‘MY TRIPLE PORTFOLIO IS NOT AS DAUNTING AS PEOPLE THINK’

is triggering that. My best story on that, is that one week after we announced that FEC (Federal Executive Council) had approved the Payment Assurance Guarantee, a Power Plant Operator called me and said “Minister, please, come and help me commission my new power plant, 119 mega watts, gas power fire power”. You don’t build a 119 mega watts gas fire power plant in one week. What it simply meant, was that it was there. They were not sure that they would get paid, so they just switched it off. So, all of these things are releasing power to the grid. Confidence that liquidity will persist. Government is also verifying MD Agents. There is a lot that is being done. We are also promoting the use of solar, mini grid; we have issued regulations. We are doing a lot to solve all of those problems.

Egbin for example. Again we must remember that power plants don’t run perpetually all year round. They must be shut down from time to time for maintenance. Just like the generator in your home. That is what they are. They are just big generators.

Steady power will mean that we have enough, and that we also have maintenance back up. We can switch off one while we are maintaining it and compensate. We know that as at September 2nd, 2017, two of Egbin’s six turbines were out for maintenance repairs. I am sure that those are some of the challenges. Its either gas or transmission or routine maintenance that is also affecting them.

Is there a blue print for affordable housing for all Nigerians?

There is a program, not a blue print. Affordable housing is a policy and it is a good policy, and every Government that I know that cares for its people adopts that policy. So, from the last Administration to President Shagari’s Administration, everybody wanted affordable housing. To the UK Government, to the United States Government, to the Ghanaian Government, everyone wants affordable housing. The question is, what is affordable? It is a very subjective definition. It is also relative to where you want to live. So, we have developed a program which we are piloting. We are building in thirty-three States based on designs that we consulted people about, because we found out there were flaws in the old design. People were not consulted about what they wanted. So, we see a lot of empty houses around the country, because the off-takers were not consulted. When we finish the first pilot, we will then be able to see how much it actually costs, from what we conceived on the drawing to what actually happens. There will be local costs that were not in our books because we could not foresee them. There are cases where Communities have forced us to relocate our land which is at extra cost. There are cases where they have taken us to Court. There are cases where the land is a bit more swampy than we thought it was; and all of those kind of issues. That is when you will know the actual cost. And then you disaggregate it per unit.

Then the other issues will arise. Firstly, is it acceptable? Did it meet the acceptability standard? Secondly, is it affordable? Can people pay for it? Those who it is intended for. So, we are still at the pilot stage. But what is remarkable about the pilot stage, is that it is having very pronounced consequences on the economy. It is creating jobs. We have six hundred and fifty-three Contractors, who are beneficiaries nationwide. We have over thirteen thousand direct employees, and we have about forty-one thousand indirect employees, who are Vendors, Suppliers, and all of those who support the eco-system in a built environment. So, that is a plus, in the very first place.

That pilot is driving demand for the mining industry, you are seeing this effect in solid minerals in the last nine quarters dating back to 2014, because we are spending on housing, construction, road construction, rail construction under the Ministry of Transport, and the civil engineering work that supports power and transmission work.

As a Lawyer, a Senior Advocate for that matter, what is your opinion of the 1999 Constitution? Is it adequate or do you think it requires rewriting? How do you think Government should resolve the issue of the ongoing agitations for Restructuring?

The Constitution is a document legislation made by men, and therefore, it is always limited and subject to the imperfections that characterise the human being. Every generation perhaps, wants to see a revised document. Those who made the laws, can only make laws within what they can contemplate, and they cannot contemplate forever. They can only contemplate within a time space, and that is why constitutional amendments are a normal occurrence. But they must not be a daily occurrence.

I think that some of the limitations to the Constitution, can be managed by some other processes, other than routine default desire to amend. I think that, to the extent that the 1999 Constitution adopts substantially most of the 1979 Constitution, there is some respect for the provisions of the Constitution. And I say this only to the extent that I know that the 1979 Constitution, was the product of a Constituent Assembly properly elected and was chaired by the late Chief FRA Williams, SAN, and all of the provisions were properly debated upon, before people had taken political partisan positions. To the extent that that document was a well received document, which people still hold fond memories of; to the extent that the 1999 Constitution seemed to copy it and adopt most of it, with changes here and there; except to the extent that it was enacted as a military decree which makes it tell a lie about “We, the People and We not the People”, I don’t have too much of a grouse with it. I think that every time people focus on constitutional amendments as the go-to answer for all our problems, I have argued and urged, that we must be careful. It is not a document that must be amended with such rapidity; that when our people are complaining, we just run to the laws and constitution. It is not really a better document that our people want. It is a better life! And we can actually give our people a better life, more by consensus, by compromise, rather than strict letters of law.

