You’ve never won a free, fair election, Jibrin tackles Doguwa again

The spat and hot exchanges between two ranking members of the House of Representatives, Abdulmumin Jibrin Kofa and Alhassan Ado Doguwa as a result of the latter’s constant insults and false allegations on the national leader of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP)/ Kwankwasiyya movement, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, continued yesterday.

Jibrin again hit back at Doguwa after insisting the latter must desist from insulting and show respect to Kwankwaso the way he does to the leaders of his party.

Jibrin said the constituents of Doguwa, chairman of the House committee on petroleum resources (downstream), see the lawmaker as the late Idi Amin, a former leader of Uganda, who is reported to have ruled with “iron fists”. Amin was a military dictator who ruled the East African country between 1971 and 1979.

Jibrin is a New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) member, while Doguwa belongs to the All Progressives Congress (APC). The two politicians have been at loggerheads for days now.

Jibrin had warned Doguwa, who is a former House Whip, against insulting Kwankwaso, NNPP presidential candidate in the 2023 elections.

However, Doguwa said it was Kwankwaso who first insulted members of the APC in Kano.

In a statement released on Wednesday night and signed by his media aide, Sani Ibrahim Paki, Jibrin said it is public knowledge that Doguwa has never won a free and fair election, but rather his victory had been characterised by rigging and violence, leaving behind sorrow, tears and blood in his constituency.

The lawmaker said, as a 7th term member and with all his appointments in the same House of Representatives for over 32 years which he still flaunts without shame, in a house dominated by members fit to be his grandchildren, Doguwa should have been the Speakership choice of his party like the case of the immediate past Speaker.

He said: “While Doguwa was the first to declare for the speakership race two years before the expiration of the term of the then incumbent, a record time never seen in the history of the parliament, it is a known fact that his party distanced itself from Doguwa’s aspiration because his hands are allegedly deeply soaked in the blood of innocent constituents of his and all eyes are on the judiciary to do the right thing.

“His party also neither found him suitable for the position of Whip nor Leader of the House in 2023. Two positions he previously held which before God, I played significant role in his emergence, giving him a benefit of doubt in the hope that he will change his ways. Alas, I was wrong,” Jibrin said.

He added: “In fact, though, he worked against us in the speakership race of 2015 and covertly in 2019, both of which I defeated him, I single handedly pushed for him to be Chief Whip on the instruction of Kwankwaso in 2015, I repeated same after I led the speakership race in 2019 to make Doguwa leader of the House on the instruction of the then Governor of Kano, two leaders he has betrayed and continue to plot against, overtly and covertly, respectively.

“Doguwa is the real parasite who came to the House of Representatives with nothing, wearing bathroom slippers and remain a problem in Kano politics and the country as a whole, creating division among our leaders and populace and inciting same. Kano will see peace once Doguwa is cut to size and exposed for who he is, a serial betrayer, two-faced human being, sycophant, psychopath and a chronic liar, who for every 10 things he says, nine are blatant lies!!!

“I challenge Doguwa to show us his political structure, aside only able to strive and get relevance in crisis situation or a divided environment, which is the hallmark of his politics. Without crisis or division, Doguwa remains ever irrelevant. I need not to say much, it is a public knowledge that both in and out of office, my relevance remains constant! Doguwa cannot survive a day outside office. No wonder, he can go any length including allegedly shedding blood of innocent people to hold on to political office.

“For the avoidance of doubt, my capacity and competence was part of the consideration that lead to my appointment as Chairman, House Committee on Finance, when Doguwa was below as Chairman SDG, I was Chairman Appropriations when I pushed for him as Whip, Transport, Foreign Affairs and Housing. I cannot count the number of ad-Hoc committees I have chaired which Doguwa is now flaunting his few, when his mates are far up there. I have led two successful speakership campaigns and was chairman of the new members forum and Parliamentary Support Group in 2011 and 2018 respectively. I have remained far influential than him in the House and have supported him severally and lifted him from the ground. I am fit to be called his godfather in the House of Representatives. This is what a little boy who was in school in 1992 can do to an old man like Doguwa,” Jibrin further buttressed.

He also said that Doguwa is a drowning man who desperately needs relevance after displaying crass incompetence in his present role and all avenue of his habitual eye service blocked.

He cautioned him to stop dropping names and dragging the President, Speaker and leaders of his party into his mess and struggling to impress them by attacking people, creating crises and division in Kano and both within and outside his party. “His recent rants on the floor of the house is still fresh in our memory. He must carry his cross.

“As the English proverb goes ‘The chicken has come home to roast’ this time, Alhassan will be roasted well as I earlier promised to expose him. They do not need him. They will never want to be associated with a man whose hands are allegedly soiled in the blood of his people,” Jibrin concluded.