Solution to Edo’s State House of Assembly disagreement is in Edo not in National Assembly - Aguele
Peter Aguele, an economist and a farmer is a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Edo State. In this interview with IDRIS UMAR MOMOH & CHURCHILL OKORO, the former chairmanship aspirant for Esan South-east Local Government Area spoke on the
Edo State House of Assembly has since June been in crisis over the issuance of proclamation letter by the state governor and the subsequent inauguration by the clerk of the house. As a stakeholder in the state project, what is your take on the crisis?
Can we say there is crisis in the Edo State House of Assembly? The answer is no. The processes as laid down by the constitution are first and foremost that the governor after the end of the sixth assembly will make a proclamation which he has done. It is a constitutional right that he made the proclamation and based on that the house was inaugurated. For me, as a politician and a stakeholder in the Edo State project there is no crisis at all. The House has been inaugurated but unfortunately it is not the 24 members-elect that partook in the inauguration. But once others complete all the necessary processes they stand the chance of being sworn-in. I think all of us are looking forward to that time when all the other members will come and be inaugurated.
It is an unfortunate situation because the 24 members are all APC and there is no issue of witch-hunting anybody so to speak, because they are all of the same party. I think others should come down from their hideout and come back to the state to do what the people voted them to do constitutionally. But for me, there is no crisis. It is only a matter of pocket of disagreements and all of that.
A lot of blame game among the supporters of the parties concerned in the crisis has been going on. Where do you belong in all of this? Are you one of those pointing fingers at other group?
I think a lot of people are only trying to make a mountain out of the molehill. There is nothing like Obaseki group or Oshiomhole group. The few groups that you see and hear are just an imagination and creation of some very dubious and parochial groups who want to probably benefit from a crisis situation. There is nothing that Governor Godwin Obaseki is doing today that is not a template of Adams Oshiomhole. If there is anything that Oshiomhole stood for was the fight against godfatherism because it was the bane of the developmental strides and policy thrust of his administration. For me, Governor Godwin Obaseki is a product of Adams Oshiomhole. The only difference is in terms of characterisation. Governor Obaseki is only trying to bring to bear what Oshiomhole stood for. The fight against godfatherism cannot only start and end with Oshiomhole. The baton was passed on to Governor Obaseki. I thank God, the governor has the capacity, competence and character to bring to an end any form of godfatherism in the state. For me, you can only take the baton from somebody who had started it. Governor Obaseki is following the footstep of Adams Oshiomhole in implementing the template. It is true that a lot of people will be offended in the process just like in the days of Adams Oshiomhole. In Oshiomhole’s period, a lot of people were offended because they didn’t really like the fact that he took that battle to fight godfatherism. Also, we are seeing today that people are angry with Obaseki’s decision but the only difference now is that it is within the party. It is not as much as it were at that time when Adams Oshiomhole had to fight those who were in opposition completely. Some of those people who were in the opposition parties have even moved to the ruling party and the governor today recognises that some elements in the party are those who are also trying to portray themselves as godfathers. So, he has decided to fight it to its logical conclusion and we are very happy and supportive of him because the fight against godfatherism is the liberation and fight for the people where no one man sits down and decides who gets what. That is what the fight is all about, because we must take the dividends of democracy back to the people who originally are supposed to be the owner of it. So, for me, it is just that a baton has been passed and he that currently holds the baton is carrying on the torch light to bring to an end the problem that can bring Edo State into a crisis situation.
Is the crisis not a manifestation your party is not able to manage its victory after clinching all the 24 seats in the House of Assembly in the last general election?
After the war, there must be spoils to be shared. Human endeavours have always proven even in the olden days when war is won how to share the spoils of the war becomes the next agenda. That is where you see interest driving the process. If only everybody can go back to the collective decision of the people to say there is a bigger agenda which is Edo must work. If we continue in that light, this so-called crisis and pocket of problems will not have emanated. So, we are hoping that even in the sharing of the spoils, there will be pockets of argument after which everybody will come back to the drawing board because Edo must keep working. We are grateful that we have a governor who believes in the rule of law and the sanctity of the policies of the people. For me and for most of us, I think the governor has the capacity to bring this to a logical conclusion because all these interferences cannot work. I must tell you that politics is local and Edo is a domesticated place. The political land scale of Edo is in Edo and the solution to Edo problems is also in Edo. But to answer your question correctly, yes, the management of the successes is where we are now and I think we will win that as we successful won the election.
