Senator Sadiq Suleiman Umar currently represent Kwara North in the National Assembly, says the current fuel scarcity and naira re-denomination will not affect the outcome and participation of Nigerian in the forthcoming general elections. The lawmaker said this in an exclusive interview with Daily Trust. Excerpts.
The 2023 elections is some days away, yet there are fears that the election may hold or not or even if it was held, it might not be the way they expected after over 20 years of the present democratic dispensation. How do you think we are still talking about same challenges of 15 or 20 years ago now?
I think that people are talking out of their own perceptions. But the reality is that 2023 election is going to hold by the grace of God. INEC is prepared, the political actors are prepared the security agencies are prepared and the President and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria has promised to give a free and fair election to Nigerians.
Again, people talking that we are still talking of the challenges since 1999. I don’t think that is correct too, if for anything. I think there has been progressive improvement in the election processes. INEC has tried very well.
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We all knew where we came from. From when people rig elections brazenly. To when card reader was introduced to reduce significantly reduce rigging and how some people found ways of rigging because of the gaps in the card reader.
Where we are today and what to expect in this election is that even cases of incidents forms where people try to manipulate has been eradicated right now.
The BVAS is taking care of almost all the gaps that allow people to manipulate the electioneering processes.
So, I think that processes has improved and they are advancing. There is still room for improvement. More needs to be done, but we’ve done very well as the country since we started our democracy in 1999 till today and I expect that 2023 election is going to be more transparent and more credible than all the elections we have had before because of the preparedness of INEC, the use of technology use of experiences of the past elections to improve the current processes that they are putting in place.
There is also the fear of insecurity virtually in every part of the country. How do you think we can go from here if the country seems not be secure for electorates to come out and vote if the situation were not addressed before election day barely 20 days away?
I think that yes, insecurity challenge is still around the corner. But from what I have seen in the last few months. There is a significant improvement in our security. Recall that earlier before 2015 elections, Boko Haram was the major challenge, yet we were able to have a successful election. Now, since Boko Haram has been reduced or decimated to almost non-existence, other insecurity challenges like kidnapping, banditry, and that was at his peak, I think sometime early last year, but as promised by the government of President Muhammad Buhari, that’s would also be a thing of the past, at least before he leaves the government in May.
The report we are getting is that there is a significant improvement in curtailing kidnapping and all the areas which are in northwest and some parts are northcentral and so on.
So, I still think that there is significant improvement in the security as it is today compared to what it was few months back and this improvement will progressively go on before we have this year’s election of 2023.
So, I am convinced and confident that the country will be secure to allow for a very successful election.
What do you say to another fear of ‘interference’ of monetization of the process through vote trading and other manipulation of the system?
I think that as far as interference is concerned, I am confident that President Muhammadu Buhari, who is the first principal partner in power that one would expect to interfere in the election. Everyone knows President Muhammadu Buhari, if nothing, the just concluded APC primary elections is a clear testimony of his position as far as interference and free of elections are concerned and it has equally made this abundantly clear to anyone that cares to listen that he is not going to interfere in this election.
So, there will be no interference. As far as vote buying is concerned. I can only say that it takes two to tango. I can’t talk confidently now whether some people be ready to sell their vote or whether there would not be people who are ready to buy such votes, but what I know is that INEC and the security agencies, will try to do their best to curtail that.
But no matter what INEC and security agencies does citizens and politicians still have responsibility as well as vote buying is concerned.
Talk of myself, for example, I know I am not going to buy anybody’s vote because I have tried to serve the best way I can serve my people and I am confident they will voluntarily vote for me so that I can continue to do the good work that I believe I’m doing for them.
So, vote buying, well, I think it’s those who did not do their job well that want to return by all means that we attempt to buy votes. On the other flip side, whether the citizens will be ready to sell their votes is another issue.
Talking about interference, if the president as a person would not interfere in the electioneering, would you think he should act on party or government officials who would want to do this, especially in the face of general believe that the president care less in what his appointees does?
Well, the principle is clear, as a leader who believes that the elections were free and fair. I think both his body language, his statements and actions will go in the direction of aligning for a free and free election.
