Transparency is at work in Benue – Akase

Chief Press Secretary to the Governor of Benue State, Terver Akase spoke with journalists in Makurdi on the Paris Club refund to the state, his principal, the Governor and the 2019 elections as well as other issues.

Can you throw more light on the second tranche of Paris Refund to the State?

AKASE: What the acting Governor of the State, Chief Benson Abounu said was that Benue State was expecting 25 per cent of the entire amount the federal government was owing Benue State, being refund of the Paris and London Club overdeductions. The first tranche came in, 25 per cent and we announced it and the federal government also came out to confirm what Governor Ortom said. This second tranche, we were expecting another 25 per cent of that $181 million US dollars, but unfortunately, what came in was N6.8 billion, just half of what Benue was expecting. And remember that all the 36 states contracted a consultant to negotiate between them and the federal government on how to refund this money. So out of the N6.8billion, 5 per cent was taken out of it and what came in now is N6.4. That is why you saw Abuja release N6.8 but Benue announced N6.4. We agreed that originally, the money was N6.8 for Benue but because 5 per cent was taken for the consultant which is same across the states, what came into the coffers of Benue is N6.4. That is why it seems like a disparity but it is not.

We understand Benue was planning to pay about three months of salary arrears when the second tranche of Paris Club refund arrives in addition to meeting some contractual obligations, but with what has been released now, what becomes the fate of workers?

Even if you bring the entire amount; the three tranches that are left, if they had released all the money to us, the greater percentage of it would have been used for payment of workers because that is what this government wants to do now. Remember there is already a state of emergency on payment of salaries, so this money that has come in, like the Acting Governor said yesterday, it is going to be utilized for payment of salaries. Even though it depends on what the government wants to do, but what I am saying is that the money is for payment of workers. It will be able to go round for just one month when you add federation allocation to it because you remember the entire monthly wage bill of Benue is almost N8 billion, that is state plus local government. So when you take that into consideration, N6billion cannot even pay state and local government workers. Government has to augment the money from the federation account in order to pay one month.

Sometimes, Governor Ortom gives out different figures as wage bill of the state. There was a time he gave out slightly above N5billion…

No no. That is not true. Even now, if you take away pensions and overheads, the wage bill of the state alone is not up to N4billion. It is when you add pensions, which is more than N500 million and overheads which is around that same figure and the whole thing sums up to more than N4billion. For salaries only, the wage bill of the state is above N3 billion. Remember that before the end of the last administration, they stopped paying overheads and pensions. They were only paying salaries which was not frequent and later stopped paying completely. That is why when Governor Ortom came in and said the wage bill of the state is over N4 billion, people were saying ah, but during Suswam, it was not like that and all that. But Suswam was not paying overheads and pensions. Governor Ortom is doing all of that now because the MDAs have to function as well. If you just put a commissioner in a ministry and you don’t give him overhead, how would he operate? So overhead is the thing that runs the wheel of government.

Again, we learnt that the State Assembly approved a loan of N10 billion to fund some capital projects but up till now, we don’t know how many projects have been successfully executed with that money. Can you throw light on this?

Well, I have to consult the Ministry of Finance to give you the exact figures, but I believe that the funds were used for projects. Remember there are roads that have already been completed. The ones that were abandoned, part of the money was used in mobilizing contractors back to site. I am aware that one or two roads have been completed in Zone C and another one in Sankera area. All these projects are part of the money that you are talking about. So if you say the money was not utilized for projects, what you are saying is incorrect because I am aware that when the Governor comes back, he is going to commission a road in Agatu which has been completed and one has also been completed in the Sankera area. So, some of the roads have been completed and we are expecting that more will be completed as time goes on. Other infrastructure which the money was used for are also at various stages of completion. So I am aware that that money was judiciously used and transparently too.

As a follow up, work was going on very well on the Mobile Barracks road until the state of emergency declared on payment of salaries came on board and since then, even some portions of the road are being eroded away. What is the hope for this road?

You know, that is the dilemma of a government. When you have people shouting left and right – hey pay salaries, pay salaries, pay salaries and the government said ok, is that all you want? Let’s pay salaries. Now, the money is not there at all. What do you do with an allocation of N2.5 billion when you have a wage bill of over N4 billion? Your internal revenue is on average of N300 million to N500 million. So what do you do? There was a time Benue received only N1.3 billion from the federation account. That was early last year. The other month was N1.5 billion. It was ranging between N1.5, N1.7 and N1.8 billion. If you say you will accumulate it for three months and pay one month, you already have two months arrears. How can you fund projects in this kind of situation? This has been the problem of Benue, but some people don’t seem to understand.

