SAN FRANCISCO, October 14, (THEWILL) – The Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu and the immediate past Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN) were outstanding during their screening at the senate on Wednesday, as they spoke for an accumulated 2hr.30 minutes, setting the record so far in the screening exercise that has seen 18 ministerial nominees appear before senators.
Dr. Kachikwu, who spoke for about 1hr.30 minutes answering questions mainly on oil and gas from senators, presently ranks first with Fashola in second position with 1hr.
The screening exercise was beamed live on national television networks as well radios which spurred conversations on the social media with both men clearly trending ahead of other nominees because of their seeming capacity and understanding of their sectors.
The other nominees who appeared before the senate Wednesday are Abubakar Malami, SAN, Dr (Sen.) Chris Nwabueze Ngige (Anambra), Sen. Aisha Jummai Alhassan, Barrister Solomon Dalong, Mrs Kemi Adeosun (Ogun) and Sen. Hadi Sirika.
Mr. Fashola was first to face the senators at the session and took a couple of questions on his impressive tenure as governor and the controversies surrounding his purported award of a N78 million naira contract for the design of a website and another one for N258 million for a water borehole. The question came from Senator Eyinnaya Abaribe (PDP) from Abia State.
Mr. Fashola, who was ushered into the red chamber at about 11.46am, spoke eloquently on how his administration transformed Lagos within his 8-year rule in his response to a question from a senator who wanted to know how he would replicate his feat at the national stage.
He also defended himself against the allegations of graft as he explained the process of contract awards during his tenure, saying no one has at least accused him of enriching himself from the coffers of Lagos State.
“Let me say first that it raises the question of public understanding of the role governors, public servants and some have a surprise to learn that as a governor of Lagos State, I didn’t sign cheques, none of my commissioners signed cheques. I didn’t fix contract prices. It is an institutional process.
“The only training I have is that of a lawyer. Nobody can award contract over benchmark price. Throughout my tenure, I have been confronted with the price of things and the reality is that when you design a road, what you meet in reality when construction starts is usually not what you end up with. In all of these, nobody has alleged that I have corruptly enriched myself. I could not have been a master in computer and technology…, he said.”
Speaking on his vision for befitting police force for the nation, Fashola said: “The number available to me is that we have probably a standing Police force of about 500,000, less than a million in every event to a population that is heading to 180 million. So, we are under-policed and if the Federal Government decides to take up these responsibilities on its own, can it do so in the micro level that is necessary at the state and local government levels?
“My recommendation is a compelling urgency for decentralization. I have made those recommendations to some of the committees on constitution amendment where I was privileged to make presentations. There have been arguments about why we should not go there but those argument did not go far. They did not address the fundamental responsibilities that government has. I have heard the argument that governors will abuse the Police for political purposes.
“The abuse of political power is not as important as loss of lives, and everything we do to advance that cause makes us more respected as government that cares. There is a process for curing abuse of institution but there is no process known to me today for recovering lives already lost. These are challenges that are before us as a people and as a nation. At the state level, you can also wonder what governors are going through.
“They have parliaments that make laws but they have no capacity to enforce their own laws. We are talking about domestic issues — rape and domestic violence — there are criminal offences in many states across the country but who is prosecuting them? This is because the Police officer is too busy chasing a robbery.
Our mothers, daughters and sisters are expected to tolerate rape. If we are afraid of abuse, one of the things I will suggest is that we start a state Police.
“I proposed a system where we have six zonal commands from existing the Police force. It is not every state that can start if it cannot fund it. States who can fund can decide to employ 1,000 men, the Police Service Commission will train and graduate and if at the end of the training, only 800 pass the exam, they would be employed. The state buys their uniforms, there is a national license.”
On a question on what was needed to improve infrastructure in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, he said: “In deciding what to do about Abuja, these are the real issues.
First, getting a hold of its resources, knowing its districts and its problems, knowing the people, sharing with them what the thoughts are. The Master Plan itself may perhaps need to be reviewed. Plans are not static documents, they must be reviewed periodically. A level of consultation and knowledge would be necessary in order to accurately say this is where Abuja should be heading. In spite of our complaints, it is still a beautiful city, getting it to be better than it is, is a matter of choice for all of us. Laws have to be enforced and it should be rigorously followed.”
Fashola also explained his understanding of the concept of loyalty while answering a question on the relations between godfathers/sponsors and people they assist to get into political office.
Kachikwu: No going back on PIB, Nigeria losing $15b annually from non-passage
The nominee from Delta State, who until his appointment as GMD was a Vice President at ExxonMobil, clearly explained the complexities in the oil and gas sector, reiterating that there would be no removal of subsidies on petrol until palliatives have been put in place as suggested by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Dr. Kachikwu, the distinguished alumnus of the University of Nigeria and Harvard University, also alerted senators on the loses hitting Nigeria from the non-passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) which he pegged at least $15 billion annually. He canvassed for a quick passage of the bill in bits for speed, saying “Time means money.”
He also spoke on the importance of early investments in Gas if the nation intends to earn good income from it in the future.
“First of all, let me say that one of the things I’ve said to myself since resuming as GMD of NNPC is that I will not be constrained by the lack of PIB in making sure that holistic solutions to the industry continue to be propelled. So, using existing laws, we have continued to make changes.
“Because at the end of the day, whether or not PIB is available and passed, it really doesn’t lie within the umbrella of the executive, it lies with this revered Assembly. But I also do not think that the problem with PIB has been the facts of the versions. By the time the last Senate was rounding off, it had gotten a version that was clearly the version that both houses were looking at. Am I going to create a new version? Not really. What I will need to do is take the version that you have, look at it again and make changes.
“The key issue is that as long as we continue to want to pass a holistic PIB, it is going to be a very major challenge. But once you begin to break it up into critical aspects, you begin to make a faster run to passing PIB. Fiscal regime, for example, you ask yourself, why would you want to have fiscal regime inside the PIB? Because to change those fiscal regimes, which are very dynamic, you have to come back to this Assembly to also make changes.
“You must find a way of pulling out fiscal regimes and leave them to existing tax laws which you can amend. And additionally, look at the PSCs and Joint Venture Agreements to enable you determine fiscal regimes. The advantage in that is that you have the flexibility of changing with the times.
“At the time when oil prices was so low that nobody was willing to invest in your country, you may give some incentives. At the time when they are so high that people are making outrageous profits, you may increase your taxes. But so long as you leave it in a holistic blue-barrelled, high voluminous PIB, you are stuck in terms of how you are going to get the required votes each time to make amendment. I think the way to go is, first of all, take what is there, look at it in the context of where we are today.”
Before the end of Wednesday’s plenary, the Senate confirmed Dr. Kachikwu, Mr. Fashola as well as 16 other nominees as Ministers of the government of the federal republic, with voice votes.
The screening of about 18 other nominees including the former governor of Rivers State, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi would take place at a later date.
