I was never intimidated by Suleiman Babadoko- Hon Alfa Imam

In his first interview since his victory at the just concluded election into the Kogi State House of Assembly, Hon Alfa Imam, who, despite all odds defeated the incumbent Chief Whip of the Assembly and member representing Lokoja I constituency, Hon Babadoko. He spoke with our reporter, Yabagi Mohammed on how his victory at the polls was achieved.
Excerpts:

Background :

My name is Hon Umar Ahmed Imam, member-elect representing Lokoja I constituency in the Kogi State House of Assembly.

How your victory came about at the polls:

All I can say about it is Vox Populi Vox Dei (voice of the people is the voice of God). The people of Lokoja have used their votes to speak as to who they want as their representative at the Assembly and they chose me over my opponent and I thank them for that emphahtic statement. All I can do is to ensure that I offer them quality representation in return.

What your immediate reaction following the final collation of results?

Well, my countenance was natural; I remained myself throughout because I entered the race with confidence that we would emerge victorious. I had a positive thought towards the race and always have the belief that whatever I embark upon, I would emerge victorious.
Be that as it may, if I had lost the election, I would have taken it upon my strides with all humility and prepared for other challenges. But, I would have also considered it the people’s loss because those who have continued to count on me believe in my capacity to represent them adequately. So, if I had lost, it would have rub off on them as well.

Were you intimidated at any point during the contest?

No, I was never intimidated throughout the race; not during the primaries, the campaigns and definitely not during the elections proper. My brother, you know I cannot be intimidated by my fellow Lokoja indigene. We know each other before now and so, we also know each other’s antecedents. I just remained self throughout the entire process. So, I must tell you that I was never intimidated at any point because I allow the natural course of events to take their place in anything that I do.
But I must admit that a number of persons in our camp were a little intimidated by the records of the incumbent and the fact that he also possessed the power of incumbency really sent jitters to this category of our supporters. For them, the incumbent had the support of government and the entire resources of the present administration at his disposal, but I was never intimidated at any point in time.
On my part, I had an unshaken confidence in my chances at the polls, and thankfully, here we are.
Rate the performance of the incumbent in the Assembly
First and foremost, I want to the efforts of Hon Suleiman Babadoko for his achievements thus far. I always say it wherever I go that the man has done well and I am not afraid or ashamed to say it anywhere. He has really impacted our constituents well and I thank him for that. However, in as much as I can describe his achievements as monumental, we can do better. Things can be done differently from how we are becoming acculturated with. I have fresh ideas that will move our constituency to the next level.
Beyond the projects he has attracted to the people, there are more critical issues that a legislator should use his position for in the House of Assembly. We intend to critically look at those issues that need to be legislated upon for the progress of my constituents. We suffered some deficits in that regards in the out-going administration in Kogi State House of Assembly.
I believe that my coming to the Assembly is for me to be able to highlight those issues so that we can impact our people better.
Politics is about service and he has offered his; it is time for me to offer my own service to our people.

Last Words:

I know there are a lot of expectations; I can even say expectations are high, especially the wild jubilations that greeted the final collation of results and subsequent declarations of results. I know hopes are high but we request them to be patient and pray for us as we take over mantle of leadership.
I want to tell them that we have designed some programmes that will benefit them immensely, we will unfold them in due cause. Just as they have toiled through difficult circumstances during the polls, we promise not to disappoint them.
I want to especially call on the youths to continue to be patient with us as we settle down to do our job. I want to assure them that they will not be disappointed in us because we are ready to see to it that their welfares are catered for. The same also goes for the women and everybody in our constituency. They should continue to support us at all times.
I am promising them that we will not let them down, but patience is key.