Story from Emmanuel OLOGUN, Abuja
A three-time senator, who represented Yobe Central in the Senate, Dr Bukar Abba Ibrahim has condemned efforts by some lawmakers to outaw the movement of politicians from one political party to another in the country.
Bukar argued that prohibiting the practice of cross-carpeting would be counter-productive and will invariably produce more confusion in the political process than it can solve.
The three-time governor of Yobe State argued in an exclusive interview with Neptune Prime in Abuja that crossing from one party to another was not as rampant as people think about the practice but he acknowledged that unscrupulous politicians have thrown principles to the wind and moved between parties since the nation attained independence.
Without proffering solutions on how to control the practice among Nigerian politicians to dump their parties over every flimsy reason, Bukar Abba said: “I’m not really sure that cross-carpeting is rampant or peculiar to Nigeria. Whether cross-carpeting or decamping, whatever name we give the action, it happens but I am of the opinion that it is not as rampant or very peculiar to the nation.
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“It does happen once in a while and as human beings, we must have differences and misunderstandings. However, right now, I do not see any need for any law restricting politicians to one political party.
Asked whether he would one day cross over to another political party, the chieftain of the All Progressives Congress [APC] said: “Never. I have never done right-wing politics. I am not a right-wing politician and I intend to continue like that for the rest of my life.”
While assessing the work of the current National Assembly, he faulted those who describe the legislature as the rubber stamp of the executive simply because the members chose not to be confrontational in their approach or relationship with the executive arm of government.
“The present National Assembly has been doing well in making laws for the nation and no country can exist without laws. I do not agree that the National Assembly is a rubber stamp of the executive.
“What really has it done to be given that appendage? The members in both chambers engage in robust debate of issues before passage into law. There is no way the assembly can be regarded as a rubber stamp. All the laws passed so far are of national importance.
“It is only a mental attitude for people to think that the members have not been as vibrant as possible. People will always talk about the past being better than the present. Life is always like that and I do not see anything different between what lawmakers did in the past and what is happening now,” he said.
The senator also used the opportunity of the interview to announce his intention to return to the Senate for another four-year term before retiring.
He said: “I was in the Senate for twelve years and I have been out now for three years. I have seen a number of things such as insecurity that need to be corrected in the nation. The Senate does not work independently. It works with the House of Representatives and the executive.
“I have been idle and doing nothing for three years and I got fed-up with being idle and doing nothing with my wealth of experience. I still feel capable to continue making good laws for the betterment of the country. So, I decided to come back and Insha-Allah, I will make it back to the Senate in 2023 at least for one more session of four years before I will voluntarily leave.”
On insecurity, Senator Bukar said the President should redouble efforts to completely restore sanity to the nation before leaving office.
He said the president needs to apply more firmness and put in place a robust security team to win the war against insecurity although the politician stated that there has been relative security now than previously.
He finally urged politicians to maintain peace and exercise control over their followers and prevent them from working against the interest of the nation.
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