Hon Adamu Kamali represents Madagali/Michika federal constituency of Adamawa State in the House of Representatives. In this interview with RUTH CHOJI, the lawmaker maintained that government can effectively turn the economy around using existing laws. He also said funds in the Treasury Single Account (TSA) should be utilised to salvage the economy.Are you comfortable with what the federal and state governments are doing to alleviate the plight of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in your constituency'We have serious problems at hand. It is like the FG and NGOs are working at across purposes on the issue of IDPs, particularly in my constituency. I believe that Mubi senatorial zone and other places that were affected by insurgency are not properly looked after. It is pathetic that in seven local governments that were reclaimed from insurgents, the returnees are living in hunger. Even though some of the indigenes are back to their domain, it is unfortunate some of them who are predominantly farmers cant get access to their farmlands, having been displaced for three years. To me, all the efforts of government and most NGOs are not getting to the right people. Recently 71 trucks of food materials were sent to Adamawa State and regardless of the indices you use to distribute such food, it is expected that the people of Madagali and Michika will not get less than four to five trucks. But as I am speaking with you, my people got less than 50 bags. It is unfortunate because this food, we realized, were being distributed in Yola town and you will agree with me that from Song to the remaining part of the north and southern zone, there was no insurgency attack. As such nobodys house or farmland was destroyed. I see no reason why the food that was brought to Adamawa State will be distributed in Yola instead of taking it to those areas that have been discovered to need them more. We are still not satisfied with what the NGOs are doing. Some of them deliver food in Yola and think they have given Adamawa State their share. It is expected that any food meant for IDPs should be distributed at the seven local governments affected by insurgency. It is expected that any meaningful measure government will put in place will go directly to these zones rather than going to the markets or a place in Yola, leaving the victims with nothing to rely on whereas, 10 to 20 families are sleeping on empty stomach every day.Have the affected constituencies reached out to the proper authorities with their complaints'I am their representative and if this is how I feel, you can imagine how the ordinary man in those zones feel about this injustice. We have a situation where people dont have anybody to fight for them yet, the little that government and NGOs sends to them are hijacked. Government and the NGOs must know who the real victims are.Some are of the opinion that if the North-east Development Commission (NEDC) is created, it will solve this problem. Do you share such views'We believe that the coming on board of the NEDC will help in rebuilding the North-east. But that is not the issue. Before the commission comes on board, we believe that there should be sustenance of life first in these areas. People should be engaged so that before the coming of the commission, people will still be available to enjoy the initiative. But as it is now, God forbid, if the NEDC doesnt come on board fast, nobody can tell what will happen to the people leaving there'The FG continues to say that they have won the war on insurgency but the issue of Fulani /farmer clashes is on the increase, what is your take on this'The present situation is still very fragile. As I am speaking to you, a substantial part of Madagali are living in fear. Villages that surround the Sambisa forest are being attacked daily, women are being kidnapped and people are being killed and nobody gives a damn. Nobody hears it in the media or from NGOs. So the security is still fragile. Herdsmen are killing people in some states. FG needs to brace up and tackle it headlong. It is expected that the authorities should be able to act decisively irrespective of the segment of the country that the attack is taking place.What will it take for Nigeria to stop these killings'We must admit that we have social and political problems. The social aspect has to do with unemployed youths, they are everywhere and government has not come up with a comprehensive package that will accommodate these youths. I have heard of the N500bn intervention fund. I dont think this measure will solve the problem or create massive employment. We need to concentrate on creating enabling environment for small, medium and light scale industries because every village has resources that can be harnessed. If government encourages these small investors to invest in natural resources, they can make more impact.Are you contented with the way the economy is being managed'The issue of the economy is very bad. You dont need to be an economist to know that our economy is down. You can see the exchange rate has drastically increased and has equally affected the cost of prices of essential commodities in the country. You can see that unemployment is getting higher every day. You can see how people are closing their banks which has been a good employer of labor. The banks have now become a source of unemployment. As it is, government must do a surgical operation on the economy if it has the interest of the people at heart. For example, the funds we have in the TSA is more than three trillion Naira. This money is lying idle, whether it belongs to the FG or agencies, such monies should be put into use. If the vast majority of the nation is stuck without money circulating, it will be difficult to sustain businesses. So government needs to look at the TSA policy. I once sponsored a motion which the house passed that we should ascertain the amount and the sources of the amount accrued to the TSA because if we want to unbundle the TSA, we will suffer and the Naira will further depreciate. Our currency crisis started with TSA and also the non-acceptance of dollars and permission to deposit dollars in banks initially. It was meant to fight corruption but I dont think the aim was achieved, rather it has made our situation worst. I have heard that the government is demanding emergency powers in order to fix the economy. My view is that they can make use of existing laws to effectively manage the situation. They should utilized the resources in a better way that can generate employment and revived the economy. There are a lot of policies government need to introduce that will take the nation out of this quagmire.Now that you mentioned the House of Representatives, how do you feel about the barrage of budget padding allegations made by Hon Jibril against the leadership of the lower chamber which is heating up the polity'The term padding is not part of our legislative lexicon. It can be found among the executives who are not responsible for tinkering with the budget. Jibril is just being mischievous. The National Assembly is empowered by the 1999 constitution to make laws and budget is one of the laws we make there. We follow due process and also have rules and procedures that guide us. The recommendations made by committee chairmen are all part of the processes and the house standing rules permits us to work in that line. There is nothing criminal about it, Jibril has just been using the media to tarnish the image of the House and its leadership. One person we suspect of budget padding is Jibril because it is our understanding at the National Assembly that, these accusation on the speaker and other leaders were something that has been going on for long. It has been like that before the eighth assembly came onboard. What is new to us is the N8.3billion that he added on the budget for project in his constituency because we never agreed that Jibril will assign those huge sums to himself. If there is anybody that has smuggled in anything into the budget, that person is Jibril. We dont have any problem with the House leadership because it has carried us along in every decision. Those Nigerians who are outside criticizing us could end up being here tomorrow and we will be out there. So we need to empower institutions to assert its powers if we need democracy to survive because if you have a weak legislature, the people wont get the dividend of democracy. Nigerians should be able to defend us and when we fall short they should offer constructive criticism, but not on frivolous accusation from somebody who feels he has lost out.The Niger/delta agitation has further increase the agitation for restructuring the country, what is your take on this'The issue of restructuring has been lingering, whether we will do it or not, calls for discussion. We need to decide whether this call has reached a stage where we need to assemble and talk to ourselves because no nation can survive without having a fair and accepted mode of operation. If restructuring will resolve these problems, we need to sit down and do it than for us to allow fear hinder us from coming up with acceptable solutions. We must look at the advantages of restructuring and disabuse the mind of people who think restructuring will lead to disintegration or civil war.What is your reaction to the crisis rocking your party, the PDP 'The PDP as the party of the people has the highest organ body that takes decision for it. They decide the affair of the party and once they take a decision, it is binding on everybody. It is not something you go to one mans room and decide and expect everybody to accept it. Yes PDP has its weaknesses but as it is today, we have the machinery and people to overcome this problem. Once the majority of the party faithful toes one direction, that means that is where we are going to.
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