Rep Ahmed Ishaq Kana who represents Keffi/Kokona/Karu Federal Constituency of Nassarawa State, in this interview says the CPC in Nasarawa has no problem other than how the governor is running the party in the state.
Is there are any guarantee the CPC would fare better in the merger arrangement?
The CPC has been there before the APC arrangement. This is the first time in the history of this country that so many parties are coming together in this magnitude to fight the ruling party.
No matter what people are saying, especially the PDP it has been because of the fear of the success of the merger because some states in the East and West are joining forces with the people in the North to wrestle power from the PDP and you cannot tell what will be the outcome with INEC but we are not resting on our oars.
If what the PDP members are saying that they are not afraid of merger is true, why are they then running from pillar to post to thwart this merger? Certainly they are afraid and their antics will not stop our success.
As a member of the CPC Merger Committee, how transparent have the discussions been?
The discussions have been open and frank. There have been some rumours deliberately orchestrated by our enemies, but we in the merger committee know what we are doing.
The INEC chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega that I know is not someone that can be played around with, he will act right the way he has been doing. The APC has met all the prerequisite of merging but we have to follow the rules and due process and Insha Allahu the APC shall come to stay.
There were reports of disagreements in the merging parties due to sharing of offices, how do you react to this?
All the parties in the merger arrangement have responsibilities to play for the collective success of the merger. You should know that all parties know what is at stake, there is trust, but you should also know that each party has individual agenda and they would bring this to bear during discussions, then the superior argument during discussions carries the day. So whatever is coming out now is okay.
Nasarawa being the only CPC state is having internal dissents, is this not going to make the party lose its membership to the PDP?
I don’t want to keep quiet on this as I will not be helping the party in the state. Historically, I was a protocol officer to the first governor in the state from 1999 to 2007. I resigned and contested for state House of Assembly 2007 to 2011 with the second elected governor of the state. The problems associated with the past governor in the state, led to the collapse of the PDP in the state. When we came in as the new party, I contested in the PDP primaries, and I was manipulated, I dropped PDP for CPC, where I won the seat to represent my federal constituency. The state CPC and some of the stakeholders are not happy with the way things are going in the state government that is why the party is in the state it is presently. Most of the activities, issues and politics in the state is being centred within one man, the governor is taking the party as his business, the governor is taking the state activity as his personal property. I am elected by the people and I see more people than the governor himself, I attend to the needs of more people than the governor. I attend to problems of the people more than the governor. There are complaints from many quarters and the governor does not listen to me or the people that elected me. There is no way anyone would tell me that he knows the problem in Nasarawa more than me that was elected by three local governments making up my constituency. This is the problem the governor is not attending to. The state does not even have a vehicle for the party. All the problems associated with the government is centred on the governor himself. The stakeholders are not even called upon to see what is happening in the state.
You are known to be very close to the governor…
(Cuts in) He does not listen to anybody, nobody can stop what he intends doing and there is no way you can run the state like that, there are local government and other areas of the state, you cannot claim to know everybody or everything about the state. People should know that it is not the CPC but the governor that has a problem. People are complaining that they want to dump the party, but we tell them no, the problem is not the party, the party has good intention, but it the governor that is taking the party as his personal property.
What then is the solution to this crisis?
We hope the governor will listen. Yesterday, the Elders of Keffi filed their grievances. I believe that it is not only Keffi, most other people are also complaining. May be the governor will see reason in what we are saying, I have many petitions with me. I called the Governor, he was complaining that there are some people in his cabinet that are corrupt, but the same set of people are back in his government. We told him that some of the former executives in his cabinet said they have his secrets at hand, he said it is a lie, but by bringing them back means the story is true, meaning they are all looting the government that is why he brought them back to government. So there is problem in Nasarawa State that the governor has to correct or else there would be problem in the party.
What could have led to this division between you and the governor despite your reputed closeness to him? If I am to pretend he has no problem , what about my people, they are complaining about the governor, I should listen to them, they elected me. I am elected to help the governor, but the governor is not helping matters.
What have been the inputs of party and the state elders to resolve this crisis?
The governor has never called for meeting. There has never been any time the governor invited the elders for any meeting, if the stakeholders are not being involved in governance there would be problems.
Are you not weary that the party crisis in Nasarawa will have ripple effect on the CPC being the only state controlled by the party, more so that the opposition merger has reached an advanced stage?
This is what I am saying, we are making this heard to ensure that the problem is resolved; we want the people to see that there is no problem with the party but with the governor.
As a member of the anti-corruption committee, what is your assessment of the government anti-corruption war?
It is not working because the agencies saddled with these responsibilities are not effective. They are being used witch-hunt perceived enemies. Look at the Maina issue. Look at the magnitude of the corruption; what do they use the money for anyway? To buy jeeps, houses and go abroad? Is that what will develop Nigeria? Government knows all this and yet nothing is being done about it.
How then do we tackle this menace?
It is leadership, once we get the right leadership, corruption will be eradicated. We need somebody hat is not corrupt, somebody that will create employment for the teaming jobless youths we have. Why do you think all these killings are taking place? It is poverty. People wake up and do not have anything to do, when you give them N10, 000, they will do anything. Look at the budget, it is unfortunate that every year, the budget elapse before it is fully implemented, and it is not because we do not have the money, the money is always being diverted to individuals and Jonathan has refused to focus his attention on what his ministers are doing.
Source: DailyTrust
