AMINU TUKUR, a close ally of the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, Hon. He is a one-time Chairman of Tafawa Balewa Local Government Area of Bauchi State, a two time Member of the Bauchi State House of Assembly (6th and 8th Assemblies) representing Lere/Bula in Tafawa Balewa LGA. He contested the primary for the Bauchi South Senatorial by-election but when it was obvious he would not get the ticket of the All Progressives Congress because of the feud between him and the then Governor, Mohammed Abubakar, he dumped the party for the Action Alliance (AA) and became its candidate.
After losing the Senatorial By-election, Tukur dumped the AA back to the APC. He later dumped the APC in May, 2019 to the People’s Democratic Party. He has now dumped the PDP and rejoined the APC with Yakubu Dogara. In this interview with some select journalists including ARMSTRONG ALLAHMAGANI, he speaks on some of the issues the former Speaker dumped the PDP for the APC, the feud with the Bauchi State Governor, Sen. Bala Mohammed. He also spoke on why he went back to the APC, among other issues.
QUES: There have been silent feelers that the relationship between Dogara and Governor Mohammed who is currently in PDP had not been good. Many believed Dogara was one of the factors that brought Mohammed to power. Is his defection a confirmation that Dogara has fallen apart with the Governor?
TUKUR: There is no doubt about that, there are series of events that would warrant you to abjubdicate that something unfavorable was existing between him and the Governor, not even him alone, but to even all of us who are his immediate lietenants who did everything possible to see to the coming of this present administration in the state. Let me tell you from the reaction of the Chief of Staff to the Governor (Dr. Ladan Salihu) and that of the PDP Chairman in the state (Hamza Koshe Akuyam), I can outryightly say they have felt it and it is a kind of medication after the injury has been done. I wish even to reply them by saying that the state Chairman categorically stated that they have taken Dogara so much to government by giving him slots for Commissioners and other political appointments. This, I say no. We don’t know of a single commissioner in the cabinet of Bauchi State that has been put there courtesy of the right Honorable Speaker. Whosoever that is there is there on the side of the Governor. Maybe they have share a common person I may wish to say that, but let me be specific with the person occupying the slot for Dass, Honorable Mohammed Sadiq, who is the Commissioner for water resources. There is no doubt about Dogara having interest in him but at the same time, the Governor had an interest in him as well, so it is a kind of collective interest.I may wish to put it on record that Dogara demanded for even slots in the council. I am certainly sure he even requested to be given the chance to produce the Deputy Chairman for Tafawa Balewa LGA, as ordinary as Deputy Chairman’s position is, but he was denied. He was only given a single slot to produce a councilor for Wai B in the 16 Wards of Tafawa Balewa LGA and this is very unfortunate and we feel, not only Dogara, some of us who are his immediate lieutenants, deserved to be given more than a slot of a councilor but unfortunately we realised that after victory we were sidelined and pushed aside and we became irrelevant. We didn’t even have a say. It would interest you to know that all of us by making a general statement, I am referring to those of us who worked with him who are still with him, we were even denied the right to even participate in the ward congresses of the PDP in our respective wards not to talk of the local government despite the fact that we did everything possible to bring the present government into power. I may wish to even put it forward to you that vitualy all of us that are his lieutenants were able to bring in our votes, and specific polling units, and our electoral wards and our local governments to the PDP, unlike some of those staff who are currently in the government who did not even have the guts to return their polling units to the PDP, this is known to everybody. Not only that, there are public appearances where the Governor castigated the personality of the former Speaker.I’ll like to recall in a session where he made a comment that Dogara was nothing rather than an ordinary member of the House of Representatives. He has been privileged to be a Senator of the federal Republic of Nigeria, a minister and Governor but Dogara is somebody who just occupied a segment of the state, one twelfth of the state and being privileged to be elected as speaker by his colleagues at the National Assembly does not mean he is somebody that he can listen to. It goes to tell us that the Governor has woefully failed us, failing us in the sense that we are not looking for any material compensation from him but rather we demand for recognition and a kind of fair play, we demanded to have a say in the government rather than to be possessed.
