After given his background as a business Man, the family he came from and journey from a financial acumen and expert in forensic, auditing and exam monitor of Institute of chartered accountants (ICAN) as a professional accountant to delved into politics. Rt Hon Aminu Iya Abbas who is currently the speaker of the Adamawa House of Assembly, two term member representing Uba/Gaya constituency in the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). With our Correspondent in Yola, TOM GARBA he explained why he declared the seat of their colleague vacant, narrated how he is managing the state Assembly void of rancor, relaxing the eight Assembly with enormous stability despite suspension of Lawmakers. This and other issues of his Senatorial Ambition of the Adamawa central senatorial District. Iya talked about the House has been checkmating the executive as an independent and autonomous arm of the government very well.
Q: You were working as a financial expert, what impressed you to join politics?
Yes I did practice as a consultant and I did business in Adamawa before joining politics But you know when you join politics you need to put everything aside you don’t join things with politics. I started a company called Africa global it is a company that has a turnover of over 2bn.
But unfortunately, when I join politics I left the company in the hands of my friends, so when I finished my first tenure in 2015, I wanted to go back to the business but I realized that the company was bankrupt so I have to struggle to settle the debt. because I don’t want people to know the company was wrecked down and raise that we jeopardize my relationship with my friends.
You know how the House ended at that time if you start reporting people that, they ate your money people will not even understand so I told my friends to just leave them once the company is not owing that is my objective to make sure that the company is not owing anybody and when I settled the debts I closed the company.
Q: What inspired you to go for senatorial seat not House of Representatives,don’t you want to be the speaker again?
The truth is that in life, you don’t lie to yourself if you can lie to people don’t lie to yourself and that is my principle in life and politics. if I study a scenario and know that I can’t succeed I won’t go into it, so whatever am going to do, I do it successfully so I will give it my everything and if I lost it, I know I have done my best so I don’t want to say let me spare this or that this is my own life.
I came into politics from a disadvantaged area and when I say the disadvantaged area I mean disadvantaged area in the real sense of the word. in my constituency today as a Fulani man, a Kilba zone is just a single ward of Fulanis and one ward of Margi the other wards are controlled by Kilba and the entire local government has 12 wards 8 are controlled by Kilba, two are mixed and other one is controlled by Fulanis and one by a Margin.
So looking at the way we are, we only had the opportunity at the early stage to contest for the state Assembly we had no opportunity to contest for anything. you cannot become a chairman as a Fulani man or margin even vice chairman it is when they want to give you that they give you. so when it comes to contesting you either go for a councilor in your ward or state Assembly which you know the election is by INEC and anything is possible.
We contested against the incumbent at that time against the Government and we lost because of APC so we decided the to stay in PDP after we lost the election this is something that people don’t know. The day we lost the election and we are parking out of Adamawa state we are about 20 we sat together and taught ourselves to remain in PDP and give ourselves 4 years we are going to take over Adamawa state.
We did meet at fintiri’s House and we all agreed that we are going to remain in PDP and we are going back to the state after 4 years.
So we are going back to take over the state after 4 years and that was what happened even though some of us have moved to APC after sometimes but some of us remained glued to our agenda and remained in PDP, and God willing we came back after 4 years and we took over the state. After we took over the state I become speaker people start asking me what are you going to contest next?
I said am not going to contest for House of Assembly again in my life, am done with the House of Assembly but I cannot get it now I can’t get it again so there is nothing I will do in the house of Assembly again. people now said why can’t you go for the House of representatives that was the first thing they told me in 2010 when I was contesting the election.so I said no the reality is that in the History of Hong Local Government a non-Kilda will hardly become a federal lawmaker for Gombi/Hong constituency.
That is why I told you that, am a realist I don’t venture into something that I know won’t work out so a non-Kilda will not win the election for Member House of representatives and between 1999 to date, we have only 1 non-Kilda that occupied that office and that was chief Emmanuel Bello and we know how chief Emma Bello became a member not because his name was in the ballot.
But because the name of Haske Hananiya a kilba man was on the ballot but Haske don’t know that his name was not in INEC that showed he is contesting, so he went around to campaign and won the election by the time he went to collect his certificate of return they said no it is not you it is Emmanuel Bello this is how Emma Bello became a member.
So knowing all these one will not put himself in that position to come and contest for House of representatives I said no am not going to contest for House of reps because am a Fulani man and secondly, am a Muslim that is the reality and as a Fulani man and a Muslim you may not make it in Gombi/Hong.
I told myself If I am going to contest and win an election that should be the senate and because of the history of the senatorial district too, almost 100 percent of the people that occupied that position from 1999 to date are Fulanis so I decided to venture into that since there is the possibility of me getting it, so I won my primaries which was a free contest and this is where we are waiting for the General election.
Q: How are you administering the affairs of the House in to Stability? It’s known fact that Adamawa state is synonymous with politics turbulent?
There is nothing like a secret the secret is that everything is open, transparency is the earn thing and my life style. Whatever you are told, if you come back and find out you will realize that it is like that it will give you good conscience. So everything am doing is open I will put it on the table and allow everyone to be involved, even those that were suspended were given the opportunity to the point that even their friends will tell you that we have been fair to them.
So it is not something that you will wake up a day and said am suspending Mr. A or declaring Mr. B’s seat vacant it doesn’t happen that way. Let me tell you this, when the issue of suspension and declaration of seat vacant came up I asked a member that do you remember I went to your house around 1 am and told you that something like this will not happen? He said yes. You remember I moved from your house to his hotel room the person we declared his seat vacant and assured him that he should just forget about this thing something like this will not happen he said yes. What happened in the morning after all the assurances I gave him he went and organized thugs and took over the Assembly’s gate that we want to declare his seat vacant.
I said ok if by bringing thugs they will stop us from declaring your seat vacant let’s see. Despite going to his house around 1 to 2 am with much assurance that nothing like seat vacancy in his case. I emphasized to him to forget about this issue (declaring his seat vacant) and nothing will happen and then you still bring thugs and think that thugs can stop us from declaring your seat vacant that is why we declared his seat vacant.
Is it a question of whether you want to declare a seat vacant or not? if there is trust between us, we trust ourselves and believed in what he said why should somebody take advantage of someone open and transparent? if I meet you and said this is what will happen that is I will stand by it, and if you don’t believe in whatever I said and you think you will do otherwise fine.
If I want to declare Mr. A seat vacant I will be sure that 60 to 70 percent of the members want the seat to be declared vacant not me if I want to suspend somebody you will realize that 90 percent of the members want that suspension not me that is why there is no rancor in the house so anything that is happening in the house is being discussed with everybody.
You know the way the House is course, there are other dissenting voices but the way the majority is going you will find out that, you will never have your way you have to allow the majority to have their way so even if there are people that are complaining majority will have their way in a manner that even the dissenting voices will not find a fault in you that is the secret.
Everything that comes to the House is open to everybody and don’t forget that our own house is an autonomous house it is not a House where they are giving us money now people are making the mistake of saying they are giving us money.
Q: How is the House fairing now as regard the autonomous you all wished?
Our own House has been autonomous for the past year about 13 to 14 months or so we are completely autonomous. we run the house ourselves, we manage our funds, and we decide what to do with our resources so it is not a question of somebody taking advantage of us.
