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Immediate past Senator, who represented Akwa Ibom North West Senatorial District, and former Deputy Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Sen Chris Ekpenyong, in this interview, shares his thoughts on topical issues.
Ekpenyong provides insights into the politics of the Senate, rivalry between governors and their deputies, and the role of the Ninth Senate in the nation’s debt burden among other subjects.
Your decision not to seek re-election apart from being a surprise marked the beginning of your transition from a partisan politician to a statesman…
I started politics at a young age. It was when I was at the Polytechnic of Calabar for my Higher National Diploma at the school of engineering in 1981. I was a student union leader. When we started Federal Polytechnic, Bida, I was the Public Relations Officer, PRO, of the students union. In 978, I became the President of the Students Union in Bida. A former governor of Osun State and Minister of Interior in the last administration, Aregbesola, and I were contemporaries. He was in Ibadan while I was in Bida, Fayose was also our contemporary in student union politics. At Calabar Polytechnic, my people dragged me into ethnic politics. I became the National President of Anang Students worldwide.
It came at a time when Donald Etiebet wanted to be the governor of the old Cross River State. I campaigned vigorously for him against the incumbent at the time, Governor Clement Isong. In 1998, I co-founded the Peoples Democratic Party,PDP, in Nigeria and not in Akwa Ibom alone. I wanted to be governor but Don Etiebet said he was contesting for presidency again. And I felt that the two of us could not contest from the same zone. My interest was subsumed by his. I opted to become a deputy governor among many who aspired for that position. We were 13 and I was chosen.
I was in the position for six years, one month and five days. It was a very turbulent experience because I am not a pushover. I came into government very strong. When I finished, I wanted to take the backseat but I was nominated by Yar’Adua to be the chairman of NIPRI. I was in that position from 2009-2011. I was called upon in 2019 to run against my brother, Akpabio, for leaving PDP for All Progressives Congress, APC. Every other person who wanted to run with him ran away, and my people said I should go. It wasn’t a free ride. A lot went into it. I went to the Senate and contributed my quota. I took advantage of the opportunity the Senate offered and ensured my impact was felt in all the local governments.
Fortunately, I was also a member of the Poverty Alleviation Committee of the Senate. I took advantage of that and helped many people. It wasn’t just palliatives. I made sure people in their hundreds were on my payroll for years.
Akpabio
When Senator Akpabio became a minister and wanted to go back to the Senate, he called to find out if I was contesting. I said I wasn’t contesting. I even refused to consider what the then-state governor had done by choosing someone to run while I was still the incumbent. He picked the person to run against Akpabio. I knew that if Akpabio entered the race with the young man, who was even his commissioner, the young man wouldn’t have gone home without suffering defeat. I have seen it all. I worked to ensure that a local government was created for my people. What else do I need in politics? If the governor or anyone needs my advice, I will offer it. I would like to see Akwa Ibom industrialised.
You were at the House of Assembly, you have been a deputy governor, headed a top government agency and been a senator. Of all these, which do you consider the most challenging?
The most challenging was being a deputy governor. I was in the House of Assembly at a young age. And I love the legislature because I can express my opinions freely. But being a deputy governor, it was as if I was in a cocoon. It is either you agree with the governor or you have issues with him. But in my case, when I had a different opinion, I would say ‘’I beg to disagree, sir.’’ There was a case Attah was presiding over and he said we were going to tax every household in Uyo. He said each household must pay water bill and have water system. But the infrastructure for them to have water system wasn’t provided and you want to tax them. At the Executive Council, I told the governor that with due respect, I would challenge the decision in court if government goes ahead with it. I said there was no need to tax people for services we haven’t provided.
At the time, people didn’t have water. Long before then, in my house in Ikot Ekpene, I sank a borehole. I did the same thing for my late mother-in-law in 1989. She was a popular caterer at the time. You can’t tell her to pay tax when she hasn’t benefited from the public water system. I insisted that I would challenge the decision in court. They said I am a deputy governor, but I said it didn’t matter.
Deputy govs
When I listen to what is going on with some deputy governors and their governors, it is always the deputy governor who is threatened with impeachment or is impeached. It is because their views are at variance with their governors. In my time I had to endure until when I couldn’t endure anymore. As deputy governor, I was always representing Attah at the Council of State meeting and other meetings at the Villa.
As a result of that Obasanjo knew me well. In 2003, I was called to come and take the ticket and run as governor of Akwa Ibom. I refused at the house of the then-National Chairman of PDP, Audu Ogbeh. I objected and said Attah should be allowed to go for a second term. That was after they had taken the Anambra ticket from Mbadinuju and given it to Chris Ngige. You know politics is filled with intrigues. In 2005, Attah and some people planned against me. Thank God, the same House of Assembly that talked about impeachment had to drop it. The stress I went through as a deputy governor was much and I felt it wasn’t necessary. But going to the Senate was a better experience. There is mutual respect for everyone. I made an impact on many important bills and others that were controversial like the Water Resources Bill. I was the Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on Water Resources. I recall telling the committee chairman that if the bill was not discussed at the committee level, he shouldn’t introduce it on the floor. Other senators like Sekibo, James Manager, James Fayemi, Solomon Adeola, who is now the chairman of Senate Committee on Appropriation put up a case. I was impressed because they had assured me that it would not fly. Even my governor at the time, Udom, called to say I shouldn’t allow the bill to fly. I was highly respected in the Senate. Some of my colleagues at the Senate called me an elder.
Is there a way the recurring governor/deputy governor rivalry can be addressed constitutionally to ensure deputies no longer end up as victims?
