A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Zaria, Kaduna State, Alhaji Mustapha-Adamu Ubaidullahi, has expressed concern over the alleged inaccessibility of Dr Abbas Tajudeen, Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Mr Tajudeen represents Zaria Federal Constituency.

Mr Ubaidullahi, who is also a traditional title holder of Marafan Yamman Zazzau in the Zazzau Emirate Council, made this known during an interactive session with journalists in Zaria on Sunday.

According to him, the Speaker’s continued disconnect with his constituents at this crucial time will negatively impact the APC’s performance in the 2027 elections in Zone I.

He noted with dismay that Tajudeen’s emergence as Speaker of the House of Representatives has not yielded the expected results for the North-West, the region he represents.

The chieftain said the speaker “is a senior traditional title holder in the Zazzau Emirate, yet many traditional institutions across Northern Nigeria have lamented his attitude towards them.

“The Speaker represents the North-West in the national political equation; however, the region has regressed economically under his watch.

“Currently, key institutions in Zaria, such as the Depot Nigerian Army and the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology, were split instead of being upgraded, which the community views as a serious disservice to the region.

“Farming, one of the region’s major economic activities, has slumped and become unprofitable, yet the speaker has done nothing to revamp it.”

The APC chieftain lamented that the people were subjected to unsustainable palliatives.

Mr Ubaidullahi said some of the speaker’s empowerment initiatives were rotated among the same cohort, and in many instances, benefits were given as political patronage to stooges and thugs rather than to deserving beneficiaries.

He noted that the region expected the speaker, as the North-West’s representative, to champion robust legislation and lobby for policies to revive moribund industries.

“We also expect him to push and agitate for an end to insecurity to revive full-scale agriculture in the region.

“When this is done, most unemployed youths would become gainfully employed, which would eventually stabilise national security,” Ubaidullahi said.

He said that as activities for the 2027 elections gather momentum, he did not know any politician in Zaria willing to spend N20 million on the Speaker’s political activities.

The chieftain explained that the speaker had not empowered local politicians and contractors to do so, stressing that he had allowed himself to be caged by a few people.

He said that as one of the speaker’s legislative aides, he had not had a chance to speak with the speaker in spite of several calls and SMS messages, in addition to visits to the National Assembly complex.

“This sends a bad signal to us as we consider supporting the APC’s reelection bid in 2027.

“We maintained a good relationship with our people who supported the APC during the 2023 general elections, but the promises made to us by the Speaker and Gov. Uba Sani remain unfulfilled,” he said.

Mr Ubaidullahi alleged that the former Deputy Chief of Staff to the Speaker, Alhaji Jamil Mohammed, now Chairman of Zaria Local Government, was instrumental in blocking many politicians in Zaria from accessing the speaker.

He said if the APC fails in Zaria Zone and Kaduna State, it would be the fault of party leaders “who are not helping the people.”

However, Alhaji Jamil Mohammed, Chairman of Zaria Local Government, denied the allegations during a live radio programme aired by Alheri FM, Zaria.

(NAN)