From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
After the 2023 general elections, calls for further reform of the electoral system has continued to gain momentum. This is as many stakeholders have different ideas of what should change in the Electoral Act.
However, for the member of the House of Representatives representing AMAC / Federal Constituency, Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Hon. Chinedu Obika, the most important thing is making electronic transmission of election results mandatory.
Obika said that was the only way to make the votes of the people count and sustain public confidence in the country’s democracy.
The lawmaker, who had previously served as a councillor in the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), in this interview also decried the spate of insecurity in Abuja, as well as the level of infrastructural deficit in the FCT. Excerpt:
What should the people of AMAC/ Bwari Federal Constituency expect from you in the next four years?
FCT has really passed through a lot of problems and is still going through that – in the area of infrastructure. When I talk about infrastructure, people out there will laugh and say what are you talking about? You are talking about FCT infrastructure; when FCT has the most organized roads and network and everything, and so on and so forth. But that is not the case, In my federal constituency, I have 22 wards. In these 22 wards, I can tell you confidently that it is only three of them that are developed infrastructurally – that is the City Centre; Garki ; Wuse and Gwarimpa partially. So, when you count four out 22, there are 18 undeveloped, infrastructurally backward wards in my federal constituency. So with that, nothing is actually done. There is no developmental spread across board. And that is one major legislative agenda that I have; to push for development in our satellite towns and rural communities. It might interest you that even most of the major infrastructure that you can point out today in Abuja were carried out by the military. And the subsequent civilian administrations have not done much for the common man living in these areas, who are even where those places are more populated. Go to Kubwa, a satellite town, and few meters away from the city, you will see dilapidated roads everywhere. During the rainy season, everywhere is flooded. This shouldn’t be. Secondly, we talk about issues of health, most hospitals that are built today in Abuja, and remember in the master plan of Abuja because they only talk about master plan when it comes to land allocation. But nobody talks about master plan when it comes to the infrastructural development. Because the master plan made it hospital per district. But it’s not discussed. It is not talked about and most of these hospitals were built by the military. Subsequent civilian administrations could not maintain them. As we speak when women go to the hospital to deliver, some of them are forced to go back home, even when their situation is not in order. Just because they don’t have enough beds to accommodate them in a city like Abuja. These are big issues. Mind you that Abuja is governed by the president and the ministers as his administrative head. So, it should be a pacesetter state, that other states will emulate. The situation in Abuja today is that the children are sitting on the bare floor to study; no teaching materials, blown off roofs. No sanitary places. Nothing. We don’t even have enough teachers in our primary schools. The parents’ associations are the ones contributing money to put contract teachers in our schools to support the education. This shouldn’t be. Presently the alarming one is on insecurity. People are being kidnapped, one chance everywhere. The issue of black spots that everybody is aware of, not much is done about them. If a black spot is identified, the authorities should take action about it. The situation is alarming. Don’t forget that this is the seat of power. If we allow FCT to degenerate to this kind of condition, we have lost everything. So, security first and foremost. These are part of the issues in my legislative agenda to make sure that we tackle.
What in your view is the way forward for the FCT?
The way we can get these things addressed is through budgetary provisions and adequate oversight, to make sure that the budget is implemented. Presently, the security architecture of Abuja is overwhelmed. It was not envisaged that this kind of population would emerge in Abuja. There is population explosion. Currently, the security architecture in Abuja cannot carry the weight. What do we need to tackle it? Funding. And that is where I come in as a legislator to press for this special security intervention for FCT to do the needful. And also, to oversight and make sure that the money is used judiciously for the security of the people of Abuja.
Over the years there have been agitation for the creation of the office of Mayor for Abuja. Where do you stand?
