Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom
Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom, in
this interview with GBENRO ADEOYE and other journalists, speaks on 2019
elections and on the executive bill on water resources sent to the
Senate, among others
Some people believe that
without a strong political coalition or merger of opposition parties, it
will not be possible to oust the ruling All Progressives Congress from
power in 2019. Are you in support of such a coalition?
You see, there is no formula that is the
answer. Most of these things are just human tactical approaches to what
you think might give you results. I believe that what matters most is
results and everybody is hoping to win at the end of the day. The FIFA
World Cup is about to start and each of the teams representing their
countries are going there to win the trophy. So any tactical approach
that you believe will give you results is what you will employ. And if
it gives you results, fine. And let me tell you, no two elections are
the same and they will never be. The 2019 presidential election will be
completely different from that of 2015. So if somebody thinks there is a
formula that will do it, you will realise that it might not necessarily
be so. But above all, it is God that determines who gets to power. All
powers on planet earth belong to God. A lot of people rode to leadership
positions in different capacities without anyone casting a ballot. So
what coalition will you call that? I still believe these things are just
tactical human approaches to actually see what result we can get.
There are people who believe that South-South governors are not doing enough for their people with the resources they get as oil-rich states. What do you have to say to that?
I don’t know where you got that from but
I’m hearing it for the first time because a lot of people do ask where
we get money from? As of today, it is only governors in the Peoples
Democratic Party that are inaugurating projects. Look at what we get in
naira value and look at the rate of inflation. When we had a similar oil
price some years ago at the exchange rate prevalent at that time, how
much were the states given and how much are we getting today with the
current rate of inflation? Today, it is about N365 to a dollar. Divide
that by the naira value and look at what we used to get and compare that
with what we are doing. At that time, how much was a bag of cement and
how much is a bag of cement today?
These are facts; so by the time you
check and see what we have put on the ground, you will see that we have
done a lot. And I’m hearing that for the first time. Nobody had ever
challenged us to know what South-South governors were doing with the
revenue they were getting. Look at the inflation and look at what we are
getting. How much are we getting now that the oil price is over $80 per
barrel? When oil price was just about $60 per barrel, so many
South-South states were getting over N17bn. At one point, it was over
N80bn. But the so-called largest (oil producing state) is collecting
about N15bn now. Divide that with N365 (current exchange rate) and
divide what we used to get then by N176 or N178 (exchange rate some
years ago)and then factor in the inflation and then you will know that
it is not completely correct.
You recently banned 30 cult groups in your state with a legislation
to back it up but in 2003, the then Governor Victor Attah prohibited
cult groups. How is yours different from what he did?
Well, we didn’t enact a new law. We
tried to enforce the law and we are serious about it because we can link
every crime committed in Nigeria today to some of these sects one way
or the other. It is not healthy at all. It provides the basis for most
of the criminal activities that we have. We will stand by it.
Some controversy surrounded
your administration’s plan to have a liaison office in Lagos and some
people even held a protest, asking why the state wanted to spend N2bn on
a new office when the state already had many structures in Lagos. What
really happened?
We need to pray for understanding to
know where to invest. Even before I became the governor, Akwa Ibom State
had several properties in Lagos – on Martin Street, Campbell Street, on
the Victoria Island, and in Ikoyi. Even the property they are talking
about, I didn’t buy the property, the property had been there and it is
the property of the state government. Every asset is supposed to yield
returns. If you have an unproductive asset and you are a businessman,
will you close your eyes and leave that asset to remain unproductive?
The answer is no. So it is purely lack of understanding.
Two, that thing you called a protest was
not a protest; it was sponsored by some few people who I don’t want to
mention. Third, you follow consumption tax to know where money is made
from. Today, where do you think consumption tax is made in this country?
Lagos. So, money is made in Lagos and shared in Abuja. If you mean
business, you must follow where money is made. And if you check, as of
today, outside Lagos, we are next in terms of Foreign Direct Investment.
How do you meet with investors? So if you don’t meet people, present
proposals, make presentations, how will they come? It involves a lot of
marketing and you need a place to meet with foreign investors. You see,
this overdependence on Abuja is what makes people talk that way. ‘Oh,
you only need liaison office in Abuja because you go to Abuja.’ What
about where money is made? I also need a liaison office in Lagos where
money is made so that I can meet with my investors and the private
sector players because no economy can actually get to where you want
without private sector investments. So that is why I pardoned those who
sponsored that.
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