We must reduce the number of ministers — Rep Gbilah

Rep. Mark Gbilah, APC Gwer/Gwer East federal constituency in the House of Representatives in this interview speaks on the crisis that engulfed the present House of Representatives and the contention for political offices in his native Benue State. Excerpts:

By Peter Duru

There are fears that the last has not been heard of the crisis in the House of Representatives?

The agitation before the election of the other principal officers of the House was also amicably resolved. I just want to assure Nigerians that this House is united, it is not business as usual. We are not going to be a rubber stamp legislature. Even though we are the party in power, we believe in upholding the rule of law. And where we believe that our party is erring we will insist on what is right. That is the only way we can help Mr. President and also help our party.

Are you satisfied with the calibre of men and women screened by the Senate to be ministers?

Before answering that question ,I want to comment on the contentions and misinterpretations of a lot of things by my brothers from the other tribes in my state, because of the comments I made recently which I want to clarify.

I want to state on record that those who know me know that I’m the most detribalized person of all. Some of my best friends are Idoma from other tribes. Right now my best friend is not Tiv.

So I’ll be the last person to canvass the suppression of the minority because in the nation as a whole, the Tiv people are in the minority, so I won’t be encouraging anything like that.

What I was trying to say, let me start from that premise, with regards to the compilation of the ministerial list is that there are certain things that we have to evolve into.And that particularly has to do with the governor of the state.

I’m one of those who had also canvassed that we give the other minorities opportunity to also participate. But in all of these, whether we like it or not, democracy is a game of participation and numbers and there is a lot of compensation even in countries we are copying from.

Now, what I tried to mention which our leader in the party, Senator George Akume threw more light on in a TV programme, is the fact that the substantive ministerial position in the last dispensation, for eight years domiciled in Idoma land, at that time majority of the support for the ruling party came from that zone, that’s the fact.

And at that time too, they had the Senate President. And because of the skewed nature of our government there is more power at the centre, so usually we need to have a federal presence so that you can also try to assist your own community.

That is the whole essence of the principle of federal character that is enshrined in our constitution. So if you want to uphold our constitution I felt that yes we know we have the Governor but will we continue to be denied that federal position that we also need to impact our people because we are the majority? These are the issues we can’t help at the moment.

Equity is not just about you having the governor, so you have to concede the other position. You also need that contribution to your area. There is a limit to what a governor can do within a state.

And that is why usually even at the state level there is concession, even the Deputy Governor is from Idoma, so we need to also look at that. We can also accuse them of oppressing the Igede and others because the Igede which is in the Idoma area have never emerged anything near the Senate level.

In view of the imbalance you’re talking of, do you look at the possibility of the President increasing the number of the ministerial slots to address the imbalance?

No I don’t believe that politics is all about compensation or federal character. Already our Constitution is rather ambiguous in the issue of Ministerial appointments.

Constitutional amendments

That provision of the constitution says that we require one Minister from each state of the federation in an administration, but it did not say it should be all at one time in the administration. It could have staggered it.

Our lawyers should look at that and the House is ready to look at that constitutional amendment if it’s within the ambit of the law. Because we are all crying for the reduction of expenditure, we cannot start adding additional ministers we are totally against that. 36 is even too much actually.

Some keep complaining of the National Assembly but you never stop to look at the retinue of staff of the Minister.

The cost of the maintenance of the office of the minister. It’s quite capital intensive to the nation. So I do not believe in the Minister of State arrangement, in fact the present 36 ministers is too much. That constitutional provision needs to be looked into for possible amendment. For instance, I’m bringing a bill for the inclusion of Card Readers in our Electoral Act.

Furore over committee chairmanships

The distribution of committee positions has consistently proved the source of trouble in the National Assembly. Shrewd presiding officers have in the past walked delicately in order not to provoke tension among members of the legislature.

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara after inauguration, yesterday. Photos: Olugbemiga Olamikan/

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara

The reason for caution is largely because juicy committee positions cannot go round all 360 members of the House. The House leadership has over time increased the number of committee positions mainly for the purpose of satisfying as many as possible and reducing discontent.

When he announced the new committees penultimate Thursday, 48 chairmanships went to the All Progressives Congress, APC, 46 to the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP and one each to the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA and the Social Democratic Party, SDP.

Some members of the House, mostly belonging to the APC were miffed that the opposition PDP got as many as 46 and were even further miffed by their claim that the juicy committees went to PDP members, and where not, to associates of the speaker belonging to the APC. Rep. Garba Mohammad Datti, APC, Sabon Gari, Kaduna rejected his appointment as chairman of the Committee on Solid Minerals upon his claim that he was not consulted before he was appointed. Members gave their own perspectives on the issue in separate interviews with Vanguard.

