Jonathan should forget re-election – Atunwa

In this interview with SUCCESS NWOGU, the Speaker of Kwara State House of Assembly, Mr. Razak Atunwa, speaks on 2015 general elections, among other issues

WITH the insecurity and other challenges facing the country, do you think Nigeria is on the right path after 15 years of uninterrupted democracy?

I must congratulate Nigerians for having achieved 15 years of uninterrupted democratic rule. There is clearly no substitute for democracy. It is the best form of government anywhere in the world. Having said that, it is sad to note that we are faced with a high level of insecurity in Nigeria. Insurgency has overtaken governance in some states in Nigeria. We have been unable to curb the Boko Haram menace. That failure is the failure of the government at the centre. The Chibok girls are still in Boko Haram captivity. I will admonish the Federal Government to do everything possible to ensure that those girls are brought back safely.

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo said if President Goodluck Jonathan had been responsive, the abducted girls would have been rescued within 24 or 48 hours after abduction. Do you agree with Obasanjo?

I absolutely agree with former President Obasanjo when he said that this government failed to act on time. It is clear that even after the abduction, there was failure to act by the Federal Government.

It is sad to note that over 200 girls were kidnapped in our territory and the government would do nothing for over two weeks. You will recall the disappointing scenario where the first activity by the Federal Government was by the First Lady, Dame Patience Goodluck, who sought to interrogate the Commissioner of Police in Borno State, the school principal, the examiners and others on live television. That was a sham. It was not until the next day that the President himself swung into action. I cannot comment on whether or not those girls would have been rescued if the Federal Government had taken action within 24 or 48 hours of their abduction. But certainly, there was a better chance of rescuing those girls or nipping the thing in the bud if action had been taken before 24 or 48 hours rather than about two weeks later.

Given this, do you think Nigeria will fare better if Jonathan gets a second term though he has not declared his intention to run?

This Federal Government has been characterised by systemic failure, corruption and inactivity at the best. There had been a number of incidents and issues which had called for the President to take immediate action. Alas, the President failed to take action. Just remember the Chibok girls. You will recall that there were issues when there was Oduahgate, when there was accusation of injudicious use of public funds by former aviation minister, Stella Oduah; nothing was done for a number of weeks. That again shows inactivity by Federal Government at the critical point.

The former Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Mallam Lamido Sanusi, also made allegations of whopping amount of missing dollars, yet nothing was done until the first action we heard of was the suspension of Sanusi, which was improper, in my view. That is now subject to legal action. There is also the alleged scandal of a private jet hired by the Minister of Petroleum, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke. Again, there was a great deal of inactivity by the government.

The President has not done anything about it. Put them together, it shows that this government has been inept and inefficient. It shows that this government is sort of being on the side of those who are corrupt. It shows this government is shielding corrupt officials and keeping them in government. As far as I am concerned, President Goodluck Jonathan should forget about ruling this country beyond 2015. Apart from the issues of corruption, inactivity, incompetence, ineptitude, insecurity and insurgency, this country has not had the benefit of good leadership from President Jonathan. So, it is time for change. It is time to find somebody else that will take this country in the right direction.

Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, said some state governors and local government chairmen have not been judiciously spending their federal allocations.

I completely disagree with her. While I cannot comment for every state government, I know for example that in Kwara State, there has been judicious use of public funds. That is beside the point. The point I’m making is that the funds made available to this Federal Government has not been judiciously used. My advice to the minister of finance is to put her house in order and ensure that the Federal Government sticks to the budgetary limit. She should ensure that there is transparency, probity and accountability in the use of public funds by the Federal Government. She should ensure that things such as $10bn being spent by a minister for private jet hire should not exist. She should ensure that about $49bn the former CBN governor alleged to be missing was accounted for. She should also ensure that processes are put in place to stop the misappropriation of public funds.

Some say that the Kwara State House of Assembly under your leadership has not performed well.

If you compare this 7th legislature with the previous House of Assembly, you will see that there is a marked improvement. Secondly, if you compare the Kwara State House of Assembly with other Houses of Assembly in Nigeria, I am sure the Kwara State House of Assembly will come top three at least. We have been working assiduously to ensure that we fulfill our constitutional role. If you compare some of the statistic across board, you will see that we are on course. So far, we have passed 40 bills into law. So, you will find out that we have been working very hard. Remember, what you see at the plenary is the House of show. The real work of the House of Assembly is at the committee level. For us to have been able to pass 42 resolutions from motions and 120 resolutions from committee reports shows how hard the House has been working in the past three years. For that, I must commend the members and staff of the Kwara State House of Assembly.

The Kwara State House of Assembly under your leadership has been stable but there have been allegations that the executive has an overbearing influence on your proceedings.

It is completely false. The Kwara State House of Assembly is aware of and alive to its responsibilities as the legislature to ensure stability of the polity and adequate checks and balances in processes. The executive are aware of their own roles constitutionally and we have all kept within the limit of our constitutional roles. So, we have been doing our job very strongly and they have also been doing their own job well.

What informed the decision of many members of the House elected under the People Democratic Party to defect to All Progressives Congress?

There was clearly a division in the party at the national level when a group of PDP members including myself and others formed a faction called the New PDP. We believed that the Alhaji Bamanga Tukur faction was not the legitimate faction of the PDP. Consequently, the PDP was factionalised. When we saw that we were not getting anywhere, we decided to pitch our tent with the APC. Therefore, 22 members of the House of Assembly including myself moved from the PDP to the APC as it is provided for by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria that where there is a division in the party, a member is allowed to move to another party.

But the House of Assembly, under your watch, is seen as a rubber-stamp.

No, the House of Assembly in Kwara has been very independent. We are completely free from undue pressure from any quarter including the executive. We have carried out our duties as we are mandated to do. We have carried out duty with probity and integrity. We have been very assertive and resolute in the execution of our constitutional role.

There is the belief that with the 2015 elections just a few months away, legislative business will soon be put on hold for politicking by legislators.

Not at all. The business of the House will continue. Though there will be a demand on time and duties of the members, our first and primary duty is to respect the constitution and to do the job that we have been elected to do in the House of Assembly. Legislative duties will continue as it is and our work will continue in earnest.

Do you agree with the contention that members of the National Assembly should not be involved in constituency projects?

Constituency project is an aberration. Constituency project being carried out by members of the National Assembly or even state Houses of Assembly is an aberration. It should not happen. If what people tend to mean is that legislators would be able to influence some projects to be carried out by the executive in their constituencies or what is desired is that projects would be included in the budget and funds will be released to the members of the legislature to carry out those projects by themselves, that is wrong.

It is not in conformity with the norms of separation of powers and democratic governance. Legislators are there to legislate, oversee the executive, and make representations on behalf of the people of their constituencies. Legislators are not there to execute projects. So, if that is what it is intended as constituency projects, that is an aberration and it should not happen.

Are you saying that state lawmakers in Kwara State have not been carrying out constituency projects?

Certainly, under my leadership, that has not happened and will not happen. What they have been able to do is to influence projects to be carried out in their various constituencies. They have been able to influence budget provisions so that there will be adequate budgetary provisions for the executive to carry out projects.