‘2018 Budget: Buhari wants to reduce the National Assembly to mere rubber stamp’

Samson Okwu, chairman, House Committee on Air Force and People’s Democratic Party stalwart in Benue State, in this interview with KEHINDE AKINTOLA speaks on the exit of former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar from APC; his return to the PDP, his value addition in the Nigeria’s political circle, among other issues. Excerpts:

What can you say about former Vice President Atiku Abubakar recent exit from the APC?

I think anybody who sees Atiku as a joker; I think that person is doing so at his own peril. Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar is not a politician that you can take for a joke. I believe he is a man of integrity, I believe he is a man before he takes his decisions he must have planned very well. I believe Atiku is one of the followers of Yar A’dua, and you know that bloc in the Nigerian politics is still there and that bloc has never really worked with Buhari’s bloc and that is one of the points you must know. The Buhari’s bloc and those who came together to work in 2015 was as a result of President Jonathan’s refusal to leave power and say I obey the power sharing that was supposed to go to the north, that was what happened and nobody can take that as if that bloc is still on ground. Atiku is very welcomed in PDP; it is a welcomed idea for PDP and Atiku is a fighter, he has the energy, he has all it takes with the press and he has what it takes with the judiciary and I believe such a person coming to join a national party like the PDP, I think it is not a joke.

Giving the fact that he deployed his resources in favour of the APC and the Buhari’s candidacy to defeat the PDP in the 2015 and also precipitated in the crisis that rocked the PDP after they suffered that defeat and he was never there to struggle for the revival of the party. Do you think the people who have suffered up to the level of the Supreme Court to win victory for the party will now give him a chance of picking a ticket in 2019?

What led to the formation of APC was as a result of President Jonathan refusal to participate in a free and fair party primaries and that was what led to five governors defecting and that was what led to Atiku to leaving too; so one thing first, you have to look at what made them leave. The same thing now here, the man is saying that the board of trustees of the APC should be constituted, they are saying no because we don’t learn in Nigeria; a lot of governors of the APC are saying that President Buhari should be the only candidate, so people are still going to leave the party because the party is a platform where you allow everybody to participate. That the former Vice President Atiku decided to come and join PDP is not all about the ticket, but if he gets it, good and fine. But I think his leaving APC for PDP is a welcomed development. It is the same thing when they were leaving PDP to APC, we were saying it is a joke and you can see what it cost PDP.

The same thing now; he left the APC, and Governor El-Rufai said it is a joke. Mind you, it was during PDP that El-Rufai came to limelight in Nigerian politics. He left PDP for ACN and now he is in APC.

What do you think would be the impact of Atiku’s return to PDP?

First of all, we have to take it at the National Convention of PDP on the 9th of December (it was held yesterday) and I believe once we get it right on that day, we come together and we make sure that we do things unanimously, I believe that would be a goodbye for APC, and with that we are sure that APC should be ready to leave the Villa.

Assuming Atiku gets the PDP presidential ticket, do you think Nigerians will vote for him?

Nigerians will vote for Atiku because we are the ones who are going to sell him. If he picks the ticket, we will campaign for him; we will see the good aspect that Atiku has done. What was the thing that Buhari has done? During the campaign there was nothing that the PDP did not bring out against Buhari, violation of human rights and sending people to jail, does it mean that Nigerians did not vote for him? They did. Atiku has come to address the issue of restructuring. He is talking about restructuring and it will heal every wound; so Nigerians are clamouring for restructuring. Remember President Buhari said that the document of the National Conference that was held by former President Jonathan will be sent to the dustbin. So we want the man who would bring that document that will reunite the country.

The issue of zonal intervention projects, some disagreements over the 2018 Budget and all the politics going on. How do you think all these may affect the passage of the budget?

Fortunately or unfortunately like I said, the APC government is press-friendly if not so, if we cast our mind back to 2014 that led to former President Jonathan not to come to the National Assembly to present his budget, it was as a result of APC then that said that Ntel Fiscal Responsibility Act was not followed. But the press all kept quiet when Buhari now did not follow the same process, they could not tell Nigerians. You cannot lead a bad precedent because the budget of Nigeria is predicated on the passage of Fiscal Responsibility Act which is Ntel. So, we have not passed Ntel; so, on what benchmark are we doing this budget, nobody knows and you are talking about 2017 budget, that one is just a background, nobody IS implementing anything, up till date, my own committee I am sure they cannot even go for oversight; what are you going to oversight when money has not been given to your agency to go and execute projects. So, we have such problems everywhere. On the zonal intervention, you will agree with me that no state governor is doing anything in any state. If you follow the zonal intervention, you can see federal presence in every locality, at the federal constituency or at the local government; these are zonal interventions that you can see are there. But once they are not executed Nigerians are not feeling the impact of governance, that is the problem and that is why you see that members are angry.

How soon are we going to get the 2018 Budget ready; the executive is asking for the return of January to December budgeting system. Is it feasible?

Did he himself the President follow the law? The law; I am telling you that the fiscal responsibility says that four months before the end of financial year, the President shall have cause to lay the budget but he didn’t follow the law, he just brought it first week of November and how can he say that we should pass it by January, that means we are not doing due diligence, that means we are not going to follow the processes that it has to go through, that means he is making the legislative arm to be a rubber stamp and this is not a rubber stamp area. Maybe, this budget before it goes to Nigerians, I can tell you it should be the first week of March 2018.

 

KEHINDE AKINTOLA