DOGARA did not favour PDP –Rep. Aminu Sani Jaji, APC, Kaura-Namoda/Birnin-Magaji, Zamfara

It is not that he is favouring PDP, but he is trying to favour his projects. As a politician, whosoever is behind you, at least you have to try and complement his efforts towards your project.

We were carried along—Rep. Jarigbe A. Jarigbe, PDP, Ogoja/Yala, Cross River

I have it on good authority that the leadership of the House met. That includes the ruling party and the opposition.

They took a consensus decision before the Speaker announced. I do not think that he took a unilateral decision. The Speaker was very fair. I know that federal character issue was considered. If there were procedural flaws, he would not have involved the leadership. There might be some opposing views because of personal interest.

I think that the leadership considered a few things, putting square pegs in square holes and putting round pegs in round holes. You don’t expect that because of patronage, delivery which is what he sought for should be compromised.

You don’t compromise delivery at the end of it for considered patronage or primordial sentiments. There is no issue if you want to be as straight forward as Mr. President is in quote for you to start talking about juicy committees and non juicy committees.

And that is why I told you that the President has an agenda but members of his party have a different agenda. I am not saying the President alone, the President and a few people have an agenda that is different from what the larger group wants and that is why you hear of juicy and non juicy committees.

Men can never be satisfied —Rep. Onyemaechi Mrakpor, PDP, Aniocha North/Aniocha South/Oshimili, Delta

It is not the issue of Mr. Speaker hijacking or favouring anybody. Committees are decisions of the leadership of the House not the decision of Mr. Speaker alone.

There is a pattern in the House, and the pattern is what Committees should come to which state. Take for instance, the Diaspora, the Diaspora was retained by Lagos in the 7th Assembly, Niger Delta Committee by Delta State, so many of the Committees remained in the States and if the Committees are with the states it doesn’t matter now whether it is PDP or APC.

Again I think that if we have issues, issues should be with your state caucus, if I am not happy about something I should discuss with my state caucus. But what is due to my zone was given to my zone, the South-South and what is due to my state, Delta, my state got.

So, it should be why am I not getting a particular thing from my state caucus not directly from Mr. Speaker? More also we shouldn’t forget that as human beings, we are never satisfied, even with God, we blame God why am I not tall? Why am I short? Why am I not rich? It is very natural at any point when you have to share whatever you think you have among people there is always misgiving.

Committee headship

The APC has bigger chunk of the Committee headship, they have 48. But when Mr. Speaker was campaigning, he did tell us that he would be fair to all, whether PDP or APC that he was going to be the Speaker of the House of Representatives and I think he has kept his promises.

Due Process was followed

Rep. Onyenwife Gabriel, APGA, Ayamelum/Oyi, Anambra

As far as I am concerned, when you have powers vested on you and you exercise that, there is no problem. By the standing orders of the House, there is a selection committee. It has the power to select who they deem fit, following the principles of the federal character. It is the discretion of the Speaker, in consultation with the leadership of the House.

Has he consulted the leadership of the House? Yes, he has done that already. Out of the Speaker’s magnanimity, he expanded the committees up to 97. At the commencement of the Eight National Assembly, we had a legislative agenda which was adopted by everybody. We agreed that the issue of federal character will be considered and that the committees will be shared among political parties.

We all cannot be chairmen of committees. We should not bother on who and who  should head committees.

It was fairly done

Rep. Abdulrazak Sa’ad Namdas, APC, Mayo Belwa/Ganye/Jada/Toungo, Adamawa

I have read the papers. It is not true that the Speaker has handed over the committees to the opposition. In sharing these committees, due process was followed. We ensured that every member of the House got two grade A committees. Whether you are chairman or deputy, you are still relevant.

We did this to ensure that the leadership of the House runs an all inclusive administration. The issue of federal character was considered.

Federal character

This idea that certain people were not carried along is not true. Everything was done with the spirit of fairness.

Why I turned down committee chairman — Rep. Garba Mohammad Datti, APC, Sabon Gari, Kaduna

Turned down Committee Chairmanship (Solid Minerals and Deputy Minority Whip, 7th assembly)

I feel as a former principal officer I should have been consulted before my name was announced. I just heard of it on the floor. And I have my own principles. I have decided on my own to withdraw as the chairman of that committee.

I should have been consulted. If the president wants to appoint his ministers, I think before the announcement he has to consult them.

I don’t have any qualms with the leadership as presently constituted, because the election was democratically done here. The election was done. I am not against anybody but I am against the decision of coming to announce my name without consulting me. That was my reason.

