Uwajumogu: 2017 Budget Will End Recession
Senator Benjamin Uwajumogu represents Imo North (Okigwe) senatorial district in the National Assembly. A candidate of the All Progressives Congress, he was elected in July 2016, in a rerun poll. Also, a former Speaker of the Imo State House of Assembly fr
The 2017 budget is targeted at alleviating the sufferings of Nigerians, especially the lower class and the downtrodden. I just pray that the president will have the will to pursue the budget. I also believe that the National Assembly will partner the president to ensure that the right things are done. If that is done, I’m very sure we will come out of the recession very soon
Five months in office as a senator, what have you been doing differently for your people?
I was sworn in at the Senate after the rerun election that was conducted in July by September 27, 2016 because the Senate was on recess when the elections were concluded. Having been there for three months, I can say that it is a familiar territory because all legislatures are of the same processes. Though this is of a higher platform, because we are talking about making laws for the entire country, and of course you have the higher quality, pedigree and numbers in the senate.
Looking at the entire country today, in terms of the economy and recession which we are all facing, I have decided that my major interest and programme will be in the area of agriculture. This is because one, a huge percentage of Okigwe indigenes is into agriculture, either full time or part time. So, agriculture accounts for more than 70 per cent of the occupation of the people of my zone and it is also an equal opportunity employer. It employs the skilled, unskilled, the educated, the half educated, the illiterate, etc.
Everybody has a role to play in agriculture including the people who also eat the food. Okigwe zone is blessed by God because the Imo River, where Imo State draws her name is basically an Okigwe river. The Onuimo is the beginning and the source of the river to Okigwe local government to Ezinachi to Isiala Mbano and Ehime to Onicha Uboma, Onuiyinta, Amanze Obowo upto Avutu Obowo before it diverts towards Abia State.
The River travels through six local governments of Okigwe zone and at the bank of this river lies over 6,000 hectares of arable land that is yet to be developed. With that river which is a good source of irrigation with those lands lying fallow, we need to create awareness so that the people will organize themselves into groups to be able to partake in the federal government programme on agriculture.
If you pass through Okigwe through Onuimo to Mbano to Ihitte Uboma and Obowo you will find massive projects that were built many years ago by previous governments of Michael Okpara and Sam Mbakwe lying wasted such as fish ponds, cashew settlement, cashew plantation, palm plantations, rice meals and other cottage industries. All we need to do now is to bring in awareness and assistance to our farmers to organize themselves to take advantage of the agricultural revolution that is now ongoing in this country.
That has been my focus and I have used these past Christmas period to tour round and meet the farmers and youths to collaborate with them to ensure that we don’t miss the funds from the federal government. Through the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, we are trying to create agricultural processing zones in each of these local governments. Already, I have invited the officials of the Ministry of Agriculture to the sites in Okigwe zone. We are looking at cassava processing plant in each local government; we are also going to set up fish drying plant in each local government. We are looking at encouraging 50 youths in each local government to go into fish farming. We are also creating the market for them.
Are you in anyway leveraging FG’s arrangement for the N200 billion SMEs loan platform?
We are looking at other federal government assistance to SMEs especially in agriculture that is available to our farmers. Apart from rice, fish farming, etc, we are looking at other aspects of animal farming such as snail production, piggery and poultry. What is important is creating the market and processing zone and also storage facilities for the farmers. We are ensuring that roads are created for them to be able to operate well. We are also working with state and federal agencies to look at how to access the small and medium scale enterprises funding that is, the SMEs funding which has been guaranteed by the federal government to help.
I believe that the key to recovery of Nigerian economy lies on the medium and small scale industries, especially the mom and dad company. Those are the companies that can employ more than 80 per cent of our employable personnel. And any day those companies are allowed to die, then, the economy will never recover. I urge the federal government and the Central Bank and other banks to relax some of these rules of policies and allow these companies access to funding.
The biggest problem we have in this country is lack of venture capital. A lot of people have ideas of what to do but nobody is ready to give them the money (the capital) to express their ideas into a concrete programme that can alleviate people’s poverty. So, I believe that if we continue this way and by providing development funding to our people, even traders in the market should have access to funding and the economy gradually will grow.
As a former Speaker in a state assembly, how do you see the recent but sudden change of some principal officers?
In the recent change of the senate leader, if that is what you indirectly referring to, due process was followed. There are only two positions in the senate or in any legislature that are electable, that is, the two presiding officers – the speaker and the deputy speaker or the senate president and the deputy senate president. Those are the two positions that are elected, the rest are appointed. They could be elected because they are party positions.
