Grassroots politician and woman leader, Senator Nkechi Nwaogu represented Abia Central Senatorial District and served as chairman, Senate Committee on Oil and Gas Resources, chairman, Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and Other Related Financial Matters. She was also the chairman, Governing Council of the University of Calabar. She spoke with some select news media and addressed some national issues including the Bola Tinubu presidency. She expressed confidence that the Renewed Hope Agenda would positively transform Nigeria. Nwaogu also assessed Abia State governor, Dr Alex Otti.
Excerpt:
Most Nigerians appear to be losing hope and getting disappointed on the leadership of President Tinubu due to the hardship in the land. Do you think there is any good reason to keep hope alive in this government?
Of course, there are great reasons to keep hope alive. As I said elsewhere during an interview session, we just need little patience with the president. We should not lose sight of the chequered economy that the president inherited, and I don’t think it’s enough time for a proper assessment, but the good thing is that policies that will take care of the situation are being implemented. What he is doing now is setting the building blocks, the right policies that will endure, the fundamentals and they are about three prongs: the first one is the low hanging fruits, something like those palliatives that he has earmarked to cushion the effect of the fuel subsidy removal. Another issue is on the electricity hike, which we know will add salt to injury, and the president has kicked against it and said it shouldn’t be. He also has policies that will culminate into something better. You know this is his first budget prepared and passed into law by the National Assembly. The way he has started is worth-commending. For instance, there is an agency that will be looking at ministries and performances. What it means is that if you are not performing in tandem with the Renewed Hope Agenda, hopefully, he will have the courage and good reason to show the exit door to non-performing ministers. In doing that, for instance, if we say we are going to build 100 hospital beds in one year, there is now in place a performance-taking or assessing system to ensure that the 100 beds are in place and if it is not, for any reason, there must be a superior reason, but it must be accomplished. I know that things are extremely rough and hard for everybody, but I think we should have the spirit of patience and perseverance because Nigeria is not even a family, Nigeria is not like a household whereby whatever you do will manifest into positive or negative action. Nigeria is such a large and complex entity that it takes a little while for certain policies to be effective and impact felt within a short period for all. I will urge fellow Nigerians to exercise patience. We need to tarry a little because that is the right thing to do. For me, President Tinubu has policies that are expected to turn things around, I do believe that, and I do believe him. He knows that he cannot afford to fail and he will not fail because he has things needed or expected for a leader to succeed. He has been deep in the struggle to rescue Nigeria and having what it takes to do the job, he simple need the patience of Nigerians for now. I believe that very soon than we expect the policies now being implemented will start yielding commendable fruits that will turn the fortunes of this country into a country that will be the joy of all. President Tinubu is on right track, he knows the problems, the challenges and he understands the solution needed.
READ ALSO
Nigeria should consider hiring doctors from India, Cuba, other places – Dr Tarkon
Let’s move to your constituency, the women and their representation in the president appointments. Are you satisfied with the proportion so far appointed?
Yes, and no. Yes because there are still more women being appointed, young and old. No, in the sense that in the place I come from there is a saying that if you go to market and you did not see the person you are looking for you say the market in scanty. So, those of us that have not been reached yet, we are still expectant and hopeful. But so far, I am satisfied. He is gender-sensitive, focusing on those that can deliver.
Aside from what the government is doing, what are your own expectations that you think the government needs to look into and give quick attention?
Some of my quick expectations are the things that are already ongoing in the process of being executed. One of them is hopefully, the Port Harcourt refinery that will come on stream soonest, I think next month. With that actualized what it means is that the volume of importation and the sapping of the dollar for such purpose will be drastically reduced. Secondly, there is going to be a stiff competition with the unbundling or opening up our trade barriers with the 43 items that are now been unbanned. With such competition, prices of locally made goods are expected to go down, then the prices of imported goods should be very high so that it now depends on what your taste is. If your taste is for foreign goods, then you pay for it. If your taste is for local goods, then you know that you will be enjoying reduced price. It will be very unacceptable if Nigerian produced goods continue to soar in prices to an extent that it becomes cheaper to buy imported goods. So the refinery and the unbanning of the 43 items are good measures. The policies that are dished out regularly shows me that what the president is doing right now is foundational government which will turn into improved government. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has assured Nigerians that they should not panic that both the old and new currency will remain in place until further notice, no date was given. It has assured Nigerians that there is nothing to panic about and this is part of the things that brings stability in a system. Also, I know that it is in the pipeline to improve workers’ salary beyond what it is right now. There is also this students loan that will commence from January so that no family will say that their children or ward cannot obtain tertiary education as a result of lack of fund. So I think with all this being put in place and more policies still to come up, I am optimistic that, this time next year, if we do this interview the outcome will be different, very positive. The truth is that the President is on track and looking at what he inherited, there is need to be pragmatic, focused and calculating in the policies you choose. The result will not be or show overnight but surely the end result will be positive and to the good of all Nigerians.
The students’ loan that you mentioned, there has been much criticisms on it and how difficult it is to access it given the conditionality involved?
I think you as a journalist should get the document and peruse it. I do not think some people have clear information of what is needed. What is difficult is when a parent refuses to get NIN and some other few requirements. If you don’t also have a bank account for instance, you don’t have an international passport, you don’t work in a place where your salary can be determined it may be a bit difficult but still it is an opportunity a large number of Nigerians will benefit from. Of course, in every loan there must be conditions for it to be given. The most important thing is that most families will benefit from it and they will be Nigerian families. You cannot give a loan without some conditions if not, it will be abused. With what the president Tinubu-led government is doing, there is no fear that the renewed hope agenda will not deliver positive result to Nigerians. Nothing good comes easy and as I have advocated at different medium, there is need to be patient, there is need to persevere, and there is optimism to believe that the reconstruction of the country is on course, and the outcome will be nothing but positive.
Speak on the performance of your state governor, Dr Alex Otti of Abia state?
He is showing signs of commitment. The appointment of 17 transitional chairmen are also commendable, the quality of men and probably, one woman is worth-commending. But the number of women is not commendable rather the appointment generally because I saw a lot of quality people there. We must always search out for quality people and engage them in local government administration to see if there will be change from what we used to have. I learnt that the governor is working on some roads as we are told in the social media and in television. As I said, he appears to be very committed in giving Abians an improved governance and I am looking towards that. We are still watching his steps because the period in office, so far is not enough to give accurate verdict. All I can say is to commend him on the ones he is doing and still advise him to up his game, given the expectations from Abians.