Credit: Vanguard

APC Reps Member Rejects Committee Chairmanship Appointment

Two-term member of House of Representatives, Hon Garba Mohammed Datti yesterday rejected his appointment as chairman House Committee on Solid Minerals.

Datti, who was immediate past Deputy Minority Whip of the House said he was not consulted before being named.

Datti, a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) from Kaduna State had during the plenary, presided by the Deputy Speaker, HonYussuf Lasun, raised a point of order bothering on personal explanations to announce the rejection of his appointment.

The lawmaker who staged a walkout after the incident, however, explained that his action was not based on any grievances but on his “principled disposition”.

Meanwhile, the House spokesman, Hon Abdulrazak Sa’ad Namdas, disclosed to newsmen that Datti has been replaced by Samaila Suleiman (Kaduna/APC).

“I feel as a former principal officer, I should have been consulted before my name was announced. I just heard of it on the floor. I have my own principles. I have decided on my own to withdraw as the chairman of that committee,” Datti told journalists outside the House chambers.

Datti continued: “I should have been consulted. If the president wants to appoint his ministers, I think before the announcement he has to consult them.”

He however expressed confidence in the Dogara-led leadership of the 8th House.

“I don’t have any qualms with the leadership as presently constituted, because the election was democratically done here. I am not against anybody but I am against the decision of coming to announce my name without consulting me. That is my reason,”he added

Emission Control: Lawmaker Rides Bicycle To National Assembly

Meanwhile, the Chairman, House Committee on Environment and Habitat, Hon. Obinna Chidoka yesterday rode on a bicycle to the National Assembly.

Chidoka (Anambra/PDP) urged Nigerians to adopt alternative modes of transportation in order to curb emissions affecting the atmosphere.

He made the call during his awareness campaign on the need to protect and preserve the country’s environment.

The lawmaker, who rode on bicycle to the National Assembly complex, said the call became necessary in view of the need to reduce the pollution of the environment through emissions from transportation.

He said, “When it comes to carbon footprint and ways of measuring it, this is a simple way of saying we can protect and preserve our environment if we look for alternatives”.

“There are so many cars in the cities and on our highways so one of the things I try to do is to bring the awareness on the need to use other modes of transportation. I know people have been doing it before, but I want to reinforce that.”

Credit: Leadership

Nigerian Senate screens INEC Chairman, new commissioners

The Nigerian Senate on Tuesday screened the newly appointed Chairman of Nigeria's electoral umpire INEC, Professor Mahmoud Yakubu.

The National Council of State had on October 21, approved the appointment of Yakubu as INEC chairman. The council also approved the appointments of five other commissioners for 5 of Nigeria's geopolitical zones.

The five commissioners were: Mrs. Amina Bala Zakari (North West); Dr. Antonia Taiye Okoosi-Simbile (North Central); Alhaji Baba Shettima Arfo (North East); Dr. Mohammed Mustapha Lecky (South-south) and Prince Adedeji Solomon Soyebi (South West).

President Muhammadu Buhari had written the Senate President Bukola Saraki, about the nominations, urging the Senate to expeditiously confirm the INEC executive officers.

Senate Confirms Amaechi As Minister Despite Opposition From Opposition PDP

The Senate on Thursday confirmed former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi as minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria amidst protest from the PDP senators who staged a walkout.

A member of the Nigerian Senate who spoke to Parliamentary Info said the members of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party decided to stage a walk out due to the unruly behavior of the ruling All Progressives Congress APC Senators.

During the course of the debate for the clearance of the former Rivers state governor, Senators from the PDP had stressed the need for the Senate to suspend the clearance of the former governor due to the court case pending on his alleged corrupt practices.

Sen. Anyanwu who chaired the committee on ethics and privileges posited that the stand of the committee was to suspend the clearance of Rotimi Amaechi pending when the legal issues have been resolved. This was followed by te shouts of “no, no, no” from the APC Senators. Senator Olujimi said the clearance of Rotimi Amaechi was a moral burden not only on the Senate but on the presidency which promised to tackle the issue of corruption during the electioneering campaings.

Nigerian Senate rejects N64 bn ​for ​ Abuja airport second runway

   

The Senate on Wednesday kicked against the N64 billion contract for the construction of a second runway at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

The Senate, at its plenary declared that the contract sum ​wa​s “too high”.

In a three-point motion by Dino Melaye (APC Kogi West), the Senate acknowledged the urgent need for a second runway at the airport, but ​ruled ​that the contract sum was “too exorbitant’’.