On the issue of emergency on payment of salaries, it became apparent that if this is not declared, it means government will not be able to pay workers anymore and do other things. So the government said ok, let’s concentrate on salaries for now. That doesn’t mean we are abandoning other projects but for now, any kobo we get will first go into the payment of salaries because the economy cannot move if workers are not paid. They go to markets, they buy things. This is a challenge. How do you manage a situation like that? It is a reality that oil prices have dropped in the international market and Nigeria is getting low unlike when crude was selling for $140 per barrel. Now, even to get to $50 per barrel is a problem. It is more than a hundred per cent drop in the price of crude oil. So what do you do? What comes to Benue now is approximately N2 to N2.5 billion but we have a wage bill of over N4 billion. So, it’s a challenge that we are all faced with. All of us even as media people.

Does the Ortom-led administration have in mind to cross over to 2019? I asked this question because despite the catalogue of achievements you have outlined here, the government is being bashed for lack of performance. Yet youth have being pressing on the Governor to run in 2019.

Anybody who says Ortom has not done well should tell you what he would have done in a situation like the one I have just painted. Anytime they say such a thing, ask them that you are getting an average of N2 billion from Abuja, your internally generated revenue is between N300 and N500 million monthly. Now, what would they have done? Would they have raised other sources of funds? Would they have been conventional sources? And if they are conventional sources, what sources? Would they go borrowing internationally? Will the federal government guarantee such a loan? And if you are going to borrow maybe $100 billion US Dollars from a foreign organization, how are you going to pay back that money? Will you mortgage the future of your state? So ask them if they say Ortom has not done well, what would they have done differently in circumstances such as the ones Governor Ortom has found himself in. They should answer that question first because they don’t give alternatives. They don’t give options. The government is not getting money because the one coming from Abuja is low and even when this government wanted to implement the tax law fully, you heard the cries in town. People went to the State Assembly to repeal that law and make another one. At that time, the IGR of Benue was rising but people said no, they cannot pay. So ask them what would they have done differently in these circumstances? When they answer that question, we will move forward.

Looking at the various loans including bailout that this government took when it came on board, don’t you think that it should have performed better than this?

When Governor Ortom came in, he inherited a debt hanging on neck his government to the tune of N169 billion. That included salaries, pensions and contracts that were yet to be paid fully. That ran up to N169 billion. Now you talked about bailout but the bailout was just a fraction of the monies that were owed workers and pensioners of Benue. From the N28 billion that came in, the Governor was able to pay four months at the state and local government level. More than N1 billion from the bailout was saved because of the screenings that were done. So if you talk about loans, that one went completely for payment of salaries at the state and local government level. For the N10 billion, we have already discussed it and I gave instances of how the money was used. Some projects have been completed.

The first N10billion that government took, if you take that money to pay Benue workers, how much can you pay? If you add federation allocation, you will be able to pay only two months because only one month takes up to N7.8 billion. So that is how bad the situation has been.

Don’t you think some of these critical sectors of government that have been neglecting the media by way of projecting what they had done in their areas are also contributing to the attacks on the government?

Well, I don’t think so but every MDA has its own information unit and I think many of them have been doing very well in trying to let people know what they are doing. But don’t forget that there is serious mischief in town. The opposition elements have deliberately vowed to run down whatever this government says and they are everywhere on the social media. Whatever the government says, they find a way to say that this is not true. If Ortom eats food here, they will say that ah, he has eaten too much. If he has not eaten, they will say this man doesn’t even eat food. So, it’s alarming. There is so much falsehood online and even offline. You hear a lot of stories and lies being told. Just yesterday, if the Acting Governor had not briefed the media to announce what was released to the state as the second tranche of Paris Club refund, only God knows what people would have been saying. And that same yesterday, the government was vindicated because the federal ministry of finance released the details and it was the same thing that the state government announced. So you can see, if we had not done that, you would have imagined what people would have said.

What is your principal’s chance to request for second term?

Cuts in…He has not yet declared that he is running for 2019.

But as his spokesman, we know that you have a wish….

I do not have a wish. The only wish I have is the wish of my Governor. He has told the world that he is consulting God and if God says he should run again, he will run.

What if you are allowed to make inputs?

No, I am not allowed to make inputs at this point in time. I queue behind him. What he has told you is what I adopt wholesale. He said he is going to consult God and if God permits him to run for second term, he will run and he will win. That is what he said.

