Former Speaker of ECOWAS Parliament and now senator-elect for Abia North, Mao Ohuabunwa, in speaks with Assistant Politics Editor, DANIEL KANU, on his assignment in the Senate, election tribunal and other pressing issues.
What are you bringing to the Senate?
I am taking experience to the National Assembly. And in a parliament, what is important is your parliamentary experience. And I happen to be there; not in the Senate, but in the National Assembly as a two-term member of the House of Representatives, and by the grace of God, I was a principal officer. Two, from the standing orders, whether in the Senate or House, ranking has become an issue. It becomes a platform for you to get a position that can enhance your ability either to perform or to assist your constituents. My primary aim is the opportunity that I can leverage on to assist my constituents, especially in the area of empowerments, in terms of job creation, employments, and appointments.
Until few days back, in the whole Abia State, we had no pro-chancellor of any federal university. Just few weeks back, they just appointed the present chairman of Abia State Council of Traditional Rulers as chancellor of the University of Abuja. Before now, nothing, especially in my own senatorial area, Abia North. We are well endowed. If you talk about intellectuals, business moguls, we are too much in Abia North. But we have not really gotten our share of appointments. That is one area I want to use my experience to leverage on and help get for our people, so that we can have some peace.
I also will use that experience, having been there, to help in physical infrastructure development. I will give you an example. The roads in our local government capital, you will be wondering whether we have done anything wrong to the government, not just the state, but federal, because it is a federal road. Our roads are in a state of disrepair. They need somebody who can use his legislative experience to get federal attention. What I keep telling people is that, first and foremost, in democracy and in a presidential system of government, any job that is done must be appropriated. And for me, if you have a good representative, that is where you must perform to ensure that your project is captured in the appropriation bill which automatically becomes appropriation act. It is only by that that the executive can execute because without it being in the appropriation act, no matter your connections, nothing can happen. But if you get it first into the appropriation act, then something can be done. The truth is that coming to lobby after something had become an act is out of place. The problem should be to ensure that it gets into the appropriation bill. If it becomes an act, it is a law and you must perform in accordance with the act. I know you are aware that our area is sitting under gully erosion. Most part of Abia North…there is a road which during my campaign I captioned ‘Abia North road’. That is if you are on the express road from Umunneochi to Okigwe going through Umuahia, you branch off through Okigwe to Uturu where you have the state university. From there till you join this other major road where you call Anara, you will see that the road has been eaten. In short, the university itself is under threat.
There is a palliative work the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) is doing, but it is nothing to write home about. I want to use my experience to bring government attention to look into the erosion problem because if nothing is done now, it could become natural disaster. But all these that I have said are in addition to my parliamentary function, knowing that the basic duty of parliament is lawmaking. Lawmaking, for me, is a given. Record shows what I have been able to do in terms of bills and motions. Those are the basic things I want to take to the National Assembly.
Prior to now, Abia North had no shoulder to lean on. It’s like we were just scattered. May be those that represented us didn’t have the ability to bring us together. You see, it is not everybody that is coming to you that is coming for money. Some are coming to add value; some are coming to give you credible and genuine information, because they are concerned, they want to see the constituency develop. So, when you begin to push people, you don’t give them opportunity. But even if they come for money, are you not their representative? So you do the much you can and let the rest remain. I want to be a senator that, every quarter, there will be need for people of the constituency to meet, because democratic representation is participatory; in the sense that there must be feedback, you come to the people, report back to them. There should be a kind of peer review mechanism. So, we’ve lacked that for many years. You don’t see your senator, no relationship! So for me, I will like to be remembered as the people’s senator where the people can touch you, feel you, and can relate with you.
You were one of the stars of the House of Representatives. People will be watching out for you in the Senate. What are the immediate bills you want to put in motion?
One thing I want to do is look at our budget. We’ve lost so much through budget. Our budget now is like a ritual; it makes no meaning. People forget that the budget is not only about the financial allocation. What about the fiscal policy that should come at the beginning of every year, which will come with the budget statement? For the man who wants to import rice, I am just using this as example, will know that this year tariff is going to be one per cent, two per cent, five per cent and so on. So you plan. But now people can no more plan.
We look at budget as only financial allocation. That is an area I want to look into. Again, that bill will also contain timing. That appropriation bill must come to the National Assembly at this time, and it should not be in the National Assembly one or two months. Now, there is no timing in terms of law. It is only the presiding officer that will say I will give you this time – within two months you should report back. When you don’t, he says okay we give you another time. But if we are bound by time, you see that we will work, so that we revert to the days that, at the beginning of every year, the president will make a budget speech. You will know what the budget is, you know what the expectations are, so that you as a businessman can plan along.