The Senate urged the Federal Government to ensure that due process and diligence ​i​s followed in the design, award and procurement of the contract, while the cost should be “drastically reduced’’.

“The Federal Government should reduce this unrealistic cost and duly monitor the award process,’’ Mr. Melaye said.

He said the proposed cost of the runway far exceeded the cost of constructing some airports around the country and even abroad.

He noted that the terminal 5 in Heathrow Airport, with four lanes of 4km runway, cost less than N25 billion, while the entire Gombe Airport, with 3.66km runways, cost N8.2 billion.

He said that the Jigawa Airport cost N11 billion, Bauchi Airport, N12 billion, Enugu Airport, N13 billion, while the Akwa Ibom Airport cost about N18 billion.

He, therefore, wondered why the proposed construction of a mere runway at Abuja Airport would cost N64 billion.

Mr. Melaye recalled that the contract had been cancelled earlier by the Jonathan administration over its high cost, and urged President Muhammudu Buhari to similarly reject it.

The President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, in his remarks, acknowledged that the second runway was necessary, but added that it could only be executed “at a reasonable price’’.

“It is important, but we cannot continue with such reckless expenditure.

“We have to let all the MDAs know that those days of recklessness are over and these kinds of figures will not be accepted.

“`In fact, it is not just in aviation, but in all other sectors of the economy,” he declared.

(NAN)

Fulani Herdsmen Crisis: "State Governments Should Build Ranches" - Hon. Danjuma Shiddi

Hon. Danjuma Shiddi is the representative of the people of Wukari / Ibi Federal Constituency Taraba State. He is also the only elected representative from the All Progressives Grand Alliance APGA from the north. In this interview with Parliamentary Info, he speaks on his legislative agenda, the issue of Fulani herdsmen which he said could be solved by building ranches across the states. Hon. Shiddi also said the President’s war against Corruption is commendable. He insists that the war against corruption is not selective. In his words “Obasanjo fought corruption and they said it was selective now the President is doing well in his fight against corruption and they say it is selective. Tell me who they have arrested or invited that is not involved in corruption. Hon. Danjuma Shiddi also hailed the House of Representatives as a good leader who will make good impact in the House of Representatives. He said his emergence from a minority party like the All Progressives Grand Alliance APGA was not by accident because his people are usually wise enough to know the best persons for the job based on personalities and not political platforms.

On the issue of the standing committees in the House that was recently released by the leadership of the House, Hon. Shiddi said it was not a bad move. He said from the perspective of his state he was ok with the list that was released. 

Watch the video.

Ndume: How we stopped ‘take a bow’ from being abused

Senator Muhammed Ali Ndume is Senate Leader. Ndume, in this interview, speaks against the backdrop of the perception that there is a lingering conflict in the Senate that splits the upper  chambre into factions, the assets declaration case against Senate President Bukola Saraki and the screening of ministerial nominees.

The All Progressives Congress members in the Senate appear still divided. The Lawan group  continues to show it is  bitter that the Saraki group, in defiance to the party directive, denied it the Senate presidency. What is the situation as an insider?

Let me be honest with you. The so-called factions you talked about is more of an outside talk than inside. In the Senate, we only have one faction and that is the APC and the second one is the PDP. Whatever comes to the floor of the Senate, all the APC senators are ever united. There was no time in the running of the Senate that we exhibited factionalization. Faction is based on interest which is normal in politics. People will try their hands on what they want, but if they don’t get it, we put it behind us and  move forward. So, in the Senate so far, none of the members has allowed his or her interest to infringe on the overall interest of the Senate. We can give the Senate that credit that we are ever united in terms of addressing issues that affect the nation. So, the attack from the media on the Senate beats me. For example, is there any issue of national importance  the Senate has not touched  ? We have had several confirmations, we have screened the ministerial  nominees.   We have had several bills read and there are some even going through second reading. Anytime issues come up in the Senate, we treat them.

You were reported to be shuttling between the National Leader of your party, Ashiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu, the Presidency with a view to resolving the problems  the Senate President has over his emergence and even some of your colleagues still acknowledge that there is a faction within  the APC  in the Senate. Do you still stand by your claim that there is no faction  within the APC  in the Senate?

Yes, the emergence of the leadership created disaffection between us in terms of the two groups that were interested in the positions, but, generally, when you have groups contesting for positions, it is usually the lucky one that gets it; besides, leadership  comes  from God. When the Senate President emerged, I wanted to run as Deputy Senate President, but God didn’t make it my way. Along the line, I ended up being the Senate Leader, the other group missed out. Truly, the party was not happy initially about how the whole process that produced the presiding officers, especially the DSP (Deputy Senate President), went,   but the same party put all that behind it and said it was ready to move on. So the party wanted to nominate Senators Akume and Lawan for other leadership positions. That too didn’t work. But after sometime, I that emerged as Senate Leader,  don’t think I have issues with anybody. My colleagues in the North-East, by God’s grace and by their wish, eight  out of about 10 or 11 of us, endorsed me, and that was how  I came in. Again, I don’t think we have anything personal against any of our colleagues outside politics.