Now that the dust has settled in the PDP, they are saying they are going to kick out APC in 2019. And the APC was very critical about the opposition and yourself, you were very powerful in criticizing the then ruling PDP.

You know what! I criticized a poorly performing government. But they are criticizing a government that is performing well.

Can you give us an update about the Cargo Airport the state has embarked on in conjunction with the private sector?

Well, I will not go into details about it because I am yet to have the details, but what I do know is that Governor Ortom had made it clear that this is not a state government project. The state government is only a partner in this project and he said the consortium is given one year to do whatever they have to do and let the project take off. So if at the end of one year, nothing is done, government has no option than to call off that deal. This is what the Governor said and I rely on his statement. This was an initiative of the private sector which the consortium came to tell the government to partner them to put a Cargo Airport in place. If at the end they say they cannot do it anymore, the government will simply opt out. By the way, it was 85 per cent private sector, only 15 per cent government. So, it is as simple as that. There are no two ways about it. If the consortium is going ahead with the project, good enough.

What is your take about the clamour for restructuring in Nigeria?

I was asked this question one time ago and I said I don’t have a voice of my own on the matter. I think the Governor told you something about this issue of restructuring. So whatever is his position is, it is the position I am going to adopt.

Why is Benue State not among the states to benefit from the recent flood money that was released to SEMA for states affected by flood?

Well, I don’t know but are you aware that Governor Ortom is part of the committee constituted by the National Economic Council to investigate the handling of ecological funds that were disbursed in 2012. And Benue was one of the states that benefitted from that money too and the funds were not utilized for the purposes that they were meant for. So, that is all I know. I am yet to have details of the current disbursement but I know that Benue is one of the states that did not utilize their funds very well during the previous administration. So, if it is what has affected the current disbursement, I don’t know.

Recently, the first Benue Yams were exported to the UK and United States of America. Has the state keyed into this?

Very well and that’s why the Deputy Governor, Engr. Benson Abouno was in Lagos to be part of the ceremony to demonstrate that Benue is a key stakeholder in what Nigeria is doing. And for us here, the state has already started the farm/agriculture revolution. Remember what happened last year and is happening better this year. Many people have gone back to the farm. If you move around the country side, you will see the green revolution that is taking place and we are hoping that by the time the harvesting season is here, Benue will be able to put on the table more than 70 per cent of what Nigeria has to produce in agriculture because the people of the state have embraced completely, the return to farm mantra of the Samuel Ortom administration and a lot is going on privately and publicly.

The state government on its own part is trying her best. As we speak, fertilizer trucks are moving to local government areas at highly subsidized rates of 38 per cent and that is one of the incentives to ensure that our farmers have a lot of produce at the end of the year. Rural roads are being done by the Bureau for Rural Development and Cooperatives to link rural communities with urban centres so that our farmers will be able to convey their produce to markets where buyers will connect with them. Then, the issue of tractors. Very soon, tractors will come and farmers will be able to purchase them at subsidized rates and many more. The father of it all is the Open Grazing Prohibition and Establishment of Ranches Law that was passed recently by the Governor. That law aims at providing security, making the environment conducive for small holder farmers so that people should go to farm without the fear of attack. That is why that law was passed and it also protects cattle breeders from cattle rustling. That is another thing that people are forgetting to talk about. That law protects cattle breeders because if you have your livestock in ranches, if anyone comes there with criminal intent, he will be arrested. So that law seeks to also protect cattle rearers and when you have security in a place, agricultural activities pick up without anybody bothering himself. That is where we are.

Recently, the State Police Commissioner was advocating the establishment of pilot ranches in the three senatorial zones where arrested cattle would be kept. What is your take on this?

Well, the law is clear on all things like that and a department is going to be established in the Ministry of Agriculture which will be responsible for regulating grazing and establishment of ranches in the state. So, all those things will be specified by that agency and if land is going to be designated for that purpose, it will be done. But the aim of this law is not to impound or arrest cattle rearers or even their cattle. No. the law is trying to help people to do the right thing. So it is not the intention of government to impound cattle or livestock generally. The intention of government is to see that cattle do not move about aimlessly but are confined in ranches. It is only when you infringe on the law that it will take its course. But I believe that those who are fine tuning the implementation of the law will take care of all of these. I know the Attorney General of the state is part of that team and they are men of intelligence and have been tested and trusted so they know exactly what the state wants.