As far as the agitation for Restructuring is concerned, I think that all I want to see first, is an understanding of those who ask for restructuring. What do those who ask for restructuring mean? What do they want? Because, if we have a common purpose of what we want, our actions would be united, and our efforts are likely to produce more results. But, if we have disparate understanding of restructuring means, then the likelihood of even achieving restructuring becomes more difficult.

In terms of governmental restructuring and political arrangement, I think nobody can debate that that is a desire that anybody can wish to have and you can’t take that away. How it ultimately evolves is quite another thing, because the political structure of Nigeria itself, is not divine. It was made by men. Up until 1914, there was no Nigeria. It was one man that coupled it together. Then from then, it was Northern and Southern Protectorates and the Colony of Lagos. Then later, it became Regions, there were three. Then later they cut one Region to create the Mid-West. We have always restructured the political, until we reached thirty-six States. So, you can continue to cut it up all you like. But I think that, it is the question whether that political arrangement adequately caters for all of the interests that has led to the agitations. Of course, there are those to whom restructuring means something else. These are some of the things that this Government is already addressing. We are handing over some of the roads that used to be Federal Roads, to State Governments. That is why I have said that what can be achieved by consensus, is greater than what can be achieved in the book. So long as you don’t break the law.

But handing over some of the roads to State Governments, are you also handing over the resources in the different States, so that they have revenue to take over the road works?

Again it is by creativity. Let me give you an example. They say there is one Police. When we wanted to do police funding in Lagos, people were dying, and the citizens didn’t want to know who controls the Police. What was important was, is the Police effective? That is all. And I came to President Yar’Adua and I told him that I needed to buy guns, because I had investigated. My policemen didn’t have guns. We had about twenty-seven rifles for the whole of Rapid Response Squad (RRS) for Lagos or something like that. And we had over two thousand RRS personnel. I told the President that I needed to purchase one thousand rifles and two million rounds of ammunition. President Yar’Adua got Inspector General of Police Mike Okiro then, to find a way with the National Security Adviser on how we could make it work, without breaching the Constitution. And they said “Buy it; we will give you the import permits and all of that, hand them over to me and I will issue them back to your Commissioner of Police, so that we can secure the State". This is the practicality of some of these things.

When we are talking about State Police, every State already has a State Police. Every one, because don’t forget, that the traditional police had departments, sanitation police, traffic police. Every State has set up its own traffic warden. Really and truly, Police is not just arms. It is enforcement of laws. So it is an idea whose time has already passed; and most of those standing in the way of it will ultimately succumb.

These things are already evolving. So, if this is what restructuring means, to give a legal framework to it, we must define what it means, what we want to do. But all of these things are already being done. There are partnerships between States. Solid Minerals is saying that inspite of the law, it wants to work with Communities, so that they can benefit from the mining resources that are in their States. Leave the law, but we can work together. Let us begin to give a legal framework to these areas of co-operation.

The Central Bank which is a Federal Institution, does not distinguish between State and Federal , when it begins to go and give money for agriculture and so on. Everybody receives the loans that it disburses to rural Communities. So, again give a legal framework to some of these things.

Religion seems to have become a big issue in Nigeria, causing countless controversies. As a Muslim who is happily married to a Christian wife, what advice can you give to Nigeria on how to achieve the right balance?

Keep religion where religion belongs, in the Houses established for worship. Take religion out of the offices. Take religion out of the public places. Stop this public prayer. No country does them except us. Not even those who originated the faiths, because they have kept religion where it belongs; in the places of worship, in the schools where children are taught and introduced to God early in their lives to fear God; and out of the offices and work places. That is my advice.

Thank you very much Honourable Minister

Thank you for having me