Constituents Chase Away Rep Member In Jigawa
By: Ahmed Aminu, Dutse
The member representing Birniwa/Guri/Kirikasamma Federal Constituency of Jigawa State, Dr. Abubakar Hassan Fulata, was forced to flee Turabu town in Kirikasamma Local Government Area after angry constituents booed and pelted him with stones.
The incident occurred during the flag-off of a road construction project by Governor Umar Namadi.
Witnesses said the hostility arose from alleged non-performance by the lawmaker, who is in his third term as representative of the constituency in the National Assembly.
An eyewitness, Yakubu Hudu, said the event progressed peacefully until the local government chairman attempted to address the crowd.
“The youth stopped him from speaking. When it was the turn of the House of Representatives member, he was booed loudly as he tried to deliver a keynote address,” Hudu narrated.
According to him, Fulata was forced to sit without delivering his remarks.
“Order was restored only when the governor took the microphone to speak and perform the flag-off,” he added.
Hudu said the situation escalated shortly after when Fulata and the chairman attempted to sneak away while the governor was flag-off the project.
“The youth were watching closely. As soon as they moved towards their cars, the crowd chased them, booing and throwing stones, shouting in Hausa “ba ma yi, ba ma so,” meaning “You have failed, we don’t want you”.
The constituents accusec the lawmaker and local council chairman of neglecting the area and underperformance.
Mobile policemen in the convoy of the governor, the deputy governor, and Speaker of the House of Assembly had to fire shots into the air to disperse the crowd.
A similar incident also occurred at the main venue of a Citizens’ Engagement Programme in Kiri-Kasamma town, where state and federal officials were expected to present their stewardship and take feedback from the people.
The event ended abruptly following a breach of protocol and poor coordination due to the presence of large number of armed political thugs brought by the lawmaker to protect him.
An eyewitness, who asked not to be named, said the hostility was fueled by frustration. “Since they were elected, they have done nothing to empower us. They only serve themselves at the expense of the poor masses.”
