National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Alhaji Lai Mohammed in this interview with Temidayo Akinsuyi sheds light on some recent statements issued by the party on the state of the nation. Excerpts:
The opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has reacted to the allegations you raised about the looting of funds under the immediate past administration by accusing of you of heating up the polity and asking the presidency to call you to order. What is your reaction to this?
It is unfortunate that people want to keep such far distance from the truth. There is no figure that I mentioned in the press release that was not already in public domain. Let me start first with the N3.8tr which I said in the release that the NNPC is yet to return to the federation account. That was not my intention. I didn’t cook that figure. The whole world was informed of this fact at the inaugural meeting of the National Economic Council when the council revealed the fact that within 2011 and 2014, that the NNPC made as much as N8.1trn from the sale of crude oil, but that only N4.3tr was paid into the federation account. I didn’t make that up. We also spoke about the $2.1bn in the Excess Crude Account. I didn’t make that up also, the allegations was made at the NEC meeting. It was a major controversy between the former Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo- Iweala, Governor Oshiomhole and the FAAC. At the end of the day, Okonjo- Iweala had to admit that in actual fact, NEC did not give the approval but she took instructions from the former president. There was the issue of the $10.9bn which the DPR didn’t pay back into the federation account, which are monies that are paid as royalties. I didn’t make that up. It was the NEITI that told the whole world about that. There is also the issue of the 160 million barrels of crude which was supposed to have been lost between2010 and 2015. Once again, it was NEITI that made the allegations. There was also the issue of N183bn that the Auditor-General of the federation said NDDC had to refund. So, these are all figures that are in the public domain. There was also the issue of some ministers having made as much as $6bn under the last administration. I also didn’t make this up. So, how can anybody now say these figures were imaginary and are my ideas? On the issue of trying to overheat the polity, I believe it is a very clever way by the PDP to run away from the fact. How does repeating and re-echoing what is already in the public domain amount to overheating the polity? Can we fight the war against corruption if we are also afraid to tell the world the magnitude of the rot, stealing and corruption in the system? It was deliberate on our part to bring put these figures once again to public domain because before then, people were hearing these figures in bits and pieces and that is probably why some people were saying ‘Let us focus on other things and let us leave those indicted alone’. But when people know that we are not talking about pennies but about monies running into several trillions of naira, money that could build us state-of-the-art hospitals in every states of the federation, money that could be used to improve the electricity supply across the country, then people will know what we are talking about. In any event, are they asking us to just slap them on the wrist and tell them to go home? If we do that, what kind of message will we be sending to the entire world? That there is nothing wrong in coming into government, recklessly dip your hands into the purse and then walk away. It is interesting to see people saying it is the business of the federal government and not the political party to make the statements we made. I believe they are wrong because clearly, the president campaigned on the platform of the party, using the manifesto of the party. Anytime they are throwing bricks at the president, the party is also joined. I think it is only proper and right for the party to stand firmly behind the president because he is executing the manifestoes, programs and policies of the party and we are not going to abandon him. We must complement his efforts.
Your party also issued a statement where it said “Anyone who attempts, either by deeds or words, to sabotage the recovery efforts is not a patriot”. Some Nigerians believe the statement is targeted at Rev. Father Matthew Hassan Kukah over his recent statements. Is that true?
Our statement was not directed at any particular person. Our statement was directed at Nigerians and the entire world. What we said was that anyone who said or does anything to derail the fight against corruption is not being patriotic. This is not directed at any person because what we found out is that corruption has started fighting back. We also find out that there is so much money in the hands of many of these discredited officials that it can be used to stabilize the polity. Already, we could hear people attacking the president saying that his fight against corruption is selective, some said it is vindictive, some said it has religious bias and ethnic colouration. I also read in the papers that certain ethnic groups said Buhari is marginalizing them. But we are saying that no matter where you come from, no matter your political or religious belief, we must all agree that Nigeria is in this sorry pass largely because of the corruption that marred the immediate past administration. And the only way to get Nigeria back to work is to honestly address the issue of corruption. And I want to say here that Mr. President will not be selective in his fight against corruption. As a matter of fact, he has already said that he is not going to micro manage the anti-graft agencies in the way they conduct their petitions. We say loud and clear that if anybody has any allegations against any chieftain of APC, he is free to approach the anti-graft agencies and the police and such a person will be investigated thoroughly. But if you sit down in the comfort of your house and say ‘Go and try Tinubu, Amaechi, Fayemi’. The question we will ask you is ‘ For what offence’? if you have incontrovertible facts, figures and evidence against these men, put it into writing and necessary actions will be taken. But I can assure you that Mr. President has said no member of his party will escape justice if found guilty.
You issued another statement commending the military for their latest onslaught against Boko Haram insurgents. Don’t you think this is too early as some people have claimed?
Those who said it is too early to commend the military have their viewpoints. That is the beauty of democracy. But I believe that when a government is doing well, you must encourage the government. When your army is doing well, you must boost their morale. My role as the spokesperson of the governing party is clearly to showcase areas of marked improvements in government and I am very proud of what this government is doing in the fight against corruption. In less than three months in power, we have been able to rally, regional, continental and global support against the terrorists. We have also been able to take the war to the insurgents. And today, they are fleeing. Today, there is confusion in the leadership of the Boko Haram. Today, no territory of ours is under their control. They have been dislodged from their strongholds. The president has instructed the leadership of the army to ensure that the morale of the army is kept high by looking after the welfare of the soldiers. So, if they want to criticize the government,, they are free to do so. But looking at the efforts of the military in their renewed drive, I think it is proper to commend them. Another thing that this government has done is that for the first time, we now the military understanding that you cannot fight Boko Haram using the military might alone. You must also use the political and the economic weapons. So, you see the Chief of Army staff going round consulting with the leaders in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa. I think that is a right step in the right direction and it calls for commendation. It is my duty as the spokesperson of the governing party to showcase what my government has done.
Source: dailyindependentnig.com
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