Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal, recently held a media chat as part of activities marking his first year in office. Below are highlights of issues he discussed.
View on democracy from 1999 and assessment of Muhammadu Buhari administration
We have to be grateful to God for the return of democracy to the country in 1999. However, we have to be frank to ourselves to say that the level of development in the country is not commensurate with the amount of funds the country received within the same period. We made huge profit from crude oil sales but the impact was not felt by the people as much as it should. From 2015 to now, this administration has made genuine efforts to change things but that effort has been hampered by lack of enough resources. The good thing is that there is sincerity of purpose from those in authority to right the wrongs of the past.
President Muhammadu Buhari has remained his honest self and to me, he has done well since his election. During the campaign period, his emphases were on three things: security, tackling corruption and revamping the economy. Before he came on board, the corruption going on was mind-boggling. The economy was in terrible shape and I recalled when some of us in the House of Representatives raised alarm over what was going on, we were called names and branded enemies of the former regime. The recent removal of subsidy shows that the President is on top of things as far as the economy is concerned. If not for the trust and confidence the people have on President Buhari, the removal of the subsidy would have led to protests and breakdown of law and order. Now let us answer ourselves in objective manner, has the President not succeeded in addressing those things he emphasised during his campaign? Personally, I don’t think one year is enough time to judge the President but the effect of what he is doing is being felt across the land. Public officers are now more cautious in the manner they handle public funds.
Difference between speakership and governorship
Even though the two positions are important leadership positions, they are distinct of each other and demands are different. The adjustment has been gradual and the experience worthwhile. However, as I said, the demands of the two offices are not similar largely because in the National Assembly, I was representing a constituency from far away in Abuja. But in the executive arm, as the number one citizen of the state, I am presiding over the affairs of the state from the state capital. I am now working from within the midst of the people at all times. This gives me the opportunity to feel the pulse of their demands and work together with them to find lasting solutions to issues.
As Speaker of the House of Representatives, you are first among equals and you do not have guarantee of tenure. You may go into the Chamber for sitting and come out of it as ordinary member of the House. The decision to remain on that seat is at the discretion of 359 members who may decide to remove you from office at any given time without much fuss and at a very short notice. The demands of the two offices are enormous even though not many would want to return to their positions after their tenure in the House of Representatives. Just ask former Speakers Etteh (Patricia), Dimeji Bankole, Ghali Na’Abba and the rest. The same cannot be said of Governors.
Continuity of projects
This administration is a continuation of the last administration and we feel it is of paramount importance to complete ongoing projects. However, due to the precarious financial situation we find ourselves in the country, it became imperative to reassess our priorities. We’ve looked into all the projects and decided on priority ones to complete. Our pledge is that there will be no abandoned projects and we will start new ones at the appropriate time. We are working to improve our internally generated revenue and already, wide consultations are going on with experts on different areas of interest. Even though we are determined to improve revenue, we have to be conscious of the hard times. The economy is not in good shape and we are working round the clock to improve the situation.
Mind-boggling corruption at the local government level
It is true we have carried out series of verifications to sanitise the payroll and instil financial discipline in both the local government councils and the state civil service. The verification exercise is ongoing and I await the submission of their reports. Many have sent me messages saying we have dismissed them from their jobs. The idea is not to make things difficult for anyone but things cannot continue the way they are. The corruption in the third tier is simply mind-boggling. We have recovered N300million within the first month of the verification from the LGAs. We have also found out in only one local government in the state, an official has sold 200 appointment letters to a contractor in Zamfara State. This fraud was blown open when the contractor sent an SMS to the Secretary to the State Government (SSG) complaining that his money had not been sent by the local government council. It is unfortunate because all the local governments had their payrolls padded with ghost workers. In the same vein, most of the workers in the local councils were idle and fraudulent. We found out that one staff was collecting salaries in four local governments.
Basically, we did not swear-in the newly-elected local government chairmen because we needed to sanitise the payroll before handing over to them. If we had sworn them in earlier, they would not have saved enough to pay their workers and carry out any project. As things are at the moment, we augmented their income in the last few months to enable them pay staff salaries. As things stand now, we will likely swear them in the next one week.
Trips and meetings outside Sokoto
I am happy this issue has come up because I need to make it clear that the trips I embarked upon were absolutely necessary. Many have questioned my regular meetings in Abuja, but to be honest with you, that situation is not peculiar to Sokoto State alone. Left to me, I should be left to remain in Sokoto among my family and friends without going anywhere, but the demands of the office require me to do otherwise. I am aware that some people call me names, but to me, these are constructive criticisms. They have the right to question what their leaders do. So you have done nothing wrong if you criticise me. Citizens have the right to air their opinions on the activities of their leaders.
Another thing to be understood is that we came into office when there was the need to establish a certain level of political stability in the polity of the nation. Due to my previous position as the number four citizen of the country, I was involved in many of the consultations held to build a foundation for the success of the present administration. This is a national calling and it is not by my own design or making that I am being involved in seeking solutions to our national challenges. So in the spirit of national stability and cohesion, I accepted the offer to serve in such national engagements while at the same time governing the state. What I emphasised to my colleagues in government is that we must ensure governance at the state does not suffer in any way because of our national engagements. We are in a modern world where governance may not necessarily require physical presence. What is mostly required is my consent and sometimes my signature. Such trips have not negatively impacted on governance in my state.
Plans for 2019
In my view, it is wrong to bring up the issue of 2019 when we are just a year old in office. This is 2016 so the discussion about 2019 is absolutely unnecessary at this time. My philosophy is simple: during political season, discuss politics, during the time of governance; topic of discussion should be governance.