QUES: Do you think it is too late now that he has decamped to APC to mend fences with the Governor?
TUKUR: Why should we go for amendment, the courtship period is over. I am referring to the courtship period, the period when we were so much demanded to come and perform, to give in our best. There was no written agreement between us and the Governor but there was that understanding that whatever would done, we would be taken in consideration, we will be asked to put an input. We haven neither been given such a privilege nor our boss been given such a privilege to make a pronouncement, just to make a comment. So in a situation where at the very inception of things you were being demanded to make a contribution and you have made your best then at the end of the day you are sidelined, what do you do? It goes to tell us that should we even listen to them now they would still make use of us and dump us finally that is the usual anticident that we know them of.
QUES: Are you saying that PDP used Dogara and dumped him sir?
TUKUR: Why not, that is simply just that. I can recall a moment in the house of the former Speaker when he put it forward to the governor. He told him, “Your Excellency, we have been able to deliver and government has been formed, if there is any envelope in my name for any political appointments, kindly let me have it so that I will go and contact my people and discuss how to share it. I will want you to appreciate the fact and don’t look at me as somebody who is just controlling my federal constituency you should know that I have sympathisers who worked hard for me even in Giade LGA. I have people who have done this courtesy of my presence.” And to this, he affirmed that he will do it. We have never known of any envelope that was given to the Speaker in terms of political appointment in the state and we have never known of any situation whereby his consent or his voice is not even requested to be heard so that his input would be taken into account.
QUES: You left APC to PDP because you were aggrieved now you are back to APC, what do want?
TUKUR: What we want to say here is this, we could not be given the right of hearing at the national level, but they had failed woefully by the past leadership of the party. I will live to recall a session with then national Chairman, Adams Oshiomole on the 1st, July 2018. We put it forward to him that what we wanted was a situation where the party congresses that were conducted in Bauchi from ward to state level should be annulled. We put forward three things we wanted to be done in such a way that our continuous stay in the party would be maintained otherwise we will have no option than to leave the party. Unfortunately, one of the major reasons that we advanced was that Adams must go and Adams has gone. Secondly, in some of the items that were being discussed prior to the meeting with the President, were these issues of capital projects that would continue, that are going on in the federal constituency. We have been given the assurance that these capital projects would continue because the essence of our participation in politics is nothing rather than development. If we can bring in development to our people then our purpose of being in politics has been fulfilled. So invariably, we went there with two options: for us to return back to the APC, we will go back without Adams Oshiomole. Adams is gone and we have been assured of all the continuity of the capital projects that are currently going on in the federal constituency and even beyond because some of them are into Plateau State. For instance the two major highways passed into Plateau State. I am referring to the one from Bogoro moving to Talmushi in Plateau state, Kanam LGA back into Tafawa Balewa LGA and finally into Burga. The other one from Pankshin LGA and coming through Tafawa Balewa LGA back to Mangu LGA then finally the one that circumvents Dass hills. I am certainly sure that our yearnings and aspirations are being made this time around and we feel that the party, the control of the party would naturally fall back to Dogara, not that he is the most senior political person but there is that recognition that he has a say in the political dispersion of Bauchi State. We are contented with that.
QUES: Can you tell us, what was the genesis of the state crisis?
TUKUR: I have enumerated them earlier on. There was that verbal agreement that by attaining what we desire, that is coming into power, then definitely the government would comprise what we agreed or we will have a large content that the opinions of everybody would be sought but unfortunately, we realised that our opinions were no longer relevant in this government. So in the situation whereby you will do your best without demanding a penny from the present governor not only Dogara as a person. I have recommendation from the Governor on attaining victory prior to his being sworn in, in his house, the governor singled me out that I stood my ground and didn’t demand for a penny throughout the campaign period. He made that pronouncement himself but at the end of the day, we are being called names, negating names, despite what we did.