Senator Lawan is my friend. If God had destined that he became Senate President, I would have embraced his leadership. God destined that I be the Leader of the Senate,   and here I am now. I have never seen or heard Senator Lawan coming out to say he was against my emergence as Leader of the Senate. And I would not have had anything against his emergence as Senate President.  All of us, as senators, are qualified to be Senate President, it is just that it is only one person that must be there.

The Senate President   is presently before the Code of Conduct Tribunal. Are you, like some other people, of the opinion that he should resign from  office?

I don’t think so.   The Constitution of this country, which guides all of us, is very clear. Everybody is presumed innocent until proved guilty by a  competent court of law. As of now, the Senate President is before the court of law; and  until he is convicted, I don’t think it will be fair for him to be presumed guilty. It is not a fair comment. What the law says is that until you are proved guilty, you are innocent in the eyes of the law. Please, don’t run more than your shadow.. I think Nigerians should be patient and await the outcome of the verdict of the court. Until that is done, I don’t think it will be fair to ask him to resign. Again, if he felt that he wanted to step aside until he is cleared,   that would have been totally different, but to compel him to resign amid the trial is an aberration.

The clearing of the ministerial nominees, especially the controversial ones like former Governor Amaechi of River State, some say, was an anti – climax, making people to conclude that it may have been done in order to give a soft landing to the Senate President, in case he is convicted by the CCT?

I don’t get the logic behind that. Some Nigerians are hailing our actions, because this is, in a long while,   the most transparent, thorough screening I have seen. We had instances where this ‘bow and go’ exercise was  abused. But what we did now was that even if you were a member of the National Assembly, and you are nominated and because of the respect we have for our colleagues, you can bow and go, we felt you need to

interact with us and that was exactly what we did on the floor. You guys (media), no matter what we do, you criticise. If we go right, you criticise, if we go left, it is the same criticism; so, either way, you will never escape  criticisms. However, let me say this clearly, the confirmation hearing is a product of our Constitution. And the constitutional requirements for every nominee  are very clear.  The Senate responsibility is to make sure that every nominee meets those  requirements. So far, I don’t think there is any nominee cleared against the constitutional provisions. The constitutional provision is very simple. It states that every nominee must  meet the same requirements for those who want to contest for the House of Representatives. And these are basically three. The first is the person must be 30 years old or above.

Two:   The person must be educated to the secondary school level or its equivalent.   Three: The person must be sponsored or must be a member of a political party. Then there are other requirements that the person must be of sound mind, must not be an ex – convict, tax paying, and most of these people meet the requirements. So, senators constitutionally qualify to be ministers. And section five of the Nigerian  Constitution makes it clear. The Constitution did not require us to put them through  aptitude test. The Senate has the privilege such that when somebody comes, you can say ‘bow and go’. In the case of Alhaji Lai Muhammed, I moved the motion that being the spokesman for our party, a qualified lawyer, a person of credible character, he should be given that respect to take a bow and go. The Minority Leader seconded it, although there were some dissenting  voices, which is normal, the minority will have their say and the majority have their way.

The prevailing situation gives the impression that the Senate may be on collision course with the executive, given that some members of the Senate are presently under going either interrogation or trial before the court for one case or the other. Two clear examples are   Senate President  Saraki and the Minority Leader?

What collision course? For what? The law is there and nobody is supposed to be above the law. Anybody that has question to answer before the law should be free to do so like the Senate President and the Minority Leader. That is normal. Any accused is innocent until proven guilty beyond all reasonable doubt, because that is what the law says. Otherwise, if it is just accusation, you can accuse anybody. Even the President at one time was accused of several things before the election, he was cleared eventually. So many people have gone through the process and they are out there  today without problems. Some of us went through such  situation and we are today in positions of leadership. I was accused of sponsoring Boko Haram and I am in court even though there isn’t evidence before the court to prove the allegation. I cannot run away from it. It is normal. But for anybody to be presumed guilty before conviction is not fair.

The PDP spokesperson, in a release, said the Federal Government is arresting political opponents, citing the case of a former governor of Akwa Ibom, Senator Godswill Akpabio of the PDP, because of the fear that the ruling  might lose power to the PDP in  2019. What do you think?

