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NASS shouldn’t dictate on tenure of service chiefs –Idahosa

Chief Charles Idahosa, a former Commissioner for Information in Edo State, in this interview, speaks on the resolution of the National Assembly on the tenure of service chiefs, ongoing probe of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and other issues. FELIX NWANERI reports

 

The National Assembly seems to be at crossroads with the presidency over the tenure of the service chiefs and activities of some ministers. Do you think this is in the best interest of the country?

 

I have been following the activities of the National Assembly and the ministers. The truth of the matter is that a lot of Nigerians have no clear picture of what they are dealing with. I think the whole issue started after the dissolution of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the removal of Adams Oshiomhole as the party’s national chairman.

 

Like I have always said, whether people care to listen or not, what we are witnessing right now is an attempt by the National Assembly led by the Senate President,

 

Ahmad Lawan and Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila to frustrate and deal with the executive arm of government, so that they can prove who really is in charge of government. As far I am concerned, what is also happening is a fight for the 2023 presidency. We all know who Adams Oshiomhole is rooting for as candidate for the 2023 presidency.

So, what we are witnessing right now is a fight to show who is in charge, especially when you consider the manner in which APC was formed.

 

The biggest partner in that merger which produced APC is the former governor of Lagos State, Bola Tinubu.

 

He came into the merger with the highest number of governors and legislators. In the first tenure, we all saw what happened in the Eight National Assembly and that is the same thing that is happening now. I know Oshiomhole inside out and what he is capable of. I was his political adviser for eight years.

 

He gave the President the impression that he was doing his bidding with the election of the principal officers of the Ninth National Assembly but he was  only pursuing his selfish interests and that of his preferred choice for the 2023 presidential election.

 

Now that he has been thrown out, they want to make sure they destabilise the presidency and the Federal Government in preparation for their final breakdown of the party.

 

During the governorship primary of the Edo APC, Oshiomhole said the rubber stamp NWC, which he headed then, is the High Court; the Appeal Committee is the Court of Appeal and he himself is the Supreme Court.

That is what we are seeing now. It’s an organised attempt to paint the govern   ment in bad light. Those calling the current National Assembly a rubber stamp are wrong.

 

They are not rubber stamp but are only doing what they were instructed to do. That was exactly what they did in Edo State. We all saw the video of his younger brother, Seid Aliyu Oshiomhole, where he said ‘Gbajabiamila and Lawan dey pursue us with dollars.’

 

At that time, I granted interviews telling the National Assembly to disown that statement but they never listened to me. That was the same thing he wanted to do when he wanted to plant 14 legislators in Edo State House of Assembly, so that he can hold the governor to ransom.

 

Do think that the National As-sembly is dictating to the executive on the issue of the service chiefs?

 

A situation where the National Assembly will be dictating to the executive arm of government on service chiefs is uncalled for. Also, if you look at those who are being targeted by the National Assembly, they are mostly from the South-South and are not on Oshiomhole’s side. The Minister of State for Labour, Festus Keyamo is on the side of Governor Godwin Obaseki.

 

We also know Senator Godswill Akpabio’s position. During the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting, where Oshiomhole was removed, President Muhammadu Buhari recognised Victor Giadom as the acting national chairman and we all know that Giadom was pro-Obaseki.

 

During the NEC meeting, after the President’s opening remarks, Giadom wanted to give a speech as the person who convened the meeting, but the Speaker, Gbajabiamila, shut him down because they are already angry with him.

 

All of them are working for Oshiomhole and that was why they took sides with him during the Edo Assembly crisis. Now that Oshiomhole, who facilitated their election as Senate President and Speaker has been removed, they want to scatter everything. That to me is unacceptable.

 

The Presidency’s response to the National Assembly’s resolution was that the removal of the service chiefs can only be done by President Buhari. Do you agree with that?

 

We all know the duties of the National Assembly. It is not their duties to dictate to the President on who to appoint or sack. Look at their unnecessary confrontation with Keyamo over the 774,000 jobs.

 

Even when the President said Keyamo should proceed, they were still raging that it is the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) that should handle it. Is this not the same National Assembly that promised to work hand-in-hand with the President in delivering his Next Level promise to Nigerians when they were elected? So, what has changed?

 

They are just embittered because of Oshiomhole’s removal. Nothing more!

 

What is your take on the probe into the affairs of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and the allegation by the Minister of Niger Delta, Godswill Akpabio that most of the contracts were given to National Assembly members?

 

The man who said they are taking most of the contracts knows what he is talking about.

He is the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, supervising the NDDC, so he has the documents to back up his claim. He has been told to produce the list of the lawmakers who got contracts and he has not said he doesn’t have it. We all know that NDDC is a cesspool of corruption. Look at the role of Oshiomhole in the whole issue. He created problem for Edo people with the board appointment when he was national chairman of APC.

He made use of the National Assembly members to hurriedly confirm the members of the NNDC board. He tried to create problems among the Edo South people. He nominated Pius Odubu despite knowing that the laws setting up the NDDC made it clear that it is alphabetical order. The first state that produced the chairman of NNDC was Abia, headed by Onyema Ugochukwu.

 

The last state that produced the chairman of NDDC was Cross River, the next state was Delta, but Oshiomhole jumped Delta and moved it to Edo. When the attention of the President was drawn to it, he immediately dissolved the board and Odubu was removed.

Look at what happened in Edo State recently. I never believed that after all the humiliation Oshiomhole has gone through, he will still come back to Benin in the night and arrange motorcycles, taxi drivers for a rally, while his people in his constituency are mourning the sudden death of the former Speaker, Zakawanu Garuba. People were mourning but Oshiomhole was moving about with okada riders in the night saying he was campaigning even when Garuba’s wife and other relations were kidnapped between Kogi State and Okpella in Edo State while on their way to Auchi for the funeral ceremony.

 

It was just a big shame. I have always known that he had a problem but I felt so ashamed that it has degenerated to this level now. He went to Abuja to represent us as national chairman of the APC for four years but he could only do two years and two days before he was booted out of office. I feel so embarrassed with what he is doing.

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