Govt’s Hajj sponsorship not a right but privilege – Bauchi Lawmaker replies aggrieved colleagues

By Samuel Luka, Bauchi

A member representing Kirfi constituency in the Bauchi state house of assembly, Hon. Abdulkadir Umar Dewu has tackled his aggrieved colleagues for blaming the leadership of the house on the inability of some of the members to make it to this year’s Hajj operation in Saudi Arabia.

Hon. Dewu who was speaking to newsmen on Wednesday, argued that allocating free Hajj seat to Lawmakers or any other citizen is not a right but a privilege.

“It is something that is a privilege and not a right for government to allocate Hajj seats to members of the assembly or any other citizen”, he said.

“If they talked about Hajj, is it a right or a privilege? You have to understand that. Is that a right? It’s not a right, it’s a privilege, go and check the relevant laws, most especially from the revenue mobilization and physical Commission, go and check, is there any provision that the state government should give honorable members Hajj seats? Let the people check, there is no any provision on that, it’s just a privilege”, the Lawmaker pointed out.

He said that issues relating to Hajj is not peculiar to Bauchi alone, adding that he read in the papers that over 1000 intending pilgrims from Kano missed the opportunity to go to Saudi Arabia for this year’s Hajj.

“So, it’s not only in Bauchi, if you can go and check the records from 36 states of the federation you can get this kind of problem, so Bauchi state is not an exception, Buachi is only two hundred and something but when you go to other states is even more than that”, he said.

Hon Dewu said that the state government played its own part by paying all the money due for the seats, adding that his colleagues shouldn’t have made any issue out of the Hajj seats.

“I will be happy if they can come out and tell the world their rights that have been denied by the state government, I will expect that from them so that I can respond to it because as honorable member of the Bauchi state assembly, I can authoritatively tell you that without fear of contradiction that there is no any single Kobo or any entitlement that is due for us as members of Bauchi state house of assembly that is not settled by the government”, he revealed.

The lawmaker who described the move by his aggrieved colleagues as an emty threat, challenged them to come out and tell the world if they have something hidden as an agenda.

He said majority of the members of the assembly are happy with the way and manner the speaker is piloting the affairs of the assembly, hence, such issue shouldn’t have reared its ugly head.

He assured that the speaker has the numerical strength that will give him cover against any threat to continue discharging his constitutional mandate.

While condemning the recent attack on some members of the assembly by hoodlums, the house member debunked insinuations that members loyal to the speaker are behind it.

“As a colleague, actually I am not happy about the incident and I condemn it in its totality and I must sympathize with them”, he said

He reiterated that the allegations made by some members of the assembly against the speaker is fishy and not realistic.

While calling on the general public to remain calmed, the Lawmaker maintained that Rt. Honorable Abubakar Sulaiman remains the speaker of the house, assuring that nothing will happen to him.