By Ruth Choji — Jan 16, 2016 6:00 am
Sen Solomon Ewuga represented Nasarawa North Senatorial Zone in the 7th Senate. In this interview with Ruth Choji, he says people should be made to account for their actions to serve as deterrent to others.
Are you surprised with the kind of money that was allegedly misappropriated by the former NSA and some politicians in the PDP?
I am very surprised because it is reckless but that they did is a sign of the impunity we have in our society. I think these are the things that have come out very clearly to indicate that it was a matter of weak leadership, it had nothing to do with party. Everybody takes a cue from the strength or weakness of the leadership. Once the leadership is weak, anybody can act anyhow and that has manifested. Nobody could call for order. If it wasn’t corruption, what is #1.2bn for special prayers? It is impunity. If we had a strong leadership, we wouldn’t have been having such reckless sub-head. The senate which I was a member approved a loan of one billion dollars ($1bn) for the purchase of arms that none of those arms were bought.
But don’t you think your session in the senate also fail on its part for not doing it oversight function that know whether the funds were put to proper use
That is a different matter, the point here is that, you can’t claim to do what you did not do. Oversight is based on activity of correct government and I was not a member of the committee on defense, so I wouldn’t know what happed. But clearly the money approved for the purchased of arms was not respected from what we are seeing, it shows that nothing was bought.
Nigerians are afraid that some of those indicted might use the ‘plea bargain’ to escape justice. What is your take on this?
Did the government said there was a plea bargain? I think people are jumping to conclusion, if someone is returning money willing, then it is an acceptance of guilt.it is when government action goes outside of Nigerian expectations that Nigerians can talk. I have not seen where government said anything on plea bargain.
Most of these people indicted are from the PDP, some see the fight against corruption as being selective…
When somebody has done wrong, it doesn’t matter where he comes from. People have a way of shifting blames, it is when it is wrong that you are putting sentiments. When they were taking those things, didn’t they know where they belong? If you jobs is to bring clarity and justice to the system, why did you engage in such things? I don’t want to create any coloration in this case. Impunity is impunity and corruption is corruption. Government should prosecute those who have done wrong.
The Federal government has said that it has started withdrawing subsidy, do you think Nigerian are ready for it
I have always felt that it is a very corrupt system that we have. Anything that is done that provides opportunity for someone to be indiscreet, indiscretion that is part of exploitation of the system enjoys protection, remove the protection and you find there is criminality. How much are people already paying for fuel? They are paying the same amount. If it is liberalized, fuel will not be selling for #130.it will be selling for lower price because process will be regulated according to the amount rates. Right now, oil is selling at about $30 at the international market, but you are still paying the price of when it was $120.so it means the issue of subsidy is no longer tenable. If we let it to float, who will be the beneficiary? The masses.
The 2016 budget is being describe by the APC as budget of change, do you think the it is feasible
The budget is the reflection of the thinking of government, the national assembly appropriate based on exigency and expediency as presented and agreed upon by the two arms of government. If the government has the capacity to generate that kind of funds, how can I question it? it will bring an aggregate valuable to the economy for the first time in the history of this country. In the last 20 years, this is the first time we are having a provision for capital budget, which is so much in the budget. The injection of so much money into the budget will mean more business activities and more participating governance. What it means is that it is going to allow people to exploit the opportunity that the budget will create.it is always been trite to know that budget is the prime source of physical discipline. We have so much that we can generate for the economy.
But do you think Nigeria the resources to fund the budget because they are now talking of borrowing
The government said they have the capacity to generate it. Even America borrow to funds its budget and it has the strongest economy. There is nothing wrong with that. What we need to do is increase our productive capacity so that we can pay for the debts we take. People take loans to fund their businesses, are they not making it? There is nothing wrong with loan, it shows the capacity of the government to get money from any source. If you are not credit worthy, nobody will take you.so instead of us to look at things from that kind of inverted approach, agriculture is a capacity that we can pursue with lots of energy. If we can have more stable power than government wants to pursue it, then it means that the economics of scale will work in favor of people who are doing small things like the grinding mills, salon and the rest will be generating more income to keep households In shape. If these is not done, everybody will go to one source, government which is imploding. We need to explore transportation. Sea, rail and vehicular transportation. If we improve our rail, the pressure on the road will reduce and our roads will last longer. The president has said he will activate the railroads, so let’s see what will happen. If he built more road, we should put toll gate because it is only in Nigeria that people have wide road without any kind of re-injection for these roads. Anywhere we go, there is toll gate so that the roads can be maintain. The best is not the ones people cry about, they are about those things that are maintain.
You mention power, the DISCOS has come out to say that, they will increase the tariff any time soon, do you think this will help the poor people of Nigeria
I don’t know the economics of scale in the power sector so I don’t want to say things that I don’t know much about. The most important thing is that they produce power so that the common man will enjoy the benefits.
The government policy that bar Nigerians from withdrawing more than a thousand dollars from their international account is being criticize by many Nigerians. Do you think it was a good one?
It is not economically wise for me to travel and not fund my activities. Nigeria has a large population, you can’t limit them by everything you do.it is understandable that the ATM card is being abused but you put a bar on abuses not the funds. The BVN thing is there to protect this things. If there is no ban on abuse and I am prevented from withdrawing money, then it is wrong. Initially they said it must not be more than $300.00 a day and now it is $1000 a month, how do I pay for my hotel bill? These are the issue that come up. Things must be judge based on how they come out, this will make people to withdraw their children and bring them back home.so it will have a multiplier value to the economy at home. But there are those who will still train heir children abroad, whether it is one thousand naira to the dollar because they have cumulative value abroad. The only thing I will say is that punitive action to reduce people freedom must be reduce to a point where there must be free will. Reducing the amount of dollars to one thousand a month is not good for business.
Going back to the senate, there has been an outcry over the amount they earmark for cars. As a former senator what do you think of this?
I was given a car when I was in the senate but I paid for it. The money was taking from my salary every month. But do you want your senator to come to the senate and be trekking to the chambers every day? If the senate have the capacity to do it, they should do it. These amount is reduce from their salaries, so it is not free. People want you to work but they don’t want to provide you with the tools you will need. Cars must be bought, even if you give them as a loan, it is the same thing.
Coming back to Nassarawa state, the governor is going to build an airport, but some seem to think the state doesn’t need it now
I want to reserve my comment on Nassarawa state.
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