I seriously do not see how the arrest of anybody weakens any party. However, Senator Akpabio said he was not arrested but invited by the EFCC and the PDP is saying he was arrested. So, what do we believe? As Akpabio rightly said, if you serve, especially as the governor of a state, a rich state like Akwa-Ibom for eight years, there is bound to be grumbling on  issues as expressed in the petition against him. The EFCC has the responsibility to look into the petition and then  invite him. And after interrogation, he was allowed to go.   I guess that is what. Happened. I have not heard of any arrest. Even the person(Akpabio) involved said he was not arrested, rather, he was invited. So, when PDP is talking about arresting somebody and the person the party is talking about is saying he was not arrested, then you begin to wonder, what really is happening?

Why is the Senate yet to inaugurate standing  committees. Does it have anything to do with the instability in  the chambre?

Absolutely not. What is the instability in the Senate you are talking about? If there is one, please tell me. Having said that, there are some committees already in place. There is the public accounts, media, and ad – hoc committees to take care of certain things.

What is then delaying the inauguration of the standing committees?

We are taking our time, and, more importantly, we don’t have ministers in place at the moment; if we inaugurate the committees now, what are they going to be doing ? We want the ministers to be in place before we inaugurate the committees. And as you know,  government is yet to put in place the  cabinet  owing to the cleaning  exercise the President is  under taking. Government took office with  almost an empty treasury, a battered system and economy.

The President is trying to streamline the ministries in tandem with the realities on ground. That has not been done yet. So, we want to see how many of the ministries  we will have on ground so that that would allow you to carve out  appropriate committees to oversight the ministries. This is a new government, unlike the previous government when PDP was in charge, and things were already on ground, so it was easier to inaugurate the committees almost immediately. But now we have a new government,with a new way of doing things.   So, I don’t see the need for the hurry.

There is no vacuum so far. Work that needs to be done is being done. I don’t know why you people are worried about committees. There are and will still be a lot of things to be done differently in this Senate. This Senate is more transparent, interactive. You confirmed that you read tweets of the Senate President regularly. That kind of avenue was not there before. This Senate wants to interact more with the people. Before now, the schedule for the day is given the same day, but now senators don’t  need to wait to see the schedule for the day same day; we  send it to their  email boxes. Also our library, we want to make it e-library so that you don’t need to be physically present in  the National Assembly before you get your work done. A lot of things are being put in place and will only be visible when they are completed. So, this Senate is totally different from the previous.

Would you say the onslaught   of the military against the Boko Haram will meet the December  date given by the President to take the insurgents out of the country?

We are hoping that they will meet the deadline. We have recorded  successes against the insurgents  and; most importantly,   this government,   under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari, is serious about addressing the security challenges. Apart from that of Boko Haram,   there are other things  affecting us economically, especially  oil theft, which is presently being addressed. Kidnapping and armed robbery that are  rampant  are being addressed too.

The President has been criss – crossing the world in order to get support from the international community. And the International community, because of the integrity of this government,   has shown serious commitment by reaching out. Now the army command has shifted to Maiduguri,   and the chief of the army staff is regularly seen at the war front.

This is the proactive nature of our military formations.We have seen how many Boko Haram commanders  surrendering. Honestly,   there is light at the end of the tunnel for us as a nation regarding the Boko Haram insurgency. Unlike before when Nigerians were hopeless, we are very hopeful now that the activities of these insurgents, in a matter of time, will come to an end. Again, insurgency  is not a   normal war you just use the fire brigade approach to quench.

A lot of things had degenerated before this government came in; so a lot of things are to be put in place before one can comfortably say the war would be won, and now things are being put in place and that is why one can say, based on what the military is  doing, in terms of taking the fight or battle to the insurgents, that they will get rid of the insurgents. The bombs explosions here and there are a manifestation of the desperation of the dying insurgents. I just returned from Maiduguri;  people there are now more confident and calm; they feel more secure  than before. And, by December, I believe the target set by the President is achievable.

You were almost killed by insurgents bombs targetting you in your senatorial district early this year, and the intensity was  such that  residents of the district had to be evacuated. What is the difference between then and now?

There is a tremendous difference. Most of our people in the Internally Displaced Camps, IDP, in Maiduguri,   about 1,000 of them, have been moved back to Gwoza. Presently, virtually all the places occupied by the insurgents have been retaken by our military. The military is in charge of these places. Most of the IDPs are returning home.  Only recently,I was with the (Borno) governor and we are in the course of moving the  IDPs back to the local government headquarters such that there will be transit camps. The challenge we are presently facing arises from the fact that about 18 of the local government areas were destroyed by Boko Haram, so asking people to go back to their houses without rebuilding them will be difficult and that is why government is trying to rebuild some of these houses before residents of those localities can say they are going back.