Why we are having most of these problems in Abuja is because past administrations have always appointed people who don’t know much about Abuja. Some of them who were ministers have never been heard of, they don’t know where Shere is, they don’t know Gwagarape, they don’t know Kawu, so there are some areas that you’ll be calling, like you’re calling the name of the place in another country to them. And that’s why we are agitating that the people who have idea of what Abuja is all about should be in the helm of the affairs of this great city of ours. And that can only be done through elective position. So, that they would know that they owe the people allegiance. All allegiance of the minister goes to the president who appointed him. It doesn’t matter if there is no health center in Kawu. It doesn’t matter if there’s no health centre in Kabusa, because the minister didn’t come to the office through elective position. Today, I’m speaking out, I’m talking about all this because for me to get elected I have to go to the wards and campaign and on that process you see the problems of the people at first hand. If today there is a mayoral position, mayor has to be elected. And he has to go through nooks and crannies of Abuja asking for vote. In so doing he will be more aware of the situations surrounding the areas in Abuja.But that is not the case with an appointed minister. Let me say this, there are so many factors that are working against the mayoralship of Abuja. In the first place, why Abuja was created? It was because of the rancour between the state and the Federal Government in Lagos State. So, the actual idea is to get a place that is not under the control of the state. So, that the Federal Government can have total control of the land and develop it at will. I will be introducing a bill on Indigenous People Development Commission. First, why I am bringing that is that, truly if there are people that have been shortchanged so badly, it is the Indigenous People of Abuja, as far as development is concerned. Note that these people were predominantly farmers before the FCT came into place. So, they survive on what they get from their land. But that land has been taken and the majority of them are farmers, much more than 85 per cent. Today, they cannot boast of sending their children to school because their economic source have been taken away. And with that the only thing that the government can give them is education. And that is not coming through. That is why I am talking about the Indigenous People Development Commission. So, that this Commission can focus on education, rural infrastructure, to argument where the government has not done well. If Niger Delta Commission can come up as a result that oil is taken from them, there is nothing wrong in a Commission coming to replace the issue of the land that has been taken away from the FCT people. And we cannot deny the fact… People said they were resettled. Yes, some of them. Not all. And the government recognised that when it established the chiefdoms within the FCT, the recognition is that they exist. So, if we have such commission today, maybe it will help to handle first some of these issues; that issue of the mayoralship issue will address. That mayoralship, I don’t know why it is so controversial. So, for me, if I cannot get this (mayoralship) for now, let me get a substitute for what I cannot get. And that is Indigenous People Development Commission. People ask me, where do you want to fund this from? And I said if Niger Delta can have 13 per cent derivation, as a result of the oil taken from them, there is nothing that stops the people of FCT from having 13 per cent of all revenue that accrues to the FCT. I am begging my colleagues when this bill will be presented, to look at it, do justice to it; because if we allowed the indigenous people to not be able to compete among us, that have come to meet them here, then they would turn to a problem to the residents of Abuja. When their children will be unable to go to school, they will constitute nuisance. We should be futuristic about what happens to them, because the reality is that you cannot just wish them away.
There is so much talk about the need for further electoral reforms in the country. What amendment would you like to see in the Electoral Act?
The most important thing is the electronic transmission of result. That is the most important because without electronic transmission of results, people will sit down and write results like they are writing now, everywhere. If nothing is done to strengthen the people’s confidence in future election; even I am concerned about the FCT election that will be coming up in 2025. If there is no electronic transmission, automatically there won’t be an election. It will be result writing election. Because that has been proven and with that, people would not even come out to vote. Because there is no need to waste their time. And if as elected representatives of the people we are not thinking of how to restore people’s confidence in democracy, when the trouble comes, we cannot contain it as a people. So that will be the greatest push that the opposition will do; because if there is anything that will bring good governance to Nigeria, it is when Nigerians are the ones that will choose leaders and change them if they don’t want them anymore. But when leaders can emerge on their own without peoples’ vote, you can never get it right. So, if we need change, we start from the electoral process. Opposition will champion that, because we will be the first victim, if we don’t.
How do you think we can insulate the appointment of key officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission ( INEC) from partisanship?
This will be part of the electoral reforms. Even in the appointment and selection of the commissioners, federal commissioners in INEC, I think the powers to do so should be taken away from the president of the Federal Republic. There must be a way that these people can be selected. There must be a way that these people can be selected that can repose confidence of Nigerians in the electoral process. Whereby a president can sit down anywhere and appoint anybody; what makes you think that he will appoint people who will go against his wish? That is a very important aspect of elections in Nigeria. Appointment of those that will conduct the process in which the election is conducted. These are important factors that will build the people’s confidence in a democratic process.