In the American Constitution where the presidential system we copied originated, I didn’t see defined responsibilities for deputy governors. The deputy is always an appendage of the governor. However, a governor is expected to delegate certain responsibilities to his deputy. In local government administration, it was stated that the local government should be supervised by deputy governors. It is not in the constitution but it is a product of a commission of enquiry. Why is it that there are no problems with deputy governors in the North? It is mostly in the South that governors and their deputies have issues. Even our President, during his time as governor, had problems with two deputy governors. It is a matter of the attitude of the governor towards his deputy. The constitution says without the deputy, the governor can’t contest. If that is the case, they should share responsibilities to an extent. But the governors want to grab everything and turn around to accuse their deputies. In Edo, Shaibu and Obaseki struggled to win their election when they had issues with APC. Today, they are enemies. If you don’t want your deputy to run, tell him. If he insists, report him to the party where the power rests. There is no need to fight. Look at what is happening in Ondo. The governor was ill and he came back to insinuate that his deputy bought an SUV. It is the responsibility of the Secretary to the State Government, SSG, to buy all the vehicles and other things government needs. How do you say the deputy bought an SUV?
During my time, a deputy governor cannot spend money without the approval of the governor. I recall a certain time Attah travelled and a market was being developed. They said if we put N20 million they would give us N40 million. I told them I didn’t have the power to do that. At the time, the late AK Dikibo was the Deputy Chairman, South, PDP. I asked the Commissioner for Finance and SSG what we should do. They said we should look for the money because we didn’t have it. I said they should go ahead and look for the money but we have to tell the governor first. Even when the governor travelled, he didn’t leave a telephone number I could use to reach him. I said they should call him and they did. No deputy is mediocre. They are all intelligent people. It is when the governor tries to muzzle them that issues arise.
Are you saying there will always be mutual suspicion, especially on the part of the governors?
Yes, mutual suspicion will always exist because they don’t treat their deputies well. They know what they are looking for. Maybe it’s because deputies are always intelligent.
The Ahmad Lawan-led Ninth Senate to which you belonged was regarded as the weakest the nation ever had.
How do you think history will judge it in terms of separation of powers, independence and service delivery?
I think we delivered and history would be kind to us. It was interesting and fulfilling to be there. In my constituency the impacts of time at the Senate are obvious. If I wasn’t in the Senate, those things wouldn’t be there. As a deputy governor, I did a similar thing in my constituency. We ensured that proper laws were made. We ensured that the budget was passed early enough. On insecurity, we made several interventions and ensured the defence had sufficient funding. People expected us to be fighting the executive, but that was not the reason we were elected. Even though I was in opposition, there were certain things we felt we should not oppose for the national interest. We did our job. If the legislature is always fighting the executive, the nation won’t make progress.
But the nation found itself in a death trap owing to the approvals given by the Ninth Senate…
Some of the debts were brought a few weeks to the end of the Ninth Senate and we opposed them. But we found that if we didn’t approve those borrowings over the years, government would have shut down. We did it in the interest of Nigeria. If we were not approving those loans, this government would not have had anything to take off with. Where there is a justification that the executive means well for the nation, we cannot oppose it. Saraki opposed the executive because he felt he was not carried along.
For refusing to approve borrowing, did the Eight Senate have anything to do?
We gave approvals because the loans were attached to the construction of rail lines and roads. If the executive failed to do what they promised, they should be queried and not the Senate. Sylva, who was Minister of State for Petroleum came and said by 2022 subsidy would be removed. He predicated it on the fact that we must approve a borrowing facility for them to have $1.85 billion so that they can revamp the two refineries in Port Harcourt. He said they will be functional by 2022. We approved it because we were mindful that if refineries are working the economy will improve. What happened afterward? The executive never implemented it. Sylva left government to contest an election in Bayelsa without telling us why the refineries didn’t work. So, the debt burden isn’t a result of the failure of the legislature but the executive because we made the approvals in national interest.
Some senators were reported to have plotted to remove your successor, Sen Godswill Akpabio, as Senate President. Were you surprised ?
It is normal in the Senate. Was there no intention to impeach Lawan? The Senate is made up of various interests. As far as I am concerned, we were loyal to Lawan and ensured we had a stable Senate. They are moving against Akpabio because nobody is ever satiated. Human beings are insatiable.
You won’t expect the man who ran with Akpabio to give up easily. And my friend, Sen Ishaku Abbo supported Yari because they wanted it for the North. But during Buhari we had Lawan who is from the North. This time, it came to the South and my brother, Akpabio emerged. I have been talking to people from both camps and they told me it won’t happen. In the Ninth Senate, the Chairman of Water Resources Committee was a first-time senator while I was his deputy. And I had been a member of the House of Assembly, a deputy governor and a major player in the private sector. The chairman of the Works Committee, where is he from? The Chairman of Poverty Alleviation Committee, where is he from? I was a member of 10 committees in the Ninth Senate.
How many committees can a member belong to?
It depends on your competence. It depends on the judgement of the Senate President. You will fill a form to indicate your background. It is not your duty to tell the Senate President the committee you want to belong to. In my form, I stated that I am a member of Nigeria Society of Engineers ,NSE. I wasn’t made Chairman of Senate Committee on Power. Former Governor Suswam, who was a member of the House of Representatives, was made the chairman. That tells you that it is the discretion of the Senate President. The Senate Standing Rule says a former member of the House of Representatives qualifies as a ranking senator in his first term.
I was a member of the Committee on Army that was headed by Sen Ali Ndume, who is now the Senate Chief Whip. I don’t see where Akpabio has gone wrong. I think he has shared the committee membership appropriately. He has to consider the people who worked for him to emerge. If he had over 60 votes, he needed to carry them along as well. If those people who voted for him no longer want him, they can move against him. That is the politics of the Senate. He needs to carry those who voted for him along in addition to other members. (Vanguard)
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