House of Bench Warmers

Governor Danjuma Goje of Gombe State

Mediocrity and sycophancy in the Gombe State House of Assembly sparks off arguments over positive representation by the members who have not passed even one private member bill since its inauguration in 2003
By Levinus Nwabughiogu, Gombe
But for the vehement refusal and subsequent order to get out and allow him some rest, at least for a while in his office, one serving Commissioner in Gombe State would not have known the member of the State House of Assembly whose Committee oversees and supervises the Commissioner’s ministry. It took the intervention of some familiar faces to both parties to impress it on the Commissioner that the man in front of him – whom he has just refused audience – is an honourable member of the State legislature who was on a mission to drop hints of his committee’s plan to inspect some executed projects of the state government, via the ministry, as an oversight function. It was then that the Commissioner immediately flashed a smile across his face and apologised to the fellow, pleading non-recognition. But that was not without some shame and embarrassment to the Assemblyman who has put well over one year in the House, yet not known by the Commissioner.
In the same vein, it was not without some difficulty and apparent vestiges of grammatical blemishes that the Deputy Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Alhaji Inua Garba, delivered vote of thanks to the large crowd at the recently concluded 19th edition of Northern Speakers Forum held at the auditorium of the State University in Gombe.
Not surprising, it is such recurrent scenarios that have overtly stiffled vibrancy and exhaustive legislative process at the 3rd Assembly of the House, thereby making the hallowed institution a mere ‘Extension’ of the Executive arm of the government in the state.
All over the world, scholars of politics, social analysts and commentators agree that a literate, vibrant, career-conscious and serious- minded Legislative Assembly is a necessary apparatus of promoting the course of democracy through enactment of well-articulated laws and checkmating the Executive arm which almost, always, appears power-intoxicated. However, such is not lacking in Nigeria as both chambers of the National Assembly the House of Representatives and the Senate – are peopled with members who possess sound intellectual disposition and educational fitness. Such can also be said about some other State Houses of Assembly in the country.
But in Gombe, it is a different ball game. It is a House packed with a majority whose mental idiosyncrasies and technical competences have continued to cast aspersion on the sensibilities of both the revered institution and the citizenry. It is such that since the beginning of the Assembly in 2007, virtually all the bills passed into law, so far emanated from the executive as Executive Bills. This has so much worried the literate indigenes of the state. Inside sources said that with the exception of the motion of death, condolences and other related matters, which are always rendered with some oratorical dislocation even though scripted by some members, no Private Member’s Bill has ever come to the House. This is so because, according to sources, two reasons which include loyalty, absolute resolve never to oppose the state governor, Alhaji Mohammad Danjuma Goje in any way and the difficulties on the Lingua Franca to argue their ways out, constitute huge barriers.
Most bills from the Executive are passed into law within the same day of introduction and without debate on the general principles and house of the bills. When this does not apply, one week is considered a maximum period to get it passed. And hardly does the House record half of plenary in any session.
The House possesses 24 members and ‘creatively’ enough, it also has 24 Committees, meaning that each member is the chairman of a committee. Apart from nine members who are graduates, others are holders of National Diploma (ND), General Certificate of Examination (GCE) and its equivalent. The House also lacks requisite professionals who could chair the Committees with the expected expertise and competences.
For instance, there is no member with Journalism, Law or Medical background to man the appropriate Committees. Consequent upon this, it is a case of ‘Make do with what you have’ and so, portfolios are assigned to those who don’t know the philosophies and core functions of their offices. Sources said this accounts for the reason why the lawmakers do not know what their oversight functions are, hence no commissioner or aide to the governor has ever been invited on the floor of the House for periodic questioning.
For instance, Hon. Adamu Yakubu representing Akko North Constituency, a two-term lawmaker and holder of GCE is the chairman, Finance and Economic Development Committee. Another possessor of GCE, Hon. Yahaya Malleri from Kwami East Constituency is also the chairman,  Health and Human Services Committee, just as his counterpart in Judiciary has GCE as his maximum qualification. Sources said they are not certainly rich in the brains to carry out their constitutionally assigned roles stressing that in the midst of economic meltdown, such persons do not have the wherewithal to chart a new way out.
