BY UMAR YUSUF

LEGISLATIVE inexperience on the part of most members of Adamawa State House of Assembly may constitute a drawback to effective and cohesive deliberations as the legislators settle down for real business.

The 25-member House which was inaugurated on  June 9 has only eight old timers while 17 members are new and  inexperienced. Prior to their election, most of them were primary school teachers and traders. Observers fear that it might take the eaglet legislators a long time to blend with the few old timers for effective legislation to take place.

The ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP has a firm grip on the  Adamawa House of Assembly with 20 members, Action Congress of Nigeria ACN, four, while the Congress for Progressive Change CPC has only one member.

The composition of the House in terms of political parties favour the ruling PDP, though it was the same story with the immediate past legislature, which attempted to impeach Governor Murtala Nyako and was a “thorn” in the flesh of the Executive until both arms later resolved their differences as it seemed.

However, the executive arm of government appears to be having the last laugh. It allegedly capitalised on the non-conduct of the governorship elections in Adamawa State in 2011 to ensure that most of the House of Assembly members that gave it tough time in the last dispensation did not return. The scenario led to the losing out of 17 of the 25 members. The lost out at the primaries of the PDP to select candidates for the party in the last general election.

The executive and the party’s top hierarchy ensured that those with 100 per cent loyalty were fielded as candidates in the April elections. The action was taken because of the division in Adamawa PDP along Atiku Abubakar, Professor Jubril Aminu, Governor Murtala Nyako and other camps. Murtala Nyako’s camp has complete control of the present legislators having 20 of the 25 members.

Most prominent and vocal members of the House include the Speaker, Barrister Sadiq Ibrahim representing Fufore/Gurin constituency; Kwamoti La’ore, another lawyer from Numan constituency and Ahmed Umar Fintiri, immediate past deputy speaker of the Assembly, who is now the majority leader.

Others are Barrister Jerry Kundisi, another lawyer but from the opposition Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN;  and a former school principal, Mr. Michael Zidon of Lamurde constituency.

Three other old timers in the present House include Mrs. Wale Fwa, the first female deputy speaker of the assembly (Demsa Constituency), Ahmed Gangwaso (Nassarawa/ Binyere Constituency) and Salihu Kabillo of Verre Constituency are not vocal, but prominent within the annals of the legislative arena. They are prominent in the sense that almost all of them are making their third consecutive appearances as honourable members.

It will be too early now to ascertain whether or not  the House is an appendage of the executive arm barely a month after its inauguration. But with Sadiq as Speaker of the House, the legislature is likely to enjoy cordial relations with Governor Nyako. Reason: the entire leadership of the House are die-hard loyalists of Nyako and it is likely that the principal officers would convince their colleagues to corporate with the executive.

It would be recalled that Sadiq, in 2009 during the last legislative session, served a three-month suspension for not supporting an impeachment move against Governor Nyako. Reasons adduced by the present speaker and two others who were sanctioned were that they have 100 per cent loyalty to the executive under Nyako.

Another reason the Adamawa State House of Assembly under the leadership of Sadiq may give Nyako maximum corporation is that the speaker’s political mentor, Senator Bello Mohammed Tukur was the henchman of Murtala Nyako’s administration as Chief of Staff in the past four years until recently.

Tukur, a former Deputy Governor between 1999 and 2007, was nicknamed the de facto governor until his recent election as the Senator representing Adamawa Central Senatorial District in the upper chamber of the National Assembly.

Members of the Adamawa House of Assembly since the inception of the present democratic dispensation are involved in the execution of constituency projects, but such projects fall short of expectations.

The prospect of Adamawa State House of Assembly achieving its legislative agenda rests squarely on the leadership and the way and manner the entire House conduct itself.

However,  political observers are of the view that the House might take a long time to adapt to the rudiments of legislation because most of the members are new and still need enough time to acclimatise. If the blending is done effectively and in good time, the Assembly will surely achieve its legislative agenda.

With the present composition of the leadership of the Adamawa State House of Assembly and the fact that most of the members are loyalists of the governor, prospects of friction look slim, but in politics, anything can happen as there is no permanent enemy or friend, but permanent interest.