National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Alhaji Lai Mohammed believes that the ruling party will soon overcome its crisis over the National Assembly leadership. He speaks on the delay in the composition of President Muhammadu Buhari’s cabinet, bailout for states and Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) grouse with the appointment of an acting chairman for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). DGossip247 reports
How would you assess the Muhammadu Buhari administration?
In the area of security, he has lived up to expectation. If you know what he has achieved in the last few weeks on security, it’s phenomenal. Not only has he held meetings with the service chiefs, he has also held meetings with our neighbours – Niger and Chad. He has also held meetings with the Lake Chad Basin Commission which comprises of Nigeria, Benin, Cameroon, Chad and Niger all in an attempt to ensure that Boko Haram is curtailed. As a result of this, he has moved the headquarters of the military command to Maiduguri, the Borno State.
By the end of this month, they are going to launch a Multinational Joint Task Force and when that is done, it will cripple the Boko Haram insurgency. You see, it would appear in recent weeks that the insurgency has actually been on the increase but what is actually happening is that because the insurgents have been dislodged from their forests and hideouts, they now operate as lone wolves; they now attack soft targets. It’s not as if Boko Haram is gaining ascendancy but it’s actually because they know they have been cornered and they have been dispersed.
I am sure that given the kind of intelligence gathering that has been put in place now by the security agencies which helped to arrest the mastermind of the Zaria bombing; I am sure the days of the Boko Haram are limited. I think in the area of security, you cannot fault him in the efforts he has taken.
In the area of the economy, I think he has really settled down. When the government came in, a lot of monies was owed at the federal and state levels, and if this is not addressed, it could lead to industrial unrest and crisis which would have been very bad not for this government alone but for the whole country.
When we came in, some 16 states owed between three and nine months in arrears. I think it will be wrong to say in a blanket form that the inability of these governors to pay their workers was due to incompetence. What happened is that while the average Federal Allocation distribution in 2014 was N720 billion, it went to about N388 billion by 2015. So, this informed the bailout given to the states. This is a single act that has touched the lives of more Nigerians than any other foreseeable action of government.
The president has also asked the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to go and renegotiate on a long term basis, the debts the states owed commercial banks which were put at about N680 billion. To me, this is even as important as the bailout because it now affords each state to continue to pay their salaries as and when due and meet other obligations.
But the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had said the bailout fund was part of the savings from the last administration
It’s not about where the money comes from or who saved the money; it’s about creating ingenuity of a government. The money had been there all along, why has it not been used for this purpose? If truly the first priority of any government is the wellbeing of its people, I don’t see any better use for any money that is accruing to government than to make sure that all its citizens are paid their salaries and there is harmony and peace in the country.
The fact is that this government realised that the money was there and it should be used for that purpose. We are sure that not one penny was taken from the Excess Crude Account (ECA). The money taken was largely from the dividend accrued from the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG).
Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State said the bailout from the Federal Government is nothing extraordinary as they (states) were only taking their shares of the allocation.
We know it’s not true. For example, what prevented their government that left office about two months ago, to bail out the states. Some states like Benue and Kogi,which were PDP states during the Jonathan administration, have owed salaries more than six months before they left; what prevented them from even using the money to help the states? Why did it never occured to them that they could approach the Central Bank and asked the CBN to arrange a soft loan, renegotiate and buy over the debts the states owed commercial banks? So, clearly whoever says that he is not seeing the whole picture but only looking at the distribution of the money accrued NLNG account, shows shallow thinking by that person.
So, you feel governance is on course.
Perfectly. In the area of corruption and transparency, I was told authoritatively that this is the first time that the governors when they went for the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting saw all the revenue figures on paper for the first time – sources of income and what it was being spent on. And you can see that the truth is now coming out.
Former Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo- Iweala, first denied that she ever depleted the ECA, later she said it was done at FAAC, later she said it was former President Goodluck Jonathan that gave her the authority. But the truth of the matter is that we are now in an era of transparency and I was particularly happy when I read that the CBN governor said because of the frugal approach to the economy and blockage of leakages, the external reserves has gone up with about $2 billion within one month.
These are signs of things to come. Those who are saying that this government is slow are only looking at the paraphernalia of governance not real governance. Of course, I know that in not too distant future key appointments will be made so also the ministerial list will be submitted to the National Assembly.
The fear in some quarters is that the governors may still continue with their frivolous spending after the bailout and this will still bring us back to square one.
We must not forget too that the first thing the president said was that all states must revisit their fiscal arrangement in order to ensure sustainability and that this is not going to be the era where money meant for the people would be flittered away. I don’t believe all the governors who were unable to pay their workers was because of corruption.