Some qualifications of the law-makers, like that of the Deputy Speaker, Hon. Inuwa Garba who has OND and whom sources say exhibits so much youthful exuberance are said to be questionable. Indeed, one national daily had in the recent time done a report on the authenticity and veracity of the Deputy Speaker’s claims. Though the report generated much dust, nothing has been heard of the case, which sources said prompted the number two Assembly man to stage-manage a gathering of Old Boys Association of an Institution for solidarity. In fact, The Source gathered that so many a committee chairman have little or no background in the offices they supervise. Some of the members, sources said, are ‘just benchwarmers’ in the e House.
While the legislators hardly have constituency offices in their localities, an inside source who pleaded anonymity said that the situation is predicated on Goje’s political calculations. Upon his election in 2003 which sources said was allegedly rigged in his favour especially in Yelmatu-Deba zone where the Deputy Speaker hails from, Goje smartly pulled out some educated and vibrant members of the House and offered them commissionerships and got in his stooges as replacements. It was gathered that the governor perceived that the lawmakers- turned-commissioners would constitute an impediment to him.
And indeed, the calculation worked for Goje whom the whole House now sings his praises. Though, there are no obvious issues of financial misappropriation or embezzlement against the Chief Executive at the present, those who spoke to this magazine say that a day of reckoning is coming for the governor, especially concerning the major construction contracts seemingly localised in the hands of one firm.
But to be fair to the lawmakers, section 106 of the 1999 constitution guarantees them membership with at least secondary school certificate. Those who spoke to The Source are of the opinion that the Constitution, which may be tinkered with by the National Assembly anytime soon, also needs amendments in that area. They posited that the dynamics of  events now require politicians and other public office seekers at all levels of government to be well-equipped with the appropriate language of the land and other technical resources to be able to keep up with the issues on ground, reasoning that good education enhances good legislations and independence of individual minds. They further argued that having ‘benchwarmers’ as legislators will give the ruling Executive undue advantage and eventually ruin democracy.
As a coronary to the matter of expertise and competency, the governor recently ignored the Constitutional Review Committee set up by the House, chaired by the Deputy Speaker and inaugurated the State government counterpart, making Senator Abulahi Idris, a lawyerrepresenting Gombe central as the chairman, while the State Commissioner for Environmental and Water Resources, Magaji Doha, a lawyer too, is said to be in charge of the publicity. The Committee charged to collect and galvanise memoranda and the likes, however, has the Deputy Speaker as only a member. The Source gathered that his inclusion is to fulfill all righteousness as he would have nothing tangible to offer.
The Deputy Speaker,whom sources said was until his alleged ‘rigged’ election in 2003, a commercial motorcycle rider (Okada) and, at another time, a petroleum black market trader, was a ‘Street King’. Sources said he is arrogant and domineering in the House. His arrogance, The Source learnt, almost led to his impeachment sometime recently by the majority vote of the House, which also accused him of endorsing low quality furniture in the newly-built chambers of the House inspite of the huge amount of money voted for the project. It reportedly took the intervention of the governor to save him from the quagmire. The Source also gathered that his colleagues in the Assembly were not particularly happy with the way he made himself chairman of the organising committee of the recently-held Northern Speakers’ Conference, lamenting that he dominated the scene. Hon. Garba, they said, appointed himself the head when he had an opportunity to preside over the House. It was gathered that it was with the quasi-approval of the speaker, Rt. Hon. Manga Musa Bojude who was away in Abuja at the time.
Whatever becomes the scenario, the opposition feels that the House which is fully PDP -packed except one member, a loner from the Action congress (AC) will have its pact with the Executive made public soon, moreso now that the Goje’s administration is nearing its end.