Some of the grievances the party members have against the governor were the nonconstitution and inauguration of board of parastatals and committee members which are supposed to benefit some of those who worked for the victory. Are you comfortable with the development?
In the management of any organisation, there must be a template. Government and governance is an interesting thing. I, for instance, cannot speak for somebody who is outside and also shouting, why has government not done this and that? But what is important is that there must be resources; resources that are enough to go round; to set up these boards. Of what use is it that a board is set up and it is not functional? The man who is at the helms of affairs should be able to tell according to the resource on ground whether the boards are viable, whether they should be constituted and inaugurated. Because it is important and for the person I know, in the case of Godwin Obaseki, there is no use constituting a board that will be moribund and not functional. I think that whatever he does suits the government of the day in terms of his policy thrust. He will inaugurate boards and all the boards that needed to be inaugurated in the last few years have been inaugurated and I am very convinced that as we go forward, others will be inaugurated. Some members of boards that were inaugurated in the days of Oshiomhole resigned from their appointment simply because they didnot see themselves as functional people. So, you can imagine if Governor Godwin Obaseki had quickly in the first one year inaugurated boards, yet, the boards are not functioning, by now what you will be hearing and seeing are people resigning unnecessarily. We must not pretend that Edo State is sitting on a very limited funds. A lot of people are asking for too much because government is there. So, I am sure when funds are enough, the governor will do the needful as regards the boards and committees.
The National Assembly has just passed a resolution directing the state governor to issue a fresh proclamation letter to the clerk for the “proper” inauguration of the 7th Assembly for the 24 members-elect. What is your take on this?
First and foremost, I think the National Assembly should be aware that this matter is in court. How is it that they are adjudicating on a matter that is in court of competent jurisdiction? I just feel that there is flagrant abuse of power. At the end of the day, it is the Edo people that are likely going to suffer from all these interferences. I did not expect that something that is domesticated and our man-made problem is now being taken to Abuja to find a solution. It is a shame because we have a party and the head of the party in the country today, the National chairman of APC, is an Edo man. They say charity begins at home. If we cannot put our house in order, what is it that we are going to tell others? The former governor of the state and who is today by the grace of God, the National chairman of the party, has the capacity to sit down and locally solve the problem. We do not need all these shenanigans; we do not need to run to Abuja to solve our problems, we are only washing our dirty linens outside because at the end of the day when the chips are down they will tell us to solve our problem at home. I want to assure that these problems will be solved locally just as it was created locally. The National Assembly members that directed the governor to issue a fresh proclamation letter know that it is impossible. Because it is even sadder that the lawmakers know that the matters is already in court and you cannot adjudicate on a matter that is before a competent court.
As the crisis continues; what is your advice and the best way to resolve it?
I do not see a crisis; rather it is a pocket of disagreements. It is not a blown up situation where we say we need help. For instance, we have a functioning seventh assembly in Edo State; commissioners have just been screened and sworn in. It is the primary responsibilities of the House of Assembly to screen commissioners. So, if they have successfully done such a thing, it means there is no crisis. The only time that the laws allow the intervention and interference from the National Assembly is when the house is not able to sit successfully. For me, I would advice nearly 60-70 percent of those who today are already sitting in Abuja on the basis of the fact that some help will come from there, I will say there is no need to go outside and ask for such solution; they should come back home and be inaugurated. The house is functional. Nothing will stop the house from being functional.
Sir, when you say Edo State government is sitting on a very limited funds not many people in the state will agree with you because they argued that the state governor collects N6billion annually on security votes, representing an average of N500 monthly, and that the governor would have been magnanimous in spending part of it to pay boards and committee members which to them is a token?
First and foremost, I am not privy to such information. The N500million monthly security vote that is allocated to the sitting governor, perhaps, it is specific. In governance, nobody sits down and gets free money. It is money that is earmarked for security. I am sure that you are aware that somebody who was at the head of a security agency is still in jail over alleged misappropriation of security funds in the country. If today we are experiencing a governor whose money meant for security is being diverted to service public officers and politicians, when the time comes for accountability a lot of these politicians will not be there to answer for the amount of money that was spent. So, I am very sure that such amount of money. That means there is a heading for it. It is not free money. It is money meant for something and there is no appropriation for something that does not exist. And for me, I think the onus is on the governor to spend what money that is meant for a particular thing or project judiciously and for the purpose.