QUES: Do you mean those around him have not been helping matters?
TUKUR: There is this adage that says “ba’a mugun sarki sai mungun bafaje” but it does not qualify here, what this means in that you cannot have a bad king except bad advisers. I am of the opinion that it is not the advisers that matter, it is the person that is in charge that matters.
QUES: Let us look at the consequences of a factor like Dogara leaving the ruling party to an opposition party in Bauchi. Do you think that the Governor is making same mistake like the immediate past Governor?
TUKUR: He has already made such a mistake. The calculations are there, what are the factors that gave him the victory? You can say it out naturally is the Federal constituency which Dogara is representing that gave him the final nail that nailed coffin and invariably it will still be maintained. If you in Bauchi LGA, consider it a cosmopolitan LGA despite the fact that it contains so many rural settlements, but definitely, the interpretation is simply Bauchi goes for objectivity. Come to think of how election took place, in Bauchi LGA, a member of the State House of Assembly, one is from PDP, one from the NNPP and the Member House of representative is from the PRP, the Senator from APC, the president is from APC and the Governor is from PDP. This goes to tell you that spices of life is taking place in Bauchi LGA. I have the conviction that having realised the consequences that have been characteristic with the present dispensation, I am certainly sure whoever has a moral family value would not agree to be disgraced publicly by a sitting Governor and most of the aides to the Governor are not being spared on this kind of abuses and derogatory statements.
QUES: You are saying the Governor is in for a big surprise in 2023?
TUKUR: Yes, I am certainly sure he is in for a very very big surprise in 2023. In fact, he will see it in such a way that what happened to former Governor Mohammed Abubakar would even be a better scenario.
QUES: You left APC for PDP and you insulted the then Governor, Mohammed Abubakar, now that you are back together are you now going to sing his praises like what is happening in Edo state between Adams Oshiomole and Eze-Iyamu?
TUKUR: We don’t have that Edo scenario in Bauchi state, but coming back to the APC does not mean that we will go with Mohammed Abubakar. Let me make it clear to you that he is on his own and we are on our own and that does not mean that we cannot be in the same political party but we have learned a lesson from him and we will not repeat it again. I am not sure if we will ever trust him from our own end.
QUES: APC at the national level is in crisis, Bauchi APC is in crisis why did you chose to go back at this time?
TUKUR: It may interest you to know it is the product of this crisis that led to the dismantling of the national leadership, same crisis would lead to dismantling of the state leadership down to the ward levels, and that would let you to appreciate the fact that there would be democratically elected ward executives, the LGAs and that of the state. I am certainly sure the crisis in the APC would soon be a history and in one of our bargaining tasks, we made mention categorically, of his ability to appreciate or accept the current leadership of the party in the state and that has been taken care off. I am sure when he came in for a bigger rally to welcome him (Dogara) to APC, a lot of things would change and the indices would change for the better.
QUES: Is Dogara being groomed for a national office like Vice President?
TUKUR: What is wrong in him being the President of Nigeria not to talk of being the Vice President who is only a spare tyre when the President is very much active. Dogara has all that it takes to be the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Democracy is all about interest not about zoning, if the greater percentage of the Nigerian populace decide that Dogara is going to be the President of the country, why not let us leave it up to the time where we will have a national convention and if he decides to buy the form for the presidency, we will canvass for him. We will go to the nooks and crannies of the country and showcase his abilities.
QUES: Tell us some of those abilities you see in Dogara that will make him be the President that we don’t see in him?
TUKUR: Apart from the constitutional requirement that we all know of, track record which is something to work with, Dogara is somebody who is steadfast and has never been found wanting. On the average, I will not like to go into his family life but you can never tell of anybody that you know as his girlfriend, and you will never say that you have seen him in a club drinking. You can never associate any immoral act with him, so that goes to tell you that he is somebody who can be trusted.
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