A high powered delegation of senior stakeholders of Jimeta community have today stormed Adamawa State house of assembly where they vociferously rejected the move by the assembly to create two additional districts in the area saying it is counter productive to peace and communal harmony being enjoyed.
The delegation led by the former speaker of Adamawa State House of Assembly, Muhammad Hassan Turaki said, instead of investing energy and resources for the exercise, it is better for the government to consider other critical challenges bedevilling the area including human empowerment to the teeming youths to reduce restiveness.
Some of the critical stakeholders in the delegation include foremost businessman and billionaire, Alhaji Musa Garba, Alhaji Usman Ibrahim and Alh. Yusuf Dan Umma among many others
Presenting a position paper before the ad hoc committee on creation of additional districts during second day of public hearing, spokesman of the stakeholders under the auspices of concerned members of Jimeta, Usman Ibrahim Wakili said the move lacks the support of majority of the people of Jimeta.
Wakili who expressed surprise over the surreptitious nature of the exercise, wondered how a critical issue like the creation of new districts could be carried out without consultations.
“The whole issue was done without consultation as neither the government nor our representatives at all levels informed the community about such exercise,” he said.
He noted that such posture is contrary to the letters and spirit of democracy which centrally revolves around wishes and aspirations of the people.
Wakili said as the last hope of the common man, he believes the house of assembly will entertain their cries and act accordingly noting that the assembly enjoys the support of the people and also reserve the constitutional mandate to do what is right to all manner of people.
Also speaking on the sidelines of the presentation, former speaker of Adamawa State house of Assembly, Muhammad Hassan Turaki, urged the state assembly to tow the path of the people and reject the move for peace and development to prevail.
He noted that the creation of new districts is economically counterproductive in view of the fact that some of the existing districts could not pay salaries and wages of their workers for several months.
Hassan noted that from the preponderance of views and reactions, significant percentage of the community are against the move and hence the house of assembly should reject the proposal.
In his response to the calls for fairness, the chairman of the ad hoc committee on the creation of more districts and majority leader of Adamawa state house of assembly, Hammantukur Yettisuri said they will gauge the arguments by the pro and anti district establishments and act accordingly.
He assured them that the assembly will do justice to their calls and look at the arguments generated to ensure all issues are thoroughly dissected before reaching conclusions.
Responding to the complaint of dearth of consultation, Yettisuri said when the issue was brought to the assembly, he thought it was brought after due consultations and endorsement by stakeholders saying that the assembly will incorporate the outcry before making conclusions.
This paper learnt that the move to create additional districts was the brain child of the executive arm of government through an executive bill brought before the assembly.
The position was contrary to the submission of the speaker of the state house of assembly, Aminu Iya Abbas who posited that the state government has no hand in the move for the creation of new districts saying it emanated from emirates and chiefdoms in the state during the opening of the public hearing last Friday.
“The state government is not behind the creation of the new districts. Districts are responsibilities of emirs and chiefs.
” They are under local governments and their finances come from the local governments. The state government does not give them money except if there is need for assistance and you cannot create more burden for them.
“They think they can run their emirates or their chiefdoms with the little they are getting from the local governments and if they want to create 100 of them they can create,” he said.
