Gombe is developing in the wrong direction – Hassan

By Levinus Nwabughiogu
MR Suleiman Hassan, Chairman, Congress for Progressive Change, CPC,
Gombe State, in this interview reviewsdevelopments in the last two
years of the present administration in the state. Excerpts:
How do you assess government after two years?
To me, there are two ways of assessing. Yes, we have infrastructure
but I will ask you for whom? If you takethe roads, for example, as you
come into this place, there is a brand new road.
We are not talking of the cost no matter how much you spend on that
road, it is a world-class road, I accept but, as you come in you
realize that on the both sides of the roads, there weredemolitions.
Value addition
People were on that road before. When it was conceived that there was
going to be a road here, they said, thank God. That means there was
going to be value addition on their lives and property.
HASSAN
But you come in, take over their houses, pay them compensation and put
an infrastructure. And where are they? They now moved into settlements
within the suburbs of Gombe where there are no roads, no light, no
water and there are no schools for their children and development is
all about improving the lives of the people that you meet there.
Yes, he is building Primary, I agree. We need very good, world-class
primary schools for our children. The classes hehas conceived are what
they supposedto be. But I ask a question.
He came into Government on May 29, 2011 and these projects started
earlier,we are in 2013 now, two years gone and construction is still
going on. You and I know that between now and the end of this year,
projects are going to stop, and politicking is going to start for
reelection into the office. It has already started anyway with the
Houseof Assembly saying they have adopted him.
Do you think the State House of Assembly would have endorsed the
Governor for a second term if he hadn'tdone well?
Well, I want to tell you that my Governor, the Governor of Gombe State
is an intelligent person and I am sure that wherever he was when that
statement was made, I am sure he must have been embarrassed. It is
surprising that the Speaker of a State House of Assembly will come out
to utter such. Former President Obasanjo tried it. Yes, some members
of the National Assembly supported him, yes, some members denied him.
They did not come out in the public to endorse him as the Speaker of
the Gombe State House of Assembly did. And I want to tell you that I
have conducted independent survey and found out that the members of my
Party, the CPC were not a party to that decision and substantial
number of thePDP were also not part of that decision. It tells you
that the excesses can only be blamed on the Executive and the
Legislature. Be that as it may, by supporting the decision tells you
that they do not know their mandate in the state House of Assembly.
The CPC called for the cancellation of recent local government
elections in the state which the ruling PDP swept. What prompted your
outcry?
To say that there was an election in the first place, that is even the
beginning of the problem. There was no election. Yes, they sold forms
and some of our people bought forms. We were fooled. They came, cast
their votes and they took away the boxes.
Did you go to court?
Yes, we did. We went to court in few cases. In some of the cases, we
didn't even go to court because we are sure that no material will be
given to us by anybody to say there was evidence. Nobody will give you
any document from wherever. So, we felt it was going to be an exercise
in futility going to court.