Ahmed Wadada
Ahmed Aliyu Wadada is a Nigerian politician representing Nasarawa West district in the 10th National assembly. Wadada was a member of the House of Representatives. He was a member of the All Progressives Congress, APC before resigning from the party in 2022 following a disputed primary election.[4] Wadada had prior to APC primary election for Nasarawa West Senatorial District complained of irregularity in the delegates list from Keffi and Nasarawa Local Government Areas.[5] This made him to withdraw from the contest and subsequently resigned from APC to join Social Democratic Party, SDP. In the SDP, he won the nomination to contest the senatorial election.
Quotes
[edit]- It is most unfortunate that Nigeria is bedevilled with a high level of insecurity today. Boko Haram insurgency is almost gone because Boko Haram has now been confined to a geographical zone. First and most, I personally attribute the high level of insecurity in the country to high level of poverty. Nigerians are in abject poverty; Nigerians are really suffering, Nigerians are subjected to a livelihood they should not experience at this material time. That is not to say that the government of President Muhammmdu Buhari is not doing the much it needed to do, but it has to do more in the aspect of making the economy much more flourishing, buoyant, and reliable for the sustenance of Nigerians. We have an army of youth all over Nigeria, and I get scared each time I go to my local community, you see youth looking healthy and hearty with full strength, but merely roaming the streets. This is not just because they want to; it is because they have nothing to do. Those that have certificates are not gainfully employed, those without certificates are willing, but there are no skilled jobs for them to do.
- State governments should look much more inwards. Nasarawa state, for instance, is endowed with solid minerals of all kinds, but as far as solid minerals are concerned in Nasarawa state, there is no solid minerals development agency. One could comfortably say that exploration of solid minerals is in the exclusive list, which is the right of the federal government, but this does not mean that the state cannot invest in that sector. If Nasarawa state has a functional investment company, in collaboration with private sector players that have the expertise in that sector via an agreement with the federal government indigenes can benefit from that wealth. All I am trying to say is that there is no provision of the Constitution that is supposed to be a constraint. For Nasarawa, we have the opportunity to be richer today by taking advantage of our proximity to Abuja. This applies to all states in the country, particularly of the northern extraction.
- In 2006, I present a paper to the then Northern Governors Forum under the chairmanship of Aliyu Babangida, a former governor of Niger state. I suggested that if Sardauna of blessed memory could conceptualise and put in place NNDC in the days referred to as dark days which now happen to be our brightest days. I said if Sardauna could do that and now the fate of NNDC is in abeyance, why don’t we resuscitate it or put in place something similar to that? I suggested that every state government should from source contribute N100 million every month to a common pool, which means at the end of every month N1.9 billion will be generated and a secretariat will be put in place to ensure that the money is judiciously used. In doing that, every state will present three proposals and the secretariat will now look at the proposals and take the best out of the three and embark on full implementation of that project. There is no bank in the world that you will approach with N1.9 billion monthly income that will not partner with you. In a few years, every state in northern Nigeria will have one factory or industry that will employ the indigenes. Our governors need to look much more inwards and our electorates too should shine their eyes and open their ears. The era of just going to vote based on political sentiments is gone. When such persons do not have the requisite capacity to deliver, nothing is going to change. At the national level, this government is doing the much it’s doing, but this is twenty-first century. If President Buhari will concentrate in this last four years only to provide effective power supply in Nigeria, he will have done very well. There is virtually nothing you will do today, and not only in Nigeria, that will be fully achievable and result-oriented without steady power supply.
- "Leadership is a burden and what makes one a leader is your ability and capability to respond to the yearnings and aspirations of the people. The president has a cabinet, personal staff, chief of staff, chief of protocol, then down the structure of government – there is the secretary of government, ministers, heads of boards and parastatal. So, I really do not understand communication gap between the president and others. Of course, the president naturally cannot see everybody, but does it mean that what the people write for the president to read is not conveyed to him? The ministers, the president appointed, are they from heaven or the sky? They are from Nigeria, from one constituency or another. Are these ministers not communicating to the president because they are supposed to be the bridge between the government and the citizens; so, don’t they feel the pulse of the citizens? If they do, don’t they communicate such to the president? I don’t want to know the channel of communication, but does that opportunity even exist?'"
- "This is a question for the presidency, whoever reads this interview can give an answer to the public because the president needs to be appreciated by citizens of this country. And with the much he is doing people don’t seem to appreciate the president that much and partly it is because of this that you have said."
- "The president should appoint competent persons; he is not a novice in leadership. He was a head of state and as military man he headed so many commands. He headed many positions and today as a politician he was elected for four years now getting to the end of the first tenure."