But more important to me is that why will you because a governor has been corrupt continue to punish the workers who honestly worked and should earn their pay. If a governor is corrupt, we all know that he can only be free for the period he is governor and enjoys immunity.
Look at what is happening today to Ikedi Ohakim, Sule Lamido, Murtala Nyako and their children who are answering questions on their stewardship. This means that no governor is free; he might be free only for the period he enjoys immunity. The court has ordered the forfeiture of former Governor Chimaroke Nnamani’s property to the Federal Government. I think when we have in place a regime that is serious about fighting corruption, it will send signals to the governors that the time for corruption is over.
I can imagine someone not being paid for six months; he will lose his self-esteem with his wife and children. I think we should celebrate this particular act. With this new package, not just the bailout, there will be stability in the society. You saw what happened in Osun State, even as they were announcing the package some people were already going out to demonstrate. I am sure that if not because of the announcement of that bailout package, it would have still been on now and it could have gotten violent.
It is just a pity that Governor Rauf Aregbesola is just very unfortunate because he is one governor I can attest to his frugality and transparency. But a man that has been receiving N3.6 billion you now reduced it to N1.6 billion and he has a wage package of N2.6 billion, how does he survive? So, it is welcome to all states. Also, as far as President Buhari is concerned, he does not make distinction between APC and PDP states.
There was a time the president sought and got the approval of the National Assembly for 15 advisers. Why is it difficult to announce his advisers?
I think that the purpose of getting the approval is like you have an approval in principle. These things come from the same pot, and what I know is that whether it’s a Special Adviser on National Assembly Matters or Special Adviser on Petroleum or anything, it is part of the key appointments the president would need to make and he has to be very painstaking about it. All he has gotten in principle is the number; he still needs to look out for the names.
But what about the kitchen cabinet like the Chief of Staff, Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) and others?
I don’t want to be pre-emptive, but sooner than you think those appointments would be made. Don’t forget that this is a rainbow coalition and you can see already what is happening that even when we thought we are one, some people are seeing themselves as New PDP, All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP), Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and Congress for Progressives Congress (CPC), which was not supposed to be.
Also, you have the issue of ethnic balancing and all others. We have all agreed that some of these appointments are normally made within the first six weeks; we are not doing too badly. We are not making excuses but we are just explaining the realities on ground. Like some critics said, all the appointments made have been “one-sided”.
So, you actually want to balance too. This means if I have been thinking of you as SSG, then I have to look at where you come from, your religion and others. I think it’s legitimate for us to be concerned but very soon the issue of key appointments will be a thing of the past.
How is the leadership of the APC resolving the National Assembly crisis?
On the issue of the crisis in my party, I think the less said the better. I will tell you that it’s unfortunate and we are looking at how to resolve it. On the issue of the alleged forgery against the Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu; one, APC as a party did not write a petition to the police and I know the Presidency did not write a letter to the police.
And the police have said clearly that one of the senators wrote the petition. I think we are trying to make a mountain out of a molehill. We have forgotten that under this democracy, a sitting Speaker was convicted and charged to court and convicted, Salisu Buhari.
So, what is the big deal about police inviting any elected official who does not have immunity to come and clear his name? My party has no hand in it and the presidency too has no hand in it. Contrary to lies being peddled by the PDP, the police never invited Ekweremadu; they wrote the letter to the Clerk of the National Assembly.
Is this crisis allowing APC to prepare for elections in Kogi, Bayelsa and other states?
Like I said, the crisis is unfortunate and we could do without it. That is all I want to say.
The Dogara group accused the chairman of not carrying other organs of the party along…
Frankly speaking, I will not make any comment on this because I know so much about what is going on, but it will not be in the interest of the party to wash our dirty linens in the public because it could lead to the break-up of the party completely and we are not going to play into the hands of these marauders. So, it is better we manage it the way it is.
The PDP is fuming over the appointment of acting chairman for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mrs. Amina Zakari, accusing President Buhari and the APC of sinister motive. What is your take on that?
Mrs. Zakari is not a new appointment. She never worked for Buhari, she worked for a consultant, AFRIPROJECT, with the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF). That has nothing to do with Buhari. What is secret about that? This is a lady that as soon as she finished her tenure under Mallam Nasir el-Rufai as Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) relocated to the United States until she was appointed as INEC National Commissioner by former President Goodluck Jonathan. The PDP case would have been valid if it was a new appointment.
PDP should go and look for a stronger argument. This thing will have been more valid if from the blues Buhari appointed Zakari. We met her in service. Are we now going to remove everybody now in service because they are close to Buhari or APC? Honestly, they should be ignored.
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