The Obasanjo administration, at the inception, was very active with the war on corruption, but the momentum went down. What is the guarantee that history will  not repeat itself with this administration?

The good thing about this war against corruption is that a corrupt person will not be able to fight corruption. But every Nigerian knows the credibility, integrity and seriousness of  President Buhari. So, it is the advantage he is using to fight corruption head long. Yes, you are right, corruption is not something you can fight and win easily, it is a not a visible war, you have to do  thorough investigation, because you are trying to get at  corrupt individuals who are trying to frustrate every effort that would lead to their arrest; that is one of the challenges. Meanwhile, the biggest challenge in all of this is that  a lot of this corruption is offshore.

That means people steal  the money and take it out. Unlike here where you could go to a suspect’s ‘ house, search, get evidence and  conviction, when it is offshore,   a lot of due delligence would have to be followed. With  Buhari in power, I think every Nigerian is confident that we are on the winning side, because he is a transparent person. And that is why the international community and indeed most  non-governmental organisations, NGOs,   have rallied round him that this is a man who truly and honestly wants to make the desired change in the country. We can see that having him as President and his determination to fight corruption, a lot of things are beginning to change in the country.

CCT Probe: Clinton’s Pills For Saraki

A similar scenario to the ongoing Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) trial of the President of Senate, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, played out in faraway United States recently. When the Court of Appeal adjourned its judgment on Saraki’s appeal against the jurisdiction of the CCT, sine die (till further notice) some legal minds believed that hearing into the matter scheduled for Wednesday October 21, 2015; would also be put off indefinitely. But the CCT merely adjourned till November 5, 6.

Many critical observers have always seen the president of senate’s travails at the CCT as a comic show of political persecution and naked display of legal retribution. The recent US example shows that political wickedness is not native to Nigeria alone. Former Secretary of State, Hillary Rodham Clinton, has been taking her own dose of political persecution based on her use of private Email while on seat as secretary of state and her conduct during the attack on US consulate in the Libyan city of Benghazi, during which Ambassador John Christopher Stevens was killed. Shortly after the attack, many investigative panels were set up to locate the remote causes, but also points of possible security cum intelligence failure. And because Mrs. Clinton was then secretary of state, most of those who know of her presidential ambition tried to fetch some political capital out of the unfortunate attack.

Despite the fact that five House Committees including Armed Services, Foreign Affairs, Intelligence, Judiciary as well as Oversight and Government Reform, held their separate inquiries, as soon as Clinton announced her entry into the 2016 US presidential election, a House select committee was set up to probe into the Benghazi incident anew. The hearing was billed to hold on Tuesday October 20, 2015. But thirty minutes to the hearing, something happened. The Democratic Party front-runner announced her ‘withdrawal’ from the 2016 presidential election. There was general unease in Washington. Perhaps in response to the news of Mrs. Clinton’s ‘withdrawal from the race’, the House select committee cancelled its Benghazi hearings.

The New Yorker reported that while the former secretary’s stunning notice was made by 9:00 a.m. the committee chairman Trey Gowdy’s decision to cancel the hearings came at 9:04. Gowdy was said to have gleefully explained that though the select committee had been engaged in a month-long preparation for the hearing, “however, after meeting with fellow committee members over the past four minutes, we’ve come to the conclusion that we know all we need to know about Benghazi.” He denied that the cancellation had anything to do with Clinton’s sudden departure from the race. But no sooner was the hearing called off than Mrs. Clinton held a sudden press conference at 9:13 to inform journalists she was getting back into the race. She declared: “I was just trying to prove a point.” That same day she addressed campaign rallies in Iowa and New Hampshire.

While that drama was playing out in Washington, back home in Abuja, the Court of Appeal put forward its expected judgment on the appeal filed by the president of Senate, Dr. Saraki, challenging the jurisdiction of the CCT to try him based on its stunted composition. Further to that interruption, a lot of non-partisan observers believed that the scheduled hearing at the CCT last Tuesday would not hold or that even if it held, it would be to formally adjourn the matter to an indeterminate date. Contrary to that popular conjecture, the tribunal sat and instead of an indefinite date, it set a return date of November 5, 6; to begin hearing on the controversial brief.