Our constitution gives the executive power to spend up to six months or so of 50 per cent of the previous year’s budget. Except if it is beyond six months, the executive will become jittery because after that, they will close shop because constitutionally they can’t spend. But before then, they are at liberty. And within that period, you can’t even oversight them. It’s like an open cheque. You can only oversight based on what you have budgeted. I want to use that bill to do so much. You see, budgeting has become a ritual. Every sub-head each year must be filled. Because there is a sub-head for vehicle, every year you must fill for vehicle. If you bought vehicles this year, you mustn’t buy vehicle next year. Every sub-head must not carry allocation every year. But if you check the entire ministry, go and check from 1999 till now, you will see what I am telling you. Every year, every sub-head must carry something. Are they necessary? For me, we really need to get it right through that bill.
How will you feel when, after articulating the idea and it got passed through the National Assembly, it is not implemented?
It will be implemented, except you are saying if it does not become an act. If it becomes an act, especially this one, it is implementable. You can pass a law that is not implementable. It’s like passing a law without an enforcement clause. To that extent, as far as I am concerned, it is null and void. There must be a punishment clause. But I believe that this bill will enjoy popular support. Even the executive will be happy. If you remember, before I left the House, there was a time we said it, but not as a law, that budget must come by July or so, and by November it should go out. I think we tried it once and we relaxed. But if you make it a law, it becomes mandatory, because I don’t see why we should not have budget in by June/July. There is a budget office. As you finish one budget, you start preparing the next.
You were in the House, and can bear witness that the members are the actual culprits that pad our budget. Now you are going as a senator in a minority party. How do you ensure that such things don’t happen?
It depends on what you mean by padding. If padding is because you want a project in the appropriation act, definitely there must be a limit. You can’t finish everything one day. What you are talking about gave rise to constituency project. You know we started constituency project. We fought for it with then President Olusegun Obasanjo. We found out that ‘Baba’ is somebody, as far as budget is concerned, if he brings a budget for N1 trillion, you make it N1.5 trillion, he will sign; but he will make sure that it is just that N1 trillion he will do. After that, shout from now till tomorrow, he will not act. So we found out that the only way we could have impact was this constituency project. If every year you are able to have one project executed in your constituency, you see that in four years, you have two or three or four projects executed. That one has been accepted. It comes with the executive submission. At times, they either give envelop, according to them that is the money for constituency project. When it goes to the National Assembly, you divide it, for instance N1 billion for the House, may be N1.5 billion to the Senate.
I don’t know what has been happening since this last eight years, you look at areas mainly in health, power and water. Members will be asked to make submission. A committee will look at them. If I put my project, you put, they will look at the cost and narrow it to the money allocated. That ends there. Another area you can get involved is that they will send it to the ministry or agency. It is their responsibility because the money is not given to you. The money is put in that ministry/agency’s budget. Another opportunity you might have is the siting of the project. I have not seen where people say they give constituency project money. When I was there, it never happened. I also doubt how it can even happen. I can’t see how, because government has a system. So, what I am saying is that padding of budget, if it is based on constituency project, is limited.
Again, if the executive says oil price is $56, the National Assembly can, looking at all the parameters, say no; this time we can put it at $58. In other words, you have gained some money, so you can put it in projects you believe will help your people. That is where you see increase. Because first, you must get the income from either what they have submitted, you look at it and say no, there must be increase here and there. That is what I see, if that is what you mean by padding.
Your opponents say they will be contesting your victory at the tribunal.
Well, for me, following the 1999 system, tribunal has always been part of it, especially those of us who are in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). If you are in PDP and you are going for election, make up your mind that there are three steps. One is at primary, which has always been keenly contested. Next one is the general election, and third one is the tribunal. This (election) is the only time you can see a president, even in Africa, to be honest to you, conceding defeat. It is a new thing we should imbibe, unfortunately, especially in our own part of the country. The North, to a large extent, is better. Once you win, few people will go to tribunal. But here, it’s like it is part of it. Everybody would want to go to tribunal. I know that two of those who contested with me have gone to tribunal. I know that I won this election clearly. There are five local governments. I won in all. So I don’t know on what they will hinge their petition. But like I said, it is a normal thing. One joy I have is that, what I contested is Senate. And Abia people will always tell you the antecedent of persons they want to vote for. Mao Ohuabunwa, I have carved my niche in the parliament. I have my antecedents. People know me. They know all those who contested with me. You can’t deceive the people. It is not propaganda. If you look at those who contested with me, do election 20 times in Abia North, people will know the calibre and antecedent of the person they want to vote for. So, I know that Abia North voted for me overwhelmingly. And the difference is clear both in the votes cast and all that.
