Following the election of new members of the Kaduna State House of Assembly who will be taking their oath office early June, some of the members-elect have been making their views known with regard to what they expect the nature of the relationship between the legislature and the executive to be. Speaking about this, the members-elect expressed their optimism about having a good working relationship with the incoming executive governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, especially in the interest of the people of the state. In the course of series of interviews, members-elect across the three senatorial zones in the state also cited reasons why they felt a cordial relationship between them and the governor-elect would be in the best interest of all, irrespective of party affiliation or political leaning.
According to Salisu Isah, the member-elect from Maganjin Gari constituency in Birnin Gwari, the relationship between the incoming legislature and the executive would be cordial because of what he referred to as the personality of the man at the head of the executive. “The relationship will be good by God’s grace. It is going to be a cordial relationship, with good rapport between us and the executive. The reason is because we are in the same party with the governor-elect and we have majority in the legislature. As a person, Mallam El-Rufai is a good person. He is intelligent and, like him, we want to make Kaduna great again. We are with him on that,” he said, adding that whatever legislative agenda would be pursued both by the executive and the legislature must be in line with this goal. “We want to make Kaduna State to be what it used to be, so most what will be on our legislative agenda should be channeled towards the achievement of this aspiration.”
In his own view however, John Audu, member-elect from Kachia constituency felt that respect for the independence of the legislature would be crucial to maintaining a harmonious relationship between these two branches of government. According to him, once this was in place, the executive could rely on the legislature as a partner in progress. “As we all know the work of the legislature and that of the executive is different. I will like us to have this understanding by keeping to our duties and respecting each other’s office,” he said. “I will really like to see the cooperation of the executive by allowing us to do our work effectively as we are supposed to do it without interference. I will be glad if this is the case and I believe the governor-elect is the type of man that works based on merit. He works with rule of law, so I expect that he will enable us to work as we are supposed to without interference.”
With regard to how lawmakers would contribute to fulfilling the promises, as well as the manifesto of the All Progressives Congress, Audu said lawmakers would cooperate with the executive such that what the party and governor-elect had promised the people would be delivered at the end of the day, even as he pointed out that the cooperation of everyone, not only that of the lawmakers and the executive arm, would be crucial to achieving this. “We will seek the cooperation of everybody including Kaduna people so that we can put heads together to achieve the common goal. By the time we do what people are expecting, I believe we are doing the will of the party. The party is for everyone, and the party is looking out to see how it can please the people.
“The executive has its manifesto, and the governor-elect has made promises with regard to education, security, and agriculture, so no matter what party any lawmaker comes from, he and his people will be beneficiaries of these good things. By the time Mallam El-Rufai brings those programmes out expecting us to back them with law in the chamber, I believe we will all support them,” Audu explained.
According to Hon. Kasim Iliyasawa, the member representing Zaria City in the State House of Assembly which as he explained included the family house of El-Rufai, the governor-elect had always maintained a cordial relationship with aspirants in the APC even before the general election, and as such enjoying a good working relationship with the elected lawmakers would not be a problem. “Our relationship has been very cordial. First of all, most of the people that won are one with him while at the same time we are independent as members of the legislature. We are with him and we share the same ideology. How to move the course of our people forward, and how to move our state forward is something we have in common with the executive,” he said, adding that this “does not mean we will not tell him the truth. If we see that there is any reason for us to tell him the truth, we will.”
Yahaya Musa, member representing Kakangi constituency in Birnin-Gwari LGA looked forward to a relationship with the incoming executive that would be better than what existed in the outgoing administration. “We hope the relationship will be very good and it will be better than the previous ones, because when you look at El-Rufai from where he worked previously, he appears like the kind of person who will be ready to cooperate with the legislature. He has been close to all elected members, and he has been sharing his view with them about how to move Kaduna State forward,” he said.
Like Musa, Nuhu Goroh Shadalafiya, representing Kagarko constituency, based his optimism on what he said would be a good working relationship with the executive on what he called the antecedent of the governor-elect. According to Shadalafiya, “Those who know Mallam know him as a man that is focused, he is reliable, he has integrity and has passion for whatever he is doing. I have had the privilege of having worked under him for four years in the FCT, and having worked with him, I know he is the kind of man that walks twenty metres ahead of you. He thinks positively, he does not look back and so the kind of legislature-executive relationship that I look forward to is that of father and son. Why do I say so? It is because if you have a father who is focused, you want to support him, rely on him and help him to meet the target of the family. So I see a harmonious working relationship here.
“We have as the head of the executive a man that does not want to be called a boss. He wants to be treated as a colleague. If he carries the same attitude and charisma to the Government House in Kaduna, I think he will have majority support of the members of the state House of Assembly,” Shadalafiya added
