The Southern Kaduna Youth Progressives Forum has taken a swipe at the lawmaker representing Jema’a/Sanga Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Hon. Daniel Amos, accusing him of poor performance
The group, in statement issued on Friday by its Secretary, Kazah Auta, criticised lawmakers over his recent public remarks against the Kaduna State Government.
It also challenged him to publish the full list of beneficiaries of the Federal Government’s rice intervention programme allocated to members of the National Assembly.
NewsNGR online reports that Amos had during the presentation of his midterm scorecard in Kafanchan accused the state government of instructing traditional rulers in Southern Kaduna not to attend functions organised by opposition parties.
He had further alleged that Governor Sani was deliberately excluding opposition figures from state activities.
However, the youth forum described the lawmaker’s outburst as “hypocritical, misleading and a poor attempt to shift attention from his woeful underperformance.”
“We are surprised that Rep. Amos, who publicly declared Governor Uba Sani as a friend and commended his communication style, would turn around to make baseless allegations in public instead of seeking clarification privately if indeed he felt slighted,” the forum said.
It argued that the allegations levelled against Governor Sani regarding directives to traditional rulers were not only false but laughable.
According to the forum, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to which Amos belongs had a history of restricting the attendance of traditional rulers at public engagements with political opponents.
“For the record, when Vice President Yemi Osinbajo visited Kafanchan in 2015 shortly after his election, traditional rulers were notably absent because they were reportedly threatened with the loss of their thrones if they dared to attend. It is therefore dishonest for anyone to now attribute such acts to the APC-led government or Governor Sani,” the statement added.
The group maintained that Governor Sani, as a “true” democrat and recipient of a national honour for contributions to democracy, could not be involved in undermining democratic institutions or processes.
Rather than attack the Governor, the forum said it expected Amos to publicly commend the state government’s ongoing developmental strides in Jema’a and Sanga.
These include the dualisation of the Kafanchan township road, the transfer of Kafanchan General Hospital to the Federal Government for its transformation into a Federal Medical Centre, and ongoing renovations at Gwantu General Hospital in Sanga LGA, among others.
The youth group also expressed concern that halfway through his four-year term, Amos had failed to commission any major Federal Government-funded project in the constituency linked to his legislative efforts.
“We are alarmed that two years into his tenure, Dan Amos has neither brought a meaningful capital project to our people nor succeeded in attracting any serious Federal Government investment through effective lobbying. Instead, he prefers to distribute handouts at PDP gatherings and use such opportunities to cast aspersions on the APC government in the state,” the forum said.
It further accused Amos of benefitting politically from Governor Sani’s goodwill, citing his membership of a lucrative House Committee allegedly secured through the Governor’s influence in conjunction with Speaker Tajudeen Abbas.
Despite this, the forum lamented, Amos had continued to bite the fingers that fed him.
The group particularly challenged the lawmaker to make public the detailed list of constituents who benefitted from the 2,400 bags of rice reportedly allocated to every federal lawmaker under the Federal Government’s post-subsidy palliative intervention programme.
“Each member of the National Assembly received rice valued at over N100 million to distribute to their constituents as palliatives. We ask Rep. Amos to disclose the full list of beneficiaries in Jema’a and Sanga and stop hiding behind baseless accusations against Governor Uba Sani,” the statement read.
The forum also condemned what it described as Amos’s “mediocre” performance since assuming office, accusing him of lacking both legislative impact and vision for sustainable development in his constituency.
“As a legislator, he has failed to sponsor or push through any bill or motion that would bring tangible benefits to the good people of Jema’a and Sanga. It is even more shameful that the establishment of the Federal Medical Centre in Kafanchan was facilitated not by Amos, but by the Member representing Jaba/Zangon Kataf Federal Constituency,” the forum declared.
After a performance review, the youth forum said it was left with no choice but to rate the lawmaker’s stewardship at a disappointing 30 percent.
They warned that unless he showed significant improvement in the second half of his term by facilitating development and attracting Federal Government presence, the group would mobilise to ensure his replacement at the next general election.
The statement concluded: “We urge Rep. Daniel Amos to focus less on political propaganda and more on the serious business of lawmaking and constituency development. Our people deserve better.”
Efforts to reach Hon. Daniel Amos for comments were unsuccessful as of press time.
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