‘Ministry of Niger-Delta is not platform for money-sharing’

Usani Uguru Usani, minister of Niger Delta Affairs, marked one year in office on November 11, 2016. In this interview with MIKE ABANG, Usani spoke on the projects by the ministry; cause of the delay in the East-West road completion, wrong perception of people about what the ministry should be doing, the ministry’s efforts to check fraud by some contractors, among other issues. Excerpts:

Sir, you have been one year in office as minister of the Niger Delta, may we know your score card?

First of all, we want to correct a wrong impression some people have about the Ministry of Niger Delta. Some people thought that the Ministry of Niger Delta was a platform for collecting and sharing money or to instigate agitation that will suggest further sharing, but there is no better way to describe it than the reason we had more than N420 billion disbursed in the ministry and the rate of project completion just 12percent; so much of waste. The ministry as it is, we have a very congested personnel. Many people did not know that it is a ministry where we have a minimum of 14 to 15 directors. Executive directors are above that number; assistant directors were above the number of executive directors; so it was just nothing rather than the conception that we have ascribed to ourselves of violent agitations at the detriment of the setting up of the ministry.

May we know how many projects that have been executed and what the projects are?

I can categorise them in sectors in every of the state of the Niger Delta. There are housing estates of two bedroom and three bedroom type housing units. They have skills acquisition centres. Only one has been completed and now donated to the Federal University, Otuoke, the rest are not complete. The other infrastructural demands or initiatives like the common and popular East West Road which seems to characterise the image of the ministry. We also met land reclamation projects especially along the shore lines and erosion-threatened locations. Then on the human capacity building, we have had programmes like training for skills in agriculture, in IT Technology, in seafaring and so on. But beyond what we met, we have introduced the mobilisation of those who were trained so that they can setup on their own in spite of the smallest of the scheme. We are trying to reward contractors who have shown true diligence in the execution of the contract; we think they should be encouraged by being mobilised further to return to site. And those who are yet to deliver even though they had been mobilised must be advised to return to site until they get to the level of project execution that will be commensurable with what they have gained financially.

We are also involved in establishing some agro processing plants for cassava, as well as building classroom blocks and health centres to different institutions and communities.

What is the latest about the East West road?

It was first awarded in 2006, so today it is one decade of a project that has not been completed yet; it is of so much economic and social importance in the region and it is awarded in sections one, two, three, four and five. All the other sections are in progress except section five being the one linking Akwa Ibom from Oron to Calabar in Cross River State. Several segments of the East West road are at various stages of execution but obviously not at the same level. But section five has not started at all. Why it was never started, I don’t know but maybe on account of lack of funding. But one thing I know is that the section five, which is still, in my view, at the level of award, has been in conflict with certain procedural considerations. When the contract was awarded, it was awarded in US dollars even labour units are denominated in dollars which means, to buy sands and chips, were denominated in dollar and the earlier design made suggested that of the complex bridge to link Oron and Calabar, the award carried only first phase of the contract with a partial commencement of the second phase.

May we know some of your achievements so far?

My view on assessment would have been from the public first but because again we are very limited in publicity; people will not be able to see what and what we have achieved that is why for me I do not see provision of water, building roads and things like that as an achievement because these are basic essential needs of life. It is like saying when you build oxygen which is given by God you have performed a very tedious exercise whereas we need these things to live. For me, our achievements trying to shape the ministry and giving a new orientation to the people is quite important because I know that when we say we are going to carry out technical auditing of all the projects it was totally resisted. After this analysis, we did apply standard global performances in the states and you see that the only project that has been commissioned is by us within the one year, whereas in the past it has been attempt commissioning of projects that have not been completed at all. One of such is Imo State Housing Estate. We got into the place and were told that it has been completed, and to be handed to occupants. Those who were to conduct me round stood at the gate of the estate to take me to where they had designed but I came and passed and went to the back of the Estate and started my inspection from there and in the course of entering some of the buildings; I sent for them to come and when they came I asked them, this project was commissioned and they said yes, what time, and they said some time in 2015. A building without windows, without plastering of the walls, without electrical fittings, without ceilings, doors and they said they have commissioned the Estate. For me, we are still trying to take a decision on such things.

It is not that because we do not know what decision to take but the process of taking a decision in government sometimes has a very slow pace but no matter how slow, a determined action must be taken but I have taken it in my mind. We have such in Bakassi and they have been urging me that it is due for commissioning, but I won’t just follow that, I have asked the villagers to go and access and see what it is before they take us on a jamboree of camera display and call it commissioning. These Estates are intended to be accommodating the vulnerable, the weak of the society, the very poor but the proposal I found in the files are suggesting that certain ‘big’ people have been given discretion to take and allocate, then the minister is given them permission to allocate some units. In issues of policy no discretion is expected, therefore, I will not exercise my own discretion. The policy says it is for poor people; so we look out especially for the displaced people in Bakassi; we look out for those who truly merit such things. There are people whose husbands have been killed by militancy; there are people who are deformed or handicapped. There are others who have children and are homeless. There are others too who have been displaced. As many as the number maybe we will take out samples carefully selected under these conditions or probably we take the choice of ballot so whoever wins it will be known that it is his or her due and will not be manipulated and that is what I intend to do around the Estates not anybody taking any discretion for a particular person.

To continue to talk about my achievement, for Nigerians, it may look quite meaningless but without a good foundation there cannot be a standing structure. Like I said, other works that are physical are continuing. We are applying our force to them but we have, within the period, done something. The NASA plan is being revisited. We have also in collaboration with the UNDP done a base line survey and we have got the report which was presented for ratification but we failed to ratify. To ratify means it becomes a guiding rule but there is something that I disagreed in the report because some of the methods of evaluation are too hypothetical for reality; so we told the consultant to get back and review some of the social principles of such evaluations.

MIKE ABANG