Legislation differs from execution: Case of Bichi Federal Constituency

The Daily Trust cover story of Saturday, 17th October, 2026, titled “Abba Bichi: Generosity and the Money Question” has deservedly attracted national attention. The subject, Hon. Abubakar Kabir Bichi, member representing Bichi Federal Constituency and Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriation, is one of Kano state’s most visible legislators.

We commend Daily Trust for its attempt at balance. However, as a democracy and good governance advocacy group, we believe the report beclouds legitimate legislative influence with the power of projects execution.

The Chairmanship of the Appropriation Committee is, as the paper rightly noted, “one of the most influential positions in the House” because of its central role in the budget process. The question is not whether the office confers influence, but how that influence is used.

History puts it in perspective. Since the return to democracy in 1999, Kano has produced four Appropriation Chairmen: Senator Barau I. Jibrin, PhD, CFR, when he was member of House of Representatives, from Tarauni federal constituency, Hon. Abdulmumin Jibrin Kofa Kiru/Bebeji federal constituency, Hon. Mustapha Bala Dawaki Dawakin Kudu/Warawa federal constituency and now Hon. Bichi of Bichi federal constituency.

In terms of visible, completed infrastructural interventions and human capital empowerment, none of the previous tenures matches what is currently on ground in Bichi. This is not partisan praise. Daily Trust itself acknowledged this on page six:

“While Bichi’s position in Abuja has strengthened his national profile, his most visible influence is in his home constituency. Residents and associates describe an extensive range of interventions in Bichi, from roads and educational facilities to housing, sports infrastructure and scholarships.”

The photographs published by the paper showed completed projects, not abandoned foundations or refurbished old structures being claimed as new, which has become the trademark of some legislators.

Two issues raised by the report require clarification.

First, the Birthday Advertisements.

The paper questioned who paid for the volume of birthday adverts for Hon. Bichi’s 45th anniversary. The sponsors included Governors, Deputy Governors, Senators, House members, Ministers and State legislators. These are individuals with independent financial capacity. The suggestion that they needed Hon. Bichi to fund their goodwill messages does not hold logic.

We agree with two voices quoted in the same report. Yusha’u A. Shuaib stated: “…The advertisements do not establish that public funds were used, nor do they prove that Bichi personally financed the publication.” Prof. Babayo Sule added: “However, the advertisements alone do not establish that anyone sought a particular favour or that public money was used to finance the celebration. Those are matters that require evidence…”

Moreover, the newspaper itself published close to 100 full-colour pages of those adverts. If the adverts were prima facie improper, the professional duty would have been to reject them, not to publish and then interrogate them afterwards.

Goodwill advertisement is not proof of derailment.

Second, the Financing of Projects.

There is a fundamental misunderstanding here between legislation and execution. In a presidential democracy, the legislator legislates and lobbies. The power to award, finance and execute projects rests exclusively with the Executive – the President and Federal Executive Council and MDAs at the federal level. Governors, State Executive Council, and MDAs at the state level. Then Chairmen, Council of Councilors and Departments at the local government level.

Hon. Bichi does not award contracts. He lobbies for federal presence to be cited in his constituency. Therefore, to demand from him a consolidated financial breakdown of project costs is to demand from the wrong arm of government. That information lies with the implementing Ministries, Departments and Agencies.

What can be demanded from a legislator is whether his lobbying yielded results. In Bichi, it clearly has.

There is also a context the report overlooked. Bichi Local Government gave more votes to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the 2023 presidential election, the highest in Kano State and reportedly the second highest in the entire country, with a margin of over 30,000 votes over the runner-up. Who is the son of the soil.

In representative democracy, constituencies that demonstrate such strong electoral support often attract greater federal attention. Should that contribution be discounted? What is wrong if the President appreciates that loyalty with developmental projects?

The testimony of Hafizu Ibrahim Garba, Bichi’s childhood friend and classmate at Hagagawa Special Primary School, that Hon. Bichi supported 30 former classmates with N1 million each and engaged 20 as Special Legislative Aides, speaks to character, not corruption. No other federal legislator from Kano North in recent memory has such a record. None!

Hon. Bichi should be judged by his primary mandate: lawmaking, effective lobbying and responsible representation. On those counts, Bichi Federal Constituency is visibly transformed.

Comrade Yakubu Maxwell

Citizens Democratic Forum is a public policy and good governance advocacy organisation based in Abuja