- "The president should appoint competent persons; he is not a novice in leadership. He was a head of state and as military man he headed so many commands. He headed many positions and today as a politician he was elected for four years now getting to the end of the first tenure."
- "He has been re-elected for another four years; nobody needs to tell him the kind of people to appoint as members of his cabinet because he knows what is right. If he appoints the right people, things will be good, if he doesn’t, it will be unfortunate and we shall all suffer it."
- "We should first give gratitude to Almighty Allah that made it possible. All that happened in the past were destined to happen the way they happened, but in every divine action there is always the human aspect. Let me start by saying that Buhari won election in Nasarawa because most of the political gladiators in the state today are of the APC extraction and the gubernatorial primaries of APC rather than divide those that aspired alongside their supporters, God in his infinite mercy made it possible for the aspirants to be much more united, cohesive, concerned and focused. When I said the aspirants, I mean with their followers and with due humility Hon. Ahmed Wadada chaired the campaign council. We tried under my stewardship with other stakeholders to ensure that the people were educated and enlightened enough as far as the happenings within the party were concerned, right from the commencement of political activities gearing towards 2019 general elections. And, of course, the people were responsive and they really got it deep into them that continuity is a veritable instrument for development. In order for the APC to be in power in Nasarawa state and to succeed itself, as well as provide the required and decent successful transition that will further deepen socio-economic and political developments in the state, it became necessary to enlighten and educate the people. We did so much to make the indigenes to appreciate President Buhari such more than ever before. Like I said, greater percentage of the stakeholders is in the APC and, of course, led by Hon. Aliyu Ahmed Wadada."
- "For our governor-elect, I think he is on course because from the day the results of the primaries were announced, he kept good and close relationship with the association of APC gubernatorial aspirants, which I created immediately after the primaries to enable all of us to come together. This is because politics is not enmity and if is truly about Nasarawa state, then I said, let’s come together. He is fully in touch with members of the association. We were all carried along to a reasonable extent all through the campaigns and I think he is still in touch with members of the association, from the sitting deputy governor to all of us. If he keeps the pace and does not get carried away by governance, he will succeed and I don’t see him as somebody that will get carried away because of his background. I think he will give little attention to rumour mongers and mediocre who feel the only way to be patronised is to go about abusing and insulting people, criticising and blackmailing to get patronage. You know, he is of the private sector background, where result, productivity and due process are the order of the day. I think it is going to be a different ball game, all things been equal. And if it is not, we are still the stakeholders, and we will look at him to his face and caution him, urge him to retract his steps to avoid any problem. But for now, I think the governor-elect is on course."
- "From the day the result of the primaries where announced, which I came second, it was a contestable situation. I am saying this for the world to hear, with due humility so that I will be understood and appreciated. The situation was a contestable one, but I choose not to do it because the betterment of Nasarawa state supersedes my personal ambition. My ambition, as far as Nasarawa is concerned, is to make it a better place. The first thing I did was to dissuade anybody that had some form of possible negative expectation from Wadada because of the result of the primaries. I went to Governor Al-Makura and congratulated him, that was after we congratulated our brother, Engr. A.A. Sule, at the venue of the primary election. I personally went to Engr A.A. Sule and congratulated him. Then governor, Al-Makura, called for a reconciliatory meeting and none of us gave any condition as a demand for us to cooperate. I only said we should be open and everything should be put on the table. After that, my brother, A.A. Sule, invited me for a meeting in Lagos and asked me what I wanted because he needed my support and that of other aspirants. I said to him that I want to be governor of Nasarawa state and which, of course, will not be possible because God has given him the ticket. When they decided I should chair the campaign council, the same Engr. A.A. Sule called me and said this was the decision, but he was not sure whether I will accept the offer or not and I said if I am a true indigene of Nasarawa state and a loyal and committed member of APC, why not? After all, I am going to chair the council for the election of Muhammadu Buhari. I accepted without giving any body conditions. I wonder why the appointment of a minister is becoming an issue, if I am appointed as a minister, so be it. I deserve it and I am qualified for it because I have paid my dues. People should not forget I am a one-time member of the National Assembly for eight years which is more than a minister. I have made my mark, which is still there at the National Assembly. Yes, if I am appointed, it is going to add value to me, to my people; but I don’t want it to be seen as something of big deal and envy that warrant unnecessary castigation. I never gave anybody conditions for accepting to chair the campaign council and I chose not to contest the result of the primaries so that we don’t rock the boat and God in his infinite mercy has vindicated me. If you do not give me credit as far as the state is concerned, you will for the fact that under my chairmanship of the council President Buhari won Nasarawa for the first time and it will go down in history with my political profile."