By its choice of date, CCT gave itself out as if it was on a mission to prove what is already known. Moreover by fixing a definite date as against the appellate court’s open-ended dateline, it is either the CCT wants to equate itself to the Court of Appeal or to preempt it. The perceived overzealousness of CCT feeds the staid impression that Saraki’s travail is politically motivated, especially when placed side by side with the fact that former Lagos governor, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, was let loose from similar charges when it was discovered that he was not made privy to the charges before his arraignment. It is the CCT’s short adjournment that makes Saraki’s case analogous to Clinton’s. As such, if the president of Senate was to imitate the former American Secretary of State and announced his resignation from the position, there is no strong indication that the CCT would not adjourn the matter sine die!

From the proceedings in the National Assembly and at the federal level within the past five months, it is becoming obvious that politicians are taking the Nigerian masses for a ride. Almost 75 percent of what they do revolves around their personal political interests and aggrandizement. It is possible that it was the sake of settling political scores that CCB decided on the archaeological excavation of their nearly 13 years of ineptitude to activate the CCT into morbid action. Holding back the NASS from the myriad of socio-economic challenges dogging Nigeria’s development at this point in time seems retrogressive. What if an electoral offences tribunal is set up and it begins to look into the 2003 election? If former president Olusegun Obasanjo is found guilty, what manner of punishment could restore the damage caused by that charge of electoral malfeasance? To some extent, that is what the trial of Saraki over his 2003 declaration of assets simulates. What the APC government should have done was to draw a line against the past and begin a process of setting the necessary foundation to combat graft. But, having chosen to focus on the immediate past, the party’s attempt to reach back to 2003, while glossing over the infringements on good governance by the executive, leaves it with the stain of guilt of political persecution.

The current impasse in the senate vis-à-vis the prosecution of President Buhari’s anti-corruption fight reveals the emptiness of the president’s anti-corruption architecture. As the dingdong continues between the senate and the CCT, which is being used as a bait to get at the president of Senate, APC may by its insistence on having its way in the appointment of floor functionaries in the senate, irritate Nigerians with the suggestion that it was indeed an Alliance for Political Compensation (APC); when that happens, the millions of Nigerians that voted for change might feel shortchanged. Given such an avoidable scenario, the President may be charged with failure of leadership. In international relations as well as politics, leadership is perceived as having a noble idea and being

able to communicate it to win converts for responsible performance of noble deeds. Nigerians would thus be left to wonder what would have been the outcome if Buhari had, for instance, in a national broadcast thanked Nigerians for electing him and announcing to the whole nation that having been elected on the three-fold pillars of anti-corruption, fight against insurgency and improvement of socio-economic conditions of Nigerians, hence forth any act of corruption or attempt to compromise national security would be met with the full weight of state censure. Such stance could be seen as, not only drawing a line, but providing a clean slate to undertake a change in the country. Such frame was what the late Bola Ige said is the best approach to probing former administrations. He explained that by so doing the people, for whom government exits, are better placed to judge between the past and the present and draw their conclusions without dissipating energy and wasting scarce resources. By failing to toe Ige’s line of reasoning, APC leaders are giving Nigerians the impression that the mandate given to them is self-serving.

On the flip side, the trial of Saraki over alleged sins of yesterday tends to support the ongoing perception that Buhari’s anti-corruption battle, being dead on arrival, is one-sided to the extent of its distraction from the delivery of good governance. The president’s non-aligned posture presents a mixed cup. But a president who has an agenda to turnaround the fortunes and methods of national life, seeing the level of distraction and political bickering, as provided by the insistence of party apparatchiks to reward certain lieutenants, ought to wade in and make the best of limited time to put the right foot forward. The failure to provide political solution to Saraki’s ordeal, which in the main has been proven to be politically activated, is a big minus to APC and the presidency. Moving slowly, but surely may be a good excuse in the interim, but over time, it would be clear that indolence fetches no returns.

APC leaders should let by-gone be by-gone and allow the National Assembly the much needed stability to paddle their canoe. The effect of absence of enabling bills to kindle the wheels of government policy would be seen in the first quarter of 2016. Already the economy has started groaning. If Ndume and other floor functionaries rejected the party’s carrot to settle for juicy committee chairmanship, It would be in the interest of APC to find ways of appeasing them instead of continuing to hold the nation in tension and suspended animation. The failure of the peace process has further shown that Saraki is being punished for not toeing the party line, unlike the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, by compensating those that lost in the election of principal

officers in the senate. Like the dramatization of her ordeal by Mrs. Clinton, the APC has demonstrated through the stress on pacifying its preferred candidates for Senate leadership, that it can sacrifice anything including national interest for parochial benefits. This may not augur well for the party in the long run. There is too much hate and division in the country that getting the citizens together on the path to healing should be the first indicators of change. Only that could vindicate Nigerians that voted APC.