The majority leader, deputy majority leader, chief whip and others are appointed by the caucus within the parties in the senate or House of Representatives as the case may be. It is just as you have the minority leader which Senator Godswill Akpabio represents today in the senate for the PDP. The PDP can come tomorrow and say they have decided to change minority leader, and once they write to the senate president, the senate president is duty bound to announce the decision of the members of the caucus.
Senator Ali Ndume is a good man, he is somebody who has been quite gracious to me since I came to the senate but the senate has found that at this time there is need to rejig their leadership for certain reasons. That doesn’t take away the fact that Ali Ndume is a wonderful man and a great legislator. He is a good leader but right now, the senate decided to change him, and that is the caucus of the APC. His removal would also pave way for the reconciliation of the party and its leadership, as you would have seen that the party came out to endorse the decision made by the senate.
Do you think the fate that befell Ndume could also befall the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu since you are the only APC senator from the South-east?
Well I don’t know. People have referred to this on several occasions. Like I said earlier, there are only two ways principal officers can be elected. And the deputy senate president is a principal officer by election and by impeachment. The deputy senate president, Senator Ike Ekweremadu is a very good material for that position. He is quite experienced. He has served in that position for long. This is his third term, and I don’t think you can find anybody in that senate that is qualified as he is. From what I can see with my little experience in the senate, the senate operates as a bi-partisan structure. Party issues are not pronounced within the senate as people would expect. I think he will carry on with his job.
With your victory at the tribunal, what’s next?
I’m very grateful to Okigwe people for electing me as their senator. I’m also happy that I have been given the sacred privilege to represent Okigwe people in the hallowed chambers of the senate. That said I know that my opponent is exercising his constitutional right to petition the tribunal over the election.
He is doing everything he can to prove his case. I think he has appealed the ruling of the tribunal, like I said earlier he is exercising his Constitutional rights, but I urge him to join hands with me to uplift the fortunes of Okigwe people instead of going further.
However, I’m aware and sure that at the end of the day, I’m going to come out victorious because the election was generally free and fair and I was given a proper mandate. We are hoping and praying that we will be the ones that will retain it at the end of the day. Of course, we remain grateful to Okigwe people and like I told you earlier, I have already inaugurated my plans and programmes for the senate. What is very important is that our doors are open.
We are ready to interact with our people and we are open to new ideas on what can be done, more especially anything that can be done to raise the economic fortune of our senatorial zone and Imo State, where I come from and indeed Nigeria in support of this change platform of APC and the rescue platform of His Excellency, Rochas Okorocha under whom I served as speaker for four years.
Do you think the economy will improve this year, given what is at stake at the moment?
I believe that in 2017, we should be coming out from recession. What is key is that the budget has come and I believe that within the next two months, the National Assembly should be through with passing the budget. If what had happened in 2016 continues in 2017 and the budget is implemented, it will be better for us. It’s a long time that a budget was implemented up to 50 per cent in this country. The budget implementation currently is well over 60 per cent and that is a very good pass mark and the current 2016 budget has been extended to March 2017 meaning that at the end of this 2016 budget, maybe the implementation will be about 90 per cent meaning that the change in APC has begun.
Secondly, this budget is a budget of hope. We targeted at tackling social spending and expenditure which would help to boost the economy. There are no hard and fast rules about it. The 2017 budget is targeted at alleviating the sufferings of Nigerians, especially the lower class and the downtrodden. I just pray that the president will have the will to pursue the budget. I also believe that the National Assembly will partner the president to ensure that the right things are done. If that is done, I’m very sure we will come out of the recession very soon.
As the 2019 elections draw closer, what do you think about the number of those gunning for the presidency?
Ambition is a personal thing, and you cannot stop people from nursing ambition. Politicians are the same all over the world, but my advice is that electioneering doesn’t put bread and butter on the table. I pray that there wouldn’t be too much of a distraction to governance. If they must pursue their ambition, they must do so in an atmosphere of calm and peace. I also pray that this time around, it would not be too much bitterness and rancor.
What’s your relationship with Governor Okorocha like?
You cannot write my political history without dedicating a major part of it to Governor Rochas Okorocha, because he gave me the opportunity to become speaker and I worked with him very well. I remain very grateful and loyal to him. I am one of his commanding generals. The governor has indeed done quite a lot in Imo State. If you are an APC member, you are bound to commend his achievements.