Rt. Hon. Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, popularly known and referred to as ‘ATM Alert’, is the Peoples Democratic Party’s Governorship candidate for Adamawa State in the 2019 election. He was also the Speaker of the 7th Adamawa State House of Assembly and, twice, the Acting Governor of the State. In this interview with EMMANUEL SAMUEL in Yola, he speaks about his agenda if given the opportunity to serve as Adamawa State Governor. Excerpts.
It is not surprising that you emerged the flag bearer of the PDP in State, knowing that you passed through the thick and thin. What was the secret?
Really, it was not easy after what clearly emerged as one of the most keenly and peacefully contested primaries, God in His infinite mercies made me victorious. I wish to therefore extend my heartfelt gratitude to my fellow contestants for running enlightened campaign and the maturity they exhibited. We are all winners and the victory belongs to all. I urge my fellow contestants to come together, to join hands in actualising our party’s vision of restoring our dear state of its lost glory. I urge us all to keep united and focused. May I use this medium to urge our people to collectively continue to uphold the principles and values of our fore-fathers. We should continue to imbibe the principles of tolerance, patience, forgiveness and cooperation, which our people are known for. Let us harness our common values, celebrate our differences and find strength in our diversity.
What is your plan of action to enable you achieve the goals of your party?
Yes, some of my action plan includes a peaceful environment being sine quo non to the actualisation of development and progress. Our government will make a deliberate policy of building peace and harmony among our people and communities. This is to be done through, among other strategies, the engagement of our youths and women to be gainfully productive and responsible by giving them skills and the required support. Secondly, accord education the desired priority and develop a sustainable students’ support arrangement for both secondary and tertiary tiers of education and also for professional programmes like agriculture, engineering medicine, law and education. The establishment of model Senior Secondary Schools with full complement of competent teachers, science and technology laboratories, libraries, computer and Information centres will not be left out. In fact, we will also rationalise Technical and Vocational Centres, Skills Acquisition and Training Centres based on Senatorial Districts. Also, rural development shall be pursued strategically through rural and community networking/ linkages with the construction of all feeder roads through an elaborate partnership with and among local government councils and joint funding and financing template of priority projects already developed. On the issue of health, we will develop health and hygiene system through cottage and primary healthcare centres, partnership and synergy with and within government and levels of healthcare structure.
We also intend to improve water and sanitation awareness and provide phase water schemes by engaging the relevant state and federal agencies and international development partners in working out appropriate deliverables. I will look at urban and rural environment protection and improvement through appropriate land use arrangement, effective development control, property identification, conservation and improvement. Our Internal revenue generation and financial discipline will be anchored on modulated revenue drive (that avoids multiple taxation) based on comparative advantage in service delivery, citizens’ responsibility and governance and accountability with local governments as partners . My administration intend to coordinate an all-inclusive institutional reforms involving the organised labour and experienced technocrats to reposition our civil service, judiciary and other sectors. I will institute an equitable social welfare scheme for various livelihood groups including fishermen, herders, farmers and petty traders, the physically-challenged and the indigents. This is just to mention a few among others.
Do you think Adamawa State has the potential to generate such internal revenue for you to actualise your dreams?
Over the years, Adamawa State, like any other state in the country, has registered success stories as well as challenges. The potential of our dear state has been greatly under-utilised, we implore all our people to avail us the opportunity to utilise those potentials, diversify our economy, thereby improving the current deplorable living conditions of our people. Equally , from recent happenings, it goes without saying that our state continues to face serious administrative and communal challenges thus the task ahead is enormous. You will agree with me that despite the setbacks in the past, a lot was achieved during the period I acted as Governor of the state from June 2014 to October 2014 with a sense of modesty and responsibility, that is one of the reasons why I presented myself again to for service; I have come back to ask for another opportunity to repeat my past performance. So, I ask all and sundry to collectively join hands in tackling the enormous task of restoring our dear state.
How would you assess or evaluate the performance of the present administration under the leadership of Gov. Bindow?
During the last electoral cycle, we produced the current government in the state, which is now faced with serious credibility challenges, resulting in governance problem that has proved to be injurious to the overall development of the state. This crisis is not only a problem for government but to all the citizens.
I believe you will agree with me that since the inception of the current government, our state has been consistently, some would add, irredeemable retrogressing. The level of poverty, poor school enrollment, infant and maternal mortality, the drug epidemic and other development indices all speak to this unfolding disaster. The lack of sincerity and transparency in governance has completely paralysed development that has gone to such astonishing height that it has become a reference point. The government is increasingly looking detached from the people and insensitive to basic challenges of social and political relations. As a result, we do not need to be reminded that the state is facing serious challenges.
How do you wish to overcome these challenges?
You know challenges are normal in public as well as private lives. Therefore, no political system has operated the world over without them. They are therefore not peculiar to our state. In fact , it is worthy to note that in every circumstance, weakness and threats have the potential to make us even more stronger if strategically addressed.
If other states have been able to overcome similar or even tougher challenges, I see no reason why we can not sail through ours as well, with hard work and a collective will to do so. With my track records and my legacy of commitment to service, I will endeavour to lead my team to set our dear state on a path of success, to overcome the challenges if the people accord us the opportunity. That includes tapping our vast potential and making the most of our limited resources as I said before.
Do you have any message for your people and followers?
Yes, I want to first of all register my profound gratitude to our great party, the leadership of the party, at all levels, our esteemed delegates, party members, my campaign team, and my teeming supporters across the state. The success recorded would not have been possible.
However, like Oliver Twist, I invite you all to double your efforts while we commence the journey/ task ahead of restoring Adamawa State come 2019. To our dear people, especially the senior citizens, who have been aggrieved, disappointed or even frustrated in one way or another, I would like to use this medium to sincerely apologise and to extend our invitation to you to join our project of getting Adamawa State working again.We can collectively make Adamawa State the best state in Nigeria . We can set the state on a path of success and collectively make Adamawa State a trend setter, a reference point to other states. Let us together make history by building a state that the generation yet unborn would be proud of. Let us collectively prevail on those that have lost faith in good governance to come on board.
