Buhari must engage Atiku, Tinubu to end APC crisis —APC chieftain

Chief Jackson Lekan Ojo is a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the national coordinator of the Yoruba Youth Alliance (YYA), a pan-Yoruba youth movement. He is also a member of the American Society of Industrial Security (ASIS). He speaks with TAIWO ADISA on the crisis rocking the governing party.

YOUR group has spoken against Senate’s rejection of President Muhammadu Buhari’s proposed external borrowing of $29.9bn. What’s your grouse about that?

The Senate’s rejection of Buhari’s external borrowing is not for the good of the people of the country. My belief is that they rejected the request not just because the executive did not attach the breakdown of how and what they want to spend the money on, but because President Buhari did not corner the Senate to agree on a deal and the sharing formula if the money is approved. Nigerians should watch out. We will all be surprised that the same Senate will approve it whenever the president is ready to play games with them. I don’t have confidence in this Eighth Senate.

Do you have any proof of this claim?

That is my belief. It has been their way because the padding of a thing is not working out again. People have come to recognise the Senate and the Reps as a place you cannot get anything done without negotiations. Not negotiations that will favour the populace but negotiations that will favour their private pockets. That is it.

But as a group, have you studied the $29bn loan request?

We have studied it anyway. If I will have my way, I will not want the Senate to approve it. I want them to scrutinise the request very well. This is 2016 and we have the budget, we have not expended the money in the budget on projects and towards the end of 2016 when we are preparing for 2017 budget we wanted to borrow. Borrow to do what? Are we borrowing for 2017 budget? And if we are borrowing for 2017 budget, what are we talking about? When you convert $29 billion to naira, it is even more than four years budget, what are we doing with all this money? People will ask us and even though I am a member of the APC. We believe that in the Treasury Single Account (TSA) there is a lot of money there. We have also been hearing that a lot of people have been returning money secretly and openly, where are all the money? So when we package all the money together with the 2016 budget that was not expended on any project, I don’t see any reason government should go into borrowing again. But if the Senate is doing it in good faith, definitely Nigerians will have been very happy with them. And I want to tell Nigerians that the Senate will surprise us again, nobody will know when they will overnight approve this money. If the president talks with them very well that he will protect their interests, definitely they will approve the loan. The Senate and the lawmakers in Nigeria are not working as lawmakers representing the interests of the constituencies but are they even coming home to consult with the people on what to do? We have lost confidence in the National Assembly and particularly the Eighth Assembly.

There are indications that the emerging crisis within the APC could lead to the emergence of a new political party ahead of 2019. Are you worried about that?

Yes, it is possible for them to go out of the party if they are no longer getting the level of respect they deserve. Bola Tinubu and Atiku Abubakar are the two major political giants we have today in Nigeria and they are the engine room of the ruling party, the APC. By the time their views and pieces of advice are no longer welcome in the party they co-founded, it means the key to the exit door has been given to them. But on a more serious note, if Tinubu and Atiku desert APC as a political party today, the multiplier effect of their exit will leave the party virtually empty. They are not truly involved in this government. How many nominees do they have in the cabinet of this government or how many board members and chairmen are their nominees? This government wouldn’t have been in place if the ideas and views of these two men were ignored during the formation of the consortium called APC. They contributed energies, finances and it was their political dexterity that brought about the present administration of Buhari.

But it is crystal clear that the two leaders may form alliance with an existing political party and they will coast home to victory in 2019. President Buhari is not a good party man and he is never a good political tactician and his political structure mainly in the Northern Nigeria might have been hijacked by some selfish and deceptive political personalities. If Buhari do not wade to this building imbroglio in the APC, it may not help this administration as a lot of people will work against his government. President Buhari should call all the leaders in the party and listen to them and let them suggest to him what should be done to rebuild a better Nigeria. Buhari, as an individual, means well for this country but he is surrounded by certain forces in the country.  Let him sack most of his ministers and allow his party to have contribution in the formation of a new and better cabinet.

Do you mean some aggrieved chieftains in the PDP are part of the ‘secret’ arrangement?

Yes, the so-called reconciliation in the PDP cannot be productive. The party is already polarised beyond repairs, the factions you are seeing today are like two parallel lines that can never come together for any reason. There will be an emergence of another political party that has the sponsors of some faction of the PDP and some aggrieved elements from some other political parties. I am too sure that a mega party will emerge very soon. PDP will remain but those that make things happen will no longer be members. Alignment and realignment are going on now and PDP may be badly affected and if the ongoing crisis in APC is not swiftly controlled, some giants will also jump ship to another party. PDP is divided into two major factions today and they can’t come together but very soon, one faction may join forces with the APC to outdo the other faction.

What is your assessment of governance in your home state of Osun?

In Osun State, Governor Rauf Aregbesola has proven to be a godsend leader in the state. Let me begin to ask, how much is Osun State earning from statutory allocation and how much is the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR)? Also, how much is the total overhead of the state monthly? Honestly, without any attempt to cover the governor, Osun’s earnings are very low and the overhead monthly is more than the

earnings and people are blaming the governor. I wonder how he is still paying half salaries, managing to build schools and constructing roads. Most of the states in the oil rich South-south with heavy earnings in both statutory and Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) still owe  workers between 10 and 12 months.