Pastor Usani Uguru Usani is the flag bearer of the Peoples’ Redemption Party (PRP) in next year’s governorship election in Cross River State. The former Minister for Niger Delta Affairs recently defected to the party from the APC. In this interview with our Correspondent NSA GILL, Pastor Usani speaks on a wide range of issues bordering on next year’s general elections, including his aspiration to govern the South-south state
What do you think of the Muslim-Muslim ticket in the APC?
Religion is a thing of faith; that’s for your spirit and your soul, and private. It is the prerogative of individuals; it is their convictions that would decide their attitude to it.
Are you saying that the religion of the candidates does not matter?
Governance is a different ballgame; it is based on the constitution and the laws of the country. If you say because of religious sentiments, you want your religion to be accommodated, yes, but at what level and in what capacity? This is because a vice president, for instance, is not assigned any role by the constitution. All of us are criticizing Buhari, but we have a Christian vice president in that position. So, why should we then be complaining about Buhari? It is proper to say I will vote for a Christian president or a Muslim president; so we should stop talking about the combination of their ticket.
Why do you want to become governor of Cross River State?
My desire to be governor of Cross River State is based on my passion for the improvement of the livelihood of the indigenes of Cross River. That itself has different sub-elements that form that passion. One of them is good education at the primary and secondary levels in what you call public schools and missionary schools. Number two, because I know that I have prerequisite experience over time in the policy process and administration, I think I’m adequately equipped for that. Again, the agenda for every politician seeking public office seems to have the same language. Still, the difference is in the strategy and approach to determine the success one can make. And I know that given my sense of openness, accountability and transparent administrative prowess, it is possible to build greater confidence in people that I’ll be governor. So, I want to restore that confidence in the minds of the people to believe in government and also be part of the government. In summary, that’s the motivation.
As a former Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, what is the extent of work on the East-West road?
First, the East-West Road was designed to fail from the beginning. Incidentally, the various sectors awarded to various contractors suffered various setbacks and what had been done, by the time I came on board could not be undone. The requirement to finish the East-West Road at the time, according to the contractor’s request, was N92/N93 billion, and I was able to secure approval for N100 billion. Then, the office of the National Sovereign Investment Authority, which warehoused this money, before I left was vetting the claims of the contractors, as well as the resolution the ministry made to that agency to confirm before releasing the money. Maybe their pace couldn’t match up with the time frame and after two or three meetings I had to leave the office; what went on further I do not know. But, the completion of the East-West Road, I think is a serious task, especially now, given the fact that the liquidity of the government is said to be depreciating daily under a high rate of inflation. That amount I mentioned, probably if you need to reevaluate what will be required to complete the project now, the cost will have gone up two or three times what was needed then. This makes it even more difficult to accomplish. For the sections that have been under construction before I came, I had little to do about that because, as I said, what was done could not be undone. But, for the section that was yet to be completed, I took a personal interest in it, but I found that the project was designed to fail. Take the agreement signed by the CECC for instance; every cost element on that agreement was quoted in dollars, including supply of sand, digging of gutters and supply of water. I perceived that there was something wrong there.
What is your assessment of the Buhari-led administration, which you were part of in the first tenure?
Someone can’t be in a position of governance and come out without claims of failure. In as much as it will be impossible for any administration to score 100 per cent in terms of performance, it is also not possible to say a government did not achieve success in a particular area. Number two; it’s also dependent on what the administration is being assessed on. Looking at some of the promises made by the APC before it came to power, it is obvious that it got its projections wrong. Maybe the party did not have access to enough information; the party thought it could do certain things. Against this background, it has not lived up to expectations. But, in other areas, the school feeding programme, N-Power palliatives, TraderMoni and MarketMoni it has performed creditably well. In each of these areas, one cannot say it’s a 100 per cent performance, but it has achieved some of the goals it set out to achieve, like every government. So, people’s assessment can only be unified when we take the sector-by-sector assessment with objective viewpoints and evaluation of the performance to be able to conclude whether it failed as a government or achieved a degree of success.
But, Nigerians appear to be disappointed with the administration…
In 2015 every Nigerian believed that this administration would be a rescue for the country, so I was not alone in that belief. But, seven years after, whatever variants that we have between our perceptions, the assessment and the outcomes become individual to some point sectoral to some extent. Today, we can only say that no matter what we are passing through, our country has been reasonably and seriously strengthened.
