Mohammed Nma Kolo is the Special Adviser, Political and Strategy to Niger State Governor Abubakar Sani Bello. In this interview with 21st CENTURY CHRONICLE, he speaks about the last state congress and contention about the zoning of governorship to Niger South Senatorial zone, among others.
21st CENTURY CHRONICLE: There is insinuation among party members that Governor Abubakar Sani Bello does not have control of the All Progressive Party’s (APC) machinery in the state, and that results in why there was parallel congress by some aggrieved members?
I don’t think APC is polarized and the governor doesn’t have control of the party. The Governor is a democrat and the party is like one big happy family, although there are some party members that organized their own congresses.
Those that held parallel congress were party members and they have the right to protest. In politics, there are times of rift between people of the same party, and that was what happened. But we have set up a reconciliation committee to bring all the aggrieved members back together. After all, we are one big family.
Secondly, the governor is a true democrat, so he didn’t want to control anybody, he gave them the freedom to choose whoever they want, that’s why up till now Niger APC is still strong and intact and there is nothing like opposition in the party.
He said the party had two options of congresses, election or consensus, they chose the part of consensus and that was what they did from ward to state congress.
Are you saying the consensus agreement got the nod of the majority of members?
If you are talking about the majority, yes it did. Because in a situation where you have 100 percent support of members of National Assembly from the state, the support of the members of the state assembly, the support of all the cabinet members, all the council chairmen, and all the party Excos. That is 100 percent support.
Niger state is known for zoning political offices, but this time around there are cries that they might not be following that process because the governor has a preferred candidate from another zone.
That is not true. We had a meeting of the State Executive Council (SEC) and it was agreed upon and made known to the public that the party will still adopt the process of zoning and the next governor of Niger State by 2023 by the grace of God is coming from Zone A.
I can tell you that Governor Bello has no interest in who become the next governor of Niger State. Let me give you an example. In the last local government elections, the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) candidate won the councillorship in the governor’s ward in Kotangora local government. APC lost the election and nothing happened. This is because the governor didn’t interfere in the outcome of the election because he is the father to all.
The governor doesn’t decide things, he allows the citizens of Niger state to decide for themselves. And they will be the ones to bring out the candidate, they will be the ones to decide the criteria, and they will be the ones to choose who governs them. Because the governor is a true democrat, he has never interfered in any matter like that and will not interfere with who succeeds him.
The PDP held its congress and came out with a formidable team. Do see it as a threat to APC in the state?
I don’t think PDP is a threat to APC in Niger state. In politics, you must have hiccups. Right now PDP members are still going to court to challenge the congress they conducted in the state. Crises are normal in politics, and what APC does is to manage Them. but we don’t look at the opposition parties in the state as threats. They are our brothers and we know ourselves very well.
How do you feel, Nigerlites say the past administration performed better than the present one?
Kolo: It depends on your perception of what performance is. The provision of rural roads may be the index of comparison by one person, and that may not be for another person.
I think the best people to answer this question are the people of the state. Ask them before do they have rural roads, but now they do. Are their hospitals upgraded, they will tell you whether they are.
What are those things that give you confidence that APC will retain the governorship?
There are many indexes to look at. From the recent revalidation of the party’s membership, thousands of people have joined the APC in the state. Also, thousands of people are leaving other parties to us. So, the number of APC members in the cities and down to the villages is increasing by the day. From across the three senatorial zones of the state people troops to APC every day. These are clear indications that the party is poised to retain the governorship.
Another factor that will guarantee victory for APC is performance. If you check our rural infrastructural drive across the state, it is incomparable to that of the previous administrations. The APC administration in the state has developed infrastructures that are dear to the common men. You give people the type of projects they want not what you want as a leader. And this is the principle of this administration.
In some of our rural areas, people told us what they want is access roads, while others needed fertilizer and farm implements, and we provide what they need for them. Governance is not by building skyscrapers, it is by giving the people what they need, and that is what this government is giving the people.
