Sunday, 28 June 2015

Selling a helicopter 'will not pay N35bilions salary debt,it's a senseless proposal - Osun APC

The Director of Publicity, Research and Strategy of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State, Mr Kunle Oyatomi, in this interview with OLUWOLE IGE, speaks on the crisis regarding the eight months salaries owed civil servants by the government, among other issues. Excerpts:

What role is the APC as a political party playing to tackle  the issue of non-payment of salary to civil servants in the state?
The APC is in power both at the national and state levels. The inability of some states to pay salaries is not limited to the individual states, because its primary source is economic and financial mismanagement of the Federal Government. It is a “federal crisis” that must be resolved holistically. Except for those who are ignorant, mischievous or dishonest, the magnitude of the financial mismanagement of the country’s resources and finances in the last 16 years by the PDP-led Federal Government is unparalleled in the half century of Nigeria’s history since independence. It was the first time that the Federal Government had to borrow trillions of naira to pay salaries of its own workers. But the crisis does not end there. There are other constitutional impediments which make it virtually impossible for state governments to develop their own natural resources, which would have helped them to earn enough to take care of their affairs. Then, there is the virtually illiterate politics of “enemy” states being frustrated by the ruling party in Abuja. So, if this crisis is to be solved realistically, it must involve a holistic restructuring of the way we run this federation. In the short run, however, it will take massive intervention by the Federal Government to manage the crisis. PDP was a major part of the problem. It failed to provide constructive leadership from Abuja. Now that the people of Nigeria have saddled the APC with the responsibility of doing a better job, that is exactly what we are going to do - run the country more efficiently to get the best results. There is no quick fix to this crisis, but the APC is determined to stop the madness that characterised PDP’s rule in the last 16 years. It certainly will get better.
The state chairman of the APC, Mr Gboyega Famoodun, at a recent press conference, said Governor Rauf Aregbesola would not sell the helicopter purchased by the state government to pay workers’ salaries, what is your take on his position?
My take is that the people should exercise their thinking capacity more creatively. Selling a helicopter does not help in paying N35 billion worth of salary debt. It is less than a drop in a bucket, and it is a senseless proposal. Those who have more creative suggestions should make them. We are open to inputs by public spirited and earnest contributors, not cynical fantasising.
The PDP had attributed the current financial crisis in Osun to mismanagement of the state’s fund by Governor Aregbesola, how do you react to this?
Understandably, the PDP in Osun State suffers from “the sour grapes syndrome.” They are, therefore, incapable of identifying anything good from Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola. In the last 23 years of existence of Osun State, no government had done half as much as Aregbesola had done for the people and the state. The records are there for normal people to crosscheck. If the PDP cannot see, it is only because something abnormal is at play; and that is the pity of it all. A person who has mismanaged the financial resources of a state would not have done so much before the PDP-led Federal Government targeted the state to cripple its development. Think about removing 40,000 unemployed youths from the street; imagine the hundreds of millions of naira that have accrued to farmers in the state as a result of the agricultural programmes in place; think  about the  massive investment in education and educational infrastructure; think about the man who came to stop the perennial flood and its destruction of lives and properties in Osogbo in particular and the rest of the state in general; imagine the reconstruction of whole areas in Osogbo and environs which were worse than slums until Aregbesola made them respectably habitable; could all of these and much more be the result of financial mismanagement? It will take a sick person to believe so.
Do you think the state government can still fulfil its promise to pay the salary arrears of the civil servants before the end of this month?
Other things being equal, I believe Aregbesola will redeem his promise. As I said earlier, the Federal Government intervention will have to apply. The APC in Abuja knows it, and it will happen in several ways. I am not one of the doubting Thomases. This issue is key to stability of the state and the APC is determined to keep Nigeria stable and working. It will do anything it takes to make our people happy.
At a recent meeting President Muhammadu Buhari held with the state governors over salary issue, it was resolved that the Federal Government would  refund states that have implemented federal projects so that they can use the money to pay their workers’ salaries. But, in Osun, there is no federal project that has been completed. How would the state benefit from this arrangement?
I think there is a misunderstanding here. My own understanding of the Abuja “accord,” if we may call it that, is that if any state has undertaken responsibility for what the Federal Government should have done, whatever has been expended on such projects would be refunded. Osun has spent billions of naira on several of such projects; so, why is anybody thinking that the state might be left out? The PDP is always thinking negative on all issues concerning Osun and this negative propensity for thinking and wishing evil for Osun is PDP’s albatross in the state.
What do you think is the way out of this financial quagmire?
The solution to the financial mess that Nigeria now finds itself isn’t going to be quick to fix. The first fundamental issue is the structure of the federation itself. Until we can fix it, we won’t have stability financially, politically and socially. The administrative cost of running the country is beyond our capacity and capability. We do not possess the financial and economic infrastructure to sustain the administrative cost of Nigeria as presently constituted. And up until now, most of our states are hardly viable and would remain so even in the long run. It will therefore take a fundamental departure from the present format to make Nigeria work. This “Father Christmas” relationship between federal and state governments has to end. The federating units must be allowed to develop their own natural resources; that’s only when they can generate enough IGR to keep their units running. The current structure of the country is not sustainable. There should be new thinking as to how we can manage Nigeria sustainably. Until we come to grips with that reality, the country will continue to remain underdeveloped.
However, the APC government at all levels is committed to finding a lasting solution. It will be a difficult job, but it is doable; and that is what the APC plans to do.

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