Politics is not a classroom. The National Assembly is not a place where the people of Ankpa, Omala and Olamaboro should send somebody to spend four years learning how Parliament works before becoming effective. That is why the debate over the 2027 House of Representatives election deserves to go beyond political slogans, personality contests and the excitement that often surrounds the emergence of new faces.
The real question is simple:
At a time when Ankpa, Omala and Olamaboro already have an experienced legislator who has risen to become Deputy Majority Leader of the House of Representatives, should the constituency start all over again?
That is the question the people must answer.
Rt. Hon. Abdullahi Ibrahim Ali Halims has represented the constituency since 2019. He has gone beyond being an ordinary member of the House. He has risen into the leadership structure of the 10th House of Representatives as Deputy Majority Leader.
That experience did not come overnight.
It was acquired through years of legislative work, committee assignments, debates, constituency engagement and participation in the complicated business of national lawmaking. And that experience is precisely what should be placed on the table as the people prepare for 2027.
Let us be clear: there is nothing wrong with a new person seeking election. Every politician was once a newcomer.
Every experienced legislator was once an apprentice. But there is a difference between learning a job and already knowing the job. There is a difference between arriving in Abuja for the first time and understanding the corridors of the National Assembly. There is a difference between making campaign promises and knowing how to pursue those promises through committees, ministries, agencies, budgets and legislative oversight.
Ankpa, Omala and Olamaboro already have somebody who has learned the terrain.
Why throw that experience away?
This is not about saying that Halims has done everything. He has not. No representative can possibly solve every problem in a constituency. There are roads that still need attention. There are communities that still need water. There are schools that require improvement. There are young people looking for jobs. There are women seeking economic opportunities. There are communities demanding better healthcare and infrastructure.
These challenges remain. But the existence of unfinished business is not necessarily an argument for starting again. Sometimes, it is the strongest argument for continuity. If a project has started, why abandon the person who understands its history? If a relationship with a federal agency has been established, why throw away that institutional knowledge? If a legislator has spent years learning how to navigate the National Assembly, why replace that experience without first asking what more could be achieved with it?
These are legitimate questions.
Halims’ supporters have argued that he has attracted constituency interventions and raised issues affecting his constituents.
In February 2024, he brought attention to the condition of the Anyigba-Ankpa-Olamaboro road corridor through the House.
The point is not that one motion magically fixes a road. It does not. The point is that constituency problems must first reach the national table before federal institutions can be pressed to respond. That is part of what a representative is elected to do. And Halims has also risen to a position that gives him a stronger platform within the House.
As Deputy Majority Leader, he is part of the leadership of the House. That position matters. It means he is no longer simply one voice among hundreds of lawmakers. It gives him greater exposure to the legislative leadership structure and potentially greater access to the processes through which issues are pursued.
The people of Ankpa, Omala and Olamaboro should therefore ask themselves whether that experience and position should be consolidated. Politics should not be about changing faces for the sake of changing faces. It should be about changing what needs to be changed while preserving what is working.
If Halims has performed well, he should be allowed to build on that performance. If he has failed in certain areas, he should be challenged to improve. If he has neglected communities, those communities should speak. If he has performed in some areas and fallen short in others, the people should weigh the evidence. That is democracy.
But replacing an experienced legislator with a newcomer simply because the newcomer is new is not necessarily progress.
Sometimes, it is merely a reset. And the people should ask whether they can afford another reset. The National Assembly is a highly technical institution.
A first-time legislator must learn parliamentary procedure. He must understand committee structures. He must build relationships. He must understand how bills move. He must learn the budget process. He must understand oversight. He must establish contacts with ministries, departments and agencies. He must learn how to turn constituency demands into legislative action.
None of these things happens automatically. They take time. Halims has already spent that time. That is why his supporters are asking the people to give him a third term. Not because a third term is an entitlement. Not because incumbency should become permanent. But because experience has value.
The argument for Halims’ third term should therefore be simple: Let him build, not begin again. Let him consolidate. Let him use the experience accumulated since 2019. Let him use the leadership position he now occupies. Let him pursue more constituency projects. Let him strengthen his advocacy for roads and infrastructure. Let him expand opportunities for young people. Let him pay greater attention to women and vulnerable communities. Let him make his third term more productive than his first two. And let the people hold him accountable for every promise he makes.
That is the kind of third term that should be demanded.
There is also a lesson here for Nigerian politics generally. We often complain that our institutions lack experienced legislators, yet we sometimes treat legislative experience as though it has no value. We complain that lawmakers are not influential enough. Then, when somebody rises through the ranks, we immediately begin discussing how to replace him.
We cannot have it both ways. Institutional experience matters. Parliamentary knowledge matters. Relationships matter. Legislative networks matter. Understanding how government works matters. A representative who has spent years acquiring these assets should not be dismissed without a serious examination of what those assets can mean for the constituency. That is why 2027 should not be reduced to a contest between “old” and “new.” It should be a contest between record and promise.
Who has done what? Who understands the job? Who can speak for the constituency? Who has demonstrated legislative capacity? Who has experience at the national level? Who can be held accountable for a documented record? Those are the questions the people should ask. And this is where Halims has an advantage that cannot simply be manufactured overnight: experience.
The people of Ankpa, Omala and Olamaboro must ultimately decide. Their mandate belongs to them. But before they make that decision, they should not allow political excitement to make them forget the value of experience. A new face may bring new ideas. That is welcome. But a new face will also have to learn. And while that learning is taking place, the clock of representation continues to run. Four years is not a small period in politics. For a community waiting for a road, a school, a hospital, water or employment opportunity, four years can feel like an eternity. This is why continuity deserves serious consideration when the incumbent has demonstrated experience and remains accountable to the electorate.
The message to Halims should also be unmistakable: If the people give you a third term, do not merely return to Abuja—return with a bigger mission. Do more. Reach more communities. Attract more projects. Create more opportunities. Listen more. Report back more. And make the people feel the benefit of having a representative who has risen to the leadership of the House.
A third term should not be a reward. It should be a responsibility. The people of Ankpa, Omala and Olamaboro deserve representation that grows stronger with every term. They deserve a representative who knows the terrain. They deserve someone who understands the system. They deserve someone who can build on existing relationships rather than spend precious years establishing them. And if, after examining the evidence and asking the difficult questions, they conclude that Halims has earned another opportunity, then there should be no shame in choosing continuity. Because sometimes the wisest political decision is not to start again.
Sometimes it is to take the person who has learned the road and tell him: You have come this far. Now go further. For Ankpa. For Omala. For Olamaboro. For the future.
Halims has the experience. Now, let the people decide whether that experience deserves another four years.
– Musa Wada is a Public Affairs Analyst.
