the people of my constituencies have something to show for their faith in me. I have given my constituency about 12 boreholes. I have also given them money to finance small-scale businesses. I’ve spent over N75 million in procuring motorcycles, sewing machines, hairdressing equipment and farm inputs for my people. This is one of the ways I believe poverty can be eradicated from my constituency.
How were you able to fund the project?
I was able to execute these projects through loan. I collected a soft loan from my bank to execute them. I made a lot of promises to the people of my constituency. We promised them good road, healthcare facilities, portable water, employment. With the signing of the budget by Mr President and with the hope that disbursement of the budget will start soon, we hope to use the money earmarked for us to fund constituency projects to fulfil most of our campaign promises.
How would you describe the relationship between the Legislature and the Executive in the last one year?
The relationship between the legislature and the executive has been cordial to the best of my knowledge. As you can see Mr. President has invited us over two times to wine and dine together just as we saw him presenting the budget to the House. In the same vein he has sent ministerial list which we have screen and for confirmation. These events are pointers that both arms of government are enjoying harmonious relationship. As you know the National Assembly is dominated by APC members, the government is an APC government. It is therefore our responsibility to ensure that our party’s image is not destroyed. We cannot afford to betray President Muhammadu Buhari.
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