For appointees or other members of the party, who may want to do otherwise. I think the consequences will be very clear to them. They will be responsible for their actions and if they go against the law, I think the law is going to catch up with them.
Going to your constituency now, what are those challenges that necessitated your contesting to serve your people?
The challenges were enormous and I will like to take them sectorally; one, education was a big challenge, health care was a big challenge, road infrastructure was is a big challenge, power infrastructure, was another, potable water supply to my people was a big challenge.
Also, agricultural needs was a big challenge. The challenges are just so much and that was what encouraged me you know to offer myself to serve as requested by most members of my constituents.
On their request now, what have you done to better the lots of those challenges?
What I did immediately was to do a need assessment to see the areas to be prioritized and having done that my attention was to now negotiate and facilitate projects to my constituency.
These are the key areas I focused and that is why today I can proudly say that we have facilitated the renovation and equipment of about 20 primary health care facilities in my constituency in Kwara North. We have drilled over 150 boreholes in my constituency to respond to water challenge.
For education, we have provided instructional materials we have built a classrooms, we have built examination halls; we have trained teachers with basic skills to be able to impact better knowledge to our citizens.
On power, we have provided solar street light to several communities in my constituency; transformers where there are challenges, we have provided transformers to the people. We have actually the rural electrification where we connected some communities that have not benefited from the power to, other the points where power is available.
On agriculture, we have given farm implement, herbicides, fertilizer. We have trained our farmers on dresses dry season farming. We have trained them our climate change. We are provided irrigation equipment for them to be able to farm even when rain is not available.
If I start mentioning what we have done in the last three years, you will not to believe that all this are possible to be done, Alhamdulillah (praise be to God), we are able to touch almost every area that remain challenging to our people.
It is natural for people to say that since somebody has done it, let another person try to do it may be better, so, what remained to be done that you are still taking the mandate of the people to continue?
Honestly, the problems are so much that whatever you are able to do, remember too that it is not about me as a legislature alone, I have the House of Representatives member who is making his effort and we have a state government who actually is still responsible to the state. All our activities at the National Assembly level are complementary to whatever the state government and to some extent, the local government is doing.
So, I am saying that the problem is so much that no matter what you do in four years, there is a lot to do and is going to be a continuous thing. Yes, I still think that I have done very well and most people have acknowledged that. This is why I think I am asking for the mandate to be able to do more again than what I have been able to do so far.
Nigerians are asking the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to further extend the deadline for the exchange of the old and redenominated notes, due to the scarcity of the new notes and the crisis the policy has generated, what do you think is the way forward?
The way forward is what the Senate and National Assembly has made clear to both the CBN and the public, we are not ready, really, to stop the use of the old notes because like you said, the new notes are not available.
For example, even myself, I have not really seen much of the new notes. So, I think it’s not realistic, to stop the use the old notes immediately and the Senate where I serve made that very clear.
We had a resolution and we are very serious about it and therefore I don’t see how the CBN will stop the use of the old notes immediately. After all, we are not the only country that is changing notes and when you change notes, you allow them to run side by side for a significant period of time until everyone understand the changes and everyone have access to the new notes.
So once again, I’m not only encouraging the CBN to go by watch the public and we the lawmakers and generality of Nigeria as one, but I think it’s a necessity. I don’t see how they will do otherwise, really.
Days to the elections, Nigerians are still battling with fuel scarcity. Don’t you think that this will rub off negatively on the chances of APC across the nation, and especially at the sub-national level in the country?
No, I don’t think so because I think Nigerians are very smart enough that a government that came into power in eight years and is able to maintain a stable fuel supply chain with a few instances on hiccups which were swiftly responded to and corrected and I think this one too will not be different.
This fuel scarcity too will be corrected very soon. But even if it becomes a problem, I think Nigerians are smart enough that the election is not going to be only about fuel queues alone, not even when this government has stabilized that fuel queues they are used to, especially during celebration periods like December.
This government has ensured that we don’t allow fuel queues to persist, so Nigerians understand that this is just one of those challenges, even though I am confident it will be corrected very soon. But even if something happens and it does not get corrected as expected, I don’t think that’s enough reason why the people will reject the APC.
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