What is your comment on the impeachment threat by members of the National Assembly?
Impeachment has processes and procedures and I’ve not read or I don’t think they’ve given impeachment notice as it should be. When the impeachment notice is given and we know the conditions of the impeachment, it will enable us to say that the National Assembly is right or wrong. For instance, if the impeachment notice has any element like you’ve not given us enough money for a constituency project, we will say that it is not enough. But, if the impeachment notice states that the president has violated constitutional provisions and there is evidence to that effect, then they’ll be performing their legislative duties without concurrent from anybody.
Why did you leave the APC for a relatively unknown party?
If you build a house and you are in your bedroom and suddenly you found out that it is set ablaze, you’ll run out first for safety, before you could think of rescuing the house. Yes, as I built the house and it’s no longer conducive, doesn’t suggest that I sit in it and get it to crumble on me and I will be buried in the rubble. It was the public perception of President Buhari that helped the APC to win the 2015 election. With that consciousness coming to Nigerians now, we will all agree that you can be in your party but justify your conscience by casting your vote for the candidate of another party. The recent governorship election in Osun State has shown that people are conscious of what they want and they’re determined to take it. I left the APC because I normally will not submit to inconsistent operational methods. I have never been found to be a fan of oppression in as much I won’t waste my time pursuing things just to give opinions on people. I don’t submit myself to things that are not clear. That is why in everything I do, I work within the limit of the provisions of the rule of law. Beyond those boundaries, I will take alternative action; I will react in the best possible way. So, I left the APC because when it got to the point that I was not qualified to be invited to meetings. I knew that they were looking for excuses to blackmail me and blacklist me, so it was safer for me to leave the party.
You are contesting on the platform of a relatively unknown party. What are your chances of winning?
This is not the first time I’ll be starting on a new structure; in 2003, everybody in the New Democratic Party (NDP) then knew I was to be the candidate. But, when they refused to conduct the primary, I went to the NDP and contested the election and still took it to the end. And because I have a prevailing political prowess by human factor across the state, it is never difficult for me to call up those who will work together as a team and friends in politics and say this is the way we fall in place. Well, I will not say yes or no but I’ll say I’m in the contest to win the election and if I win it means others have lost. I will step into the field and educate the people properly when it is time for me to do so. For now, we are building the under layers of the party to have a firm foundation. I know people are curious; they’ve not seen me, they’ve not heard me, but there is no hurry in life. Hurrying to impress the people by making noise without building the foundation for that accomplishment will amount to nothing; it will amount to no result.
Do you have the financial muscle for the contest?
I saw a woman during the recent Osun State governorship election who said that both the PDP and the APC offered money to the electorate. But, the woman said she went ahead to vote for the candidate of her choice, even after collecting the money from the candidate’s political opponent. So, even with vote buying, it is still up to the electorate to decide who to vote for in the end. But, as to my preparedness level, I am available to support all the legitimate processes of election execution but not to do what is not lawful. I’ve heard some people say that they’ve kept N3 billion for the day of the election, Those who want to buy votes are not philanthropists; they’ll look for ways to recover the money and those ways will very reasonably impinge on public resources which will deplete the fortune of having to execute social systems that will be of benefits to the people. So, it is up to the people to understand the implication of that act and take a stand. That way, we will begin to have sanity in our electoral process.
What are your chances of winning?
I have held executive positions, so it is up to the people to do the assessment. If there’s any misgiving about my performance, people should be able to raise questions and be educated. I am certain that I am equipped physically, psychologically, and spiritually to achieve what I set as a target for myself. But, it is only when I am elected that I will be able to do that. So, I will leave that to the electorate. But, I am optimistic that with reasonable consciousness of the Cross River people this time around, they will know who to choose. I am not a pretender and I don’t promise what I will not do. I don’t also act to impress people; I act based on set goals. Suppose those achievements impress anybody, fair enough. Most times, politicians act with the motive of impressing people. For example, when a politician buys 10 motorcycles, he would make a public show of it, by holding a concert to give them to the people. That is not my style; I have done those things several times without anybody hearing about it. But, when the occasion demands, I bring them out for verification. So, I am set for the job and I have prerequisite experience to do it; I have good strategies tested and proven that can enable us to achieve the goals we have set for ourselves. I believe that when the election holds, we will succeed.