The fight against corruption by the Buhari administration will lay a solid foundation for Nigeria’s economic future, Abia State Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Donatus Nwamkpa, in this interview with Special Correspondent, ONWUKWE EZERU, talks, among other national issues, on the achievements of President Muhammadu Buhari one year after.
President Buhari’s achievements one year after
For the purposes of your question, Mr. President has restored the confidence and respect of the Presidency of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. He has also ensured the rule of law through legislative, judicial and executive federalism whereby the executive has, for the first time in this country, allowed the legislature and the judiciary to perform their duties without interference.
His present step towards deregulation in the marketing of petroleum products, which is aimed at allowing for availability of fuel in the society and reducing the situation whereby less than three per cent of Nigerians were busy siphoning public fund in the name of fuel subsidy, speaks volume.
Another achievement is the stable security situation he has provided. Today, the people of the North East can heave a sigh of relief. The Boko Haram menace has been uprooted and subdued by a determined federal government.
The Presidency has restored discipline among Nigerians. The era of embezzlement, flagrant display of ill-gotten wealth, brazen fraud and misappropriation has gone. Today, the Nigerian budget, for the first time, has passed through the litmus test where each arm of the government checkmated each other.
On the international scene, the Nigerian President has become one of the respected presidents in the world, unlike before. He has identified the culture and the problems of Nigeria’s presidency and launched war against corruption, creating a new image of the country to the outside world. For the first time, the international community has known that corruption can be fought and stopped in Nigeria. This is a new dimension which he has added to international thinking on corruption.
Finally, Mr. President has been able to carry women along in his administration. Not in theory but he has put it in practice. Today women were appointed to positions of authority.
Anti-corruption crusade selected and targeted at the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members
I say no to this. Which party had been ruling this country for the past 16 years? It was PDP, and most positions that had to do with finance were handled by PDP members. Who said PDP was targeted. Is the Senate President a PDP member? Is former Director-General (DG) Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) a PDP member? They were tried for various corrupt practices. Let them give the public evidences that serving APC members were found in one form of corrupt practices or another. Let them show documentary evidence of the offence that is traced to any member of the All Progressives Congress. There is no need crying wolf. Nigeria was “fantastically corrupt” during the reign of PDP. Those accused were culpable and they should face the music.
PDP and the vow to take back power in 2019
PDP has never won any credible election in Nigeria, and for the first time in Nigeria, general election became one-man and one-vote. PDP has always depended on the help of security agencies during the election. I am assuring that APC as a party cannot seek the help of any security agency during election. From our performance in this government, the public confidence has been restored. In 2019, election would be vote according to your conscience.
What APC is doing now is not the foundation for today, but for the future. APC is not disturbed. We don’t also believe in one party state. I am advising PDP governors to perform well, so that their people will vote for them. This is a period of governance and our achievements will speak for us.
In Abia State, there had never been a credible election in the governorship; rather it was always characterised by manipulation. Come 2019, the story in Abia will be different. I only urge the electoral body to perform its role with transparency.
The “change” promised Nigerians during the campaign yet to manifest after one year
Nigerians are not disenchanted. It is only a few cabal (members) that can be disenchanted because what they were doing before would not happen now. Today, the average Nigerian is happy. This is the first time the cabal that looted the treasury of this country is being touched by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Forget what they post in the social media; go to the villages and hear what people say. What the President is doing is total cleansing that would lay a solid foundation for generations yet unborn. No positive change comes on a platter of gold. The cabal has been dislodged and all the openings for siphoning the national fund have been closed. At the end of this crusade against corruption, there would be changes in this country. A situation where an individual in Nigeria will transfer billions of United States dollars into his account at the detriment of the ruled is bad. Nigeria must be good and all Nigerians should support the APC government.
The Igbo marginalised by the APC government
I don’t agree with you. The President appointed his kitchen cabinet (devoid of any Igbo man), and political analysts should not take kitchen cabinet to mean political appointments. In the appointment of chairmen and members of the board of federal establishments, the Igbo will get their fair share. My only advice to Ndigbo is for them to support the government of President Muhammadu Buhari that has the capacity to effect change. We should shun opposition and allow the Igbo politics to be keyed into the national political grid.
Governor Okezie Ikpeazu administration one year after
Ikpeazu as a governor has shown some flashes, particularly in Aba, and I want to tell you that he has a long way to go. If only he would be given free hand to work, he will perform.
He should be allowed to take his personal decisions without the cabal turning him around. Once he has free hand to operate, the public will assess him. But for now, he has no blame. As soon as he regains his freedom, he can be assessed. He has not told Abians the real state of the economy he met. On the whole, within one year, he has tried.