My Senatorial Victory Is Certain, Barr Allumaga
By Chinedu Aroh
Barr Zakari Zamani Allumaga is the senatorial candidate of the Labour Party for Nasarawa north senatorial district of Nasarawa state. He speaks on his chances in this interview.
What chances do you have in the forthcoming senatorial election in Nasarawa state?
If I am still maintaining my ground up to this moment, then the chances are there, and very bright too. With the variables on the ground, having done underground and open campaigns, with the resounding feedbacks I have gotten, I can confirm to you that I am the man to beat.
What relationship do you have with the Labour Party governorship candidate in your state?
We didn’t have a governorship candidate, but the Labour Party hoped that there was going to be one. But to be able to beat the INEC’s deadline, a name was put in, believing that there would be substitutions. Unfortunately for the Labour Party, no one came for substitution. So the INEC had to publish that name as the candidate of the party in the state.
What relationship do you have with the state executive of the party?
They have been trying to give me their moral support. The local government chairman of the party is from my zone. He and other executive members are good enough. They have been making impacts.
You have been quoted as saying that if you lose, you will be a spoiler during the governorship election. Throw more lights on this.
Obviously it is apparent. The INEC by design fixed the senatorial elections before the governorship. If I had consulted you before to inform you that I was running, and after the election, I discovered that you didn’t work for me in your constituency, it means that I won’t also work for you in my constituency. If I do that, I would have become a spoiler just as you spoilt mine. I know my strength.
Do you think some people are working against you?
No. In my own case, it is like I am an independent candidate. Unlike other political parties where they work within the framework of their parties, I do my own alone. I am confident in my victory because people are no longer playing politics based on party lines. They are interested in playing individual politics, in this case based on who can deliver. It is not about who is presented by the party. For those of us who are unable to get a chance on those big parties for obvious reasons, we are now independent. We came in because we have grass-roots support. We are also in the race to avoid submitting our fate into somebody’s hand.
What are your reasons?
The political turf in Nasarawa state has changed. This is because people now believe they have issues to be dealt with. Many things have happened. I once said that if I had to dwell on some of these issues, my campaign would look mischievous. But note that the state is terribly a crisis zone. My local government used to product about 80, 000 votes. Now we have over 113, 000. The difference is because of the refugees that are chased out by the insurgents. Some of them were brought into the state by somebody. These refugees will vote with sentiments just like their hosts. This sentiment necessitated my being involved in this race. The issue is that of somebody who wants to protect himself, and the oppressed. As a result of the crisis in the state, a commission of inquiry had to be set up. The commission indicted so many persons including myself. It indicted the entire fabric of the Eggon people including Baba Alakyo and Eggon bodies. Some of those indicted do not even know the implications. They are not even aware of the crisis they were alleged to have committed. My efforts in taking the governor to court were thrown out for unknown reasons. The aim is to get the Eggon people into trouble. So if nobody else cares about this, I am because I know that my name is there as a sponsor. In the commission of enquiry, I said I was speaking for myself, Eggon nation and the Ombatse group. They now adopted another route by indicting us.
What practical infrastructure will you attract if elected senator?
I have been to primary schools at Andaha, Akwanga, Wamba, and Nasarawa Eggon. I served as magistrate in Wamba, Nasarawa Eggon and Akwanga. I am on the ground and know their problems. Former Akwanga division has been cut off substantially. The road leading through Wamba to Jos was cut off. It has made Wamba a ghost town. The road coming from Jos through Akwanga to Abuja has been cut off from Mararaba Jama to Keffi, making Wamba a ghost town. So I must attract the presence of the state or federal government to these areas. Also this state does not have a federal college of education. When I lobby and get one from Abuja, I put it in Andaha. In Wamba, there was an electricity project that was abandoned. Obviously the state government may not continue with that project. It is to make the federal government take over the electricity project. We used to have the best of the medical centres in the old Benue Plateau known as Ola Hospital in Akwanga and another at Alushi. Today you either go to Federal Medical Centre, Keffi, or Specialist in Lafia. I also think of making the Federal Ministry of Water Resources draw water from the Langalanga river to Nasarawa Eggon town through Mada station. With this, I would have started well. This will attract employment, and open up businesses.
Have you reached out to other nationalities in your zone outside the Eggon nation?
I have. The truth of the matter is that other groups are in the same trouble. The fire in the state has no boundary. I assure you that the lamentation is coming from all of them. They are all victims.
Who are you likely to support at the governorship level whether you won or not?
I would rather keep that in my kitty until after the election. The truth is that I will not lose. Everyone should think of how many votes they deliver to me. Let me speak for the Eggon nation. In the case of Tanko Al-Makura, people say with the crisis that bursted out under his government, if they vote him again, the crisis is likely to come back because he has not shown any positive stance that it is over. He has not dangled any carrot stick to the Eggon, rather he indicted the Eggon nation. He has not called for peace, although he went to Are Eggon to declare his ambition. Coming to Yusuf Agabi, for the fact that he picked our son as deputy and is also married to our daughter, he may be amenable to our plight. On Labaran Maku, the masses of the Eggon people say even if Labaran does not deliver anything in terms of dividend of democracy, they will be at liberty to go back to their homes because the insurgency would have moved out. The masses of other nationalities in the state currently run around Maku, probably because of what I have just said or because he dishes out money. But the run around seems he may have the masses. The Eggon nation is also of the view that if Labaran Maku wins, he may not after all play to their gallery because of what they claim that he doesn’t carry them along. This apprehension is dividing the Eggon nation. I know where the governorship is going, but I want to keep it to myself.
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