From Jude Dangwam, Jos

The 9th Assembly in Plateau State has ended, but the echoes of the leadership crisis that rocked the legislature live on in the 10th House of Assembly.

Nuhu Ayuba Abok, the Speaker of the House of Assembly, who was impeached and later returned following the judgement of the State High Court, alongside other members of the 9th Assembly recently recounted their ugly experiences while contributing to the greater development of Plateau State as legislators in the last four years of the immediate administration of former Governor Simon Lalong.

Abok noted that despite the crisis that rocked the 9th Assembly, the legislators discharged their responsibilities well considering the achievements recorded in the autonomy for the legislative and the judicial arms of government in the state despite the forces against them.

He equally discussed his regrets as the Speaker of the 9th Plateau State House of Assembly.

He said, “I had the mindset that I came with to work for the betterment of people and progress of Plateau State which I stood and fought gallantly for. Today, I have no regret whatsoever for standing for what I believe in.

“I stood for fairness, I stood for justice and I equally will say the entire 9th Assembly fought gallantly because we made achievements in so many things. We were able to achieve the autonomy of this arm of government and the judiciary which to me is a key achievement because those are what the two arms of government have been fighting for over the years.

“Yes, we were punished because of those things but of course as human beings, we learn in the process of our living. So, we learned from those experiences. I will always appreciate the good people of Plateau State, the Journalists, the civil society organisations (CSOs) and the people of Nigeria.”

On the run

According to Abok, the political crisis forced him to flee Plateau State to seek safety in neighbouring states.

He continued, “it may interest you to know that during the political crisis, I had to leave Plateau State and was welcomed in so many other states.

“So many leaders of this country welcomed me and protected me during that crisis. I will always appreciate them; worthy to note is the immediate past Governor of Delta State, Dr Patrick Okowa who is my boss and has been behind my success and protection.

“Many people helped me, for instance, former Senate president, Dr Bukola Saraki protected us in his house by giving us rooms to live. In fact, at some point, we met the current President, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu then and discussed the issues with him and of course, he gave us that protection and cover; the leadership of the Church and elders of Plateau stood by us, they spoke to the leadership in the state but the leadership then turned a deaf ear.” Recounting the experiences, Abok said the struggle he and other members of the assembly put up was not for them, but for everyone that believed in the cause and stood with them despite their political differences.

He added, “Everybody knows on the Plateau and in Nigeria that what was done was wrong and is not in accordance with the law, and they celebrate with us when the court returned me as the Speaker.

“I will not forget about the members that stood by me in court and by the truth. The member representing Jos South Gwattson Dalyop Fom and the member representing Langtang-North North Pirfa Tem.

“We always ran out of Plateau State because we were seen as the troublemakers in the state. We were chased and followed to individual homes, but God protected us, and we still live today. “

Regrets

According to Abok, his biggest regret is the obstruction of his stability as Speaker of the 9th Assembly.

“My biggest regret is that I could have worked more than this. We came in as learners, I wished we knew what the game was like from the beginning, we could have struck since our first day in office. That is the biggest regret, but in life, you don’t regret the process of learning.

“All that we went through was the process of learning in life and today we are not going back to them but we are going to build on our mistakes and to build on where we know we did well. The only thing is that I could have struck very much earlier.”

Fom, the Deputy Speaker of the 10th House of Assembly, one of the troubled lawmakers in the 9th Assembly recalled how they struggled to survive by depending on other lawmakers.

He said, “My brother and fellow legislator, Nanbol Listick, touched my life in a very special way when the cabals denied me my allowances. The cabals thought they will use that to frustrate me, but nobody will break this man with the capacity of 90,000 votes on his shoulder. It is my prayer that people will learn a lesson from everything that transpired in the 9th  House of Assembly.”

Philip Dasun, an All Progressive Congress (APC)member of the 9th Plateau House of Assembly, was also a victim of the crisis despite belonging to the same political party as Lalong.

He noted, “The worst thing is that we were on the run with the Speaker, we took our children to our parents for four months. When my children came back, they were calling me kaka(Grandpa) because they were used to my parents but it is part of the experience.

“Standing on the side of truth is the best thing one can do. It is so sad that we lost one of our colleagues, Henry Longs to the struggles, but even in death, I tell him that it ended well.

“The bad part of the experience is that out of pressure, I had to resign my position as a principal officer and I was not treated well in the formation of that leadership. Standing in the position of truth is always the best for you. It all ended well because Abok is back and we are with him.”

Appeal to 10th Assembly

Easter Dusu, who represented Jos-North West in the 9th Assembly recounted her ugly experience and described it as unpalatable.

She said, “The experience of the 9th Assembly was not a palatable experience for us who were of the PDP. But I thank God for grace because we were able to endure it.

“They say that he who laughs last laughs best. We started together but today here we are with their seats vacant.

“I want to thank the PDP sincerely; it is a party that I will say is best for women. Women in the APC are wasting their time because the PDP is the only party that produced the only female in the House that I’m standing today, and the PDP has produced two more women coming into the 10th Assembly, after them maybe four women will come in again.”

The Labour Party(LP) member who represented Langtang-North Central Constituency in the 9th Assembly, Nanbol Listick lamented the treatment meted to them and cautioned the 10th Assembly from following the same path.

He said, “Drawing from our encounters in the 9th Assembly and how we were treated by denying us of our entitlements and even constituency projects, I want to state that the 10th Assembly should not allow party affiliation to becloud their sense of patriotism and legislative work in the interest of Plateau State.

“If the 10th Assembly wants to succeed, it should not work based on rumour but work with the Clerk of the House at all times.”

The former members attributed the success of their struggles to journalists and civil society organisations (CSOs).

“Journalists on the Plateau are so marvelous. You have been very helpful; you have been on the ground always telling the stories of what is happening from a true perspective, I have to appreciate Journalists on the Plateau.

“You have been objective in your work by reporting both sides which is what it should be and sincerely I will forever remain grateful to you for your work. It is my prayer and appeal that you extend the same services you rendered to the last administration to this present administration.

“I appreciate the CSOs for going to the Media to tell the world the truth about what went on in the 9th Assembly. I appreciate the staff of the House of Assembly, they tried, and they were punished,” Abok said.