Mr Mike Udah, the Chief Press Secretary to the Anambra State governor, Mr Peter Obi has exonerated the executive from the split in the state house of asembly. Udah told Saturday Sun that the split has confirmed the fears of the citizens of the state that the delay in the passage of the state budget might have precipitated the crack

The relationship between the executives and the legislature is still not improved?
The battle now, as it was, is no longer between the executive and the legislature. It’s now between a section of the legislature and another section of the legislature. And the allegation that the split is sponsored by the executive is not true. It does not hold water. And anybody who is discernible enough will realize that it’s an allegation that is difficult to believe.

There are more things that bind the legislators together than those that divide them. I don’t even see anything that divides them. They are of the same political party. They have been sharing the same views and aspirations, all along. So, how come that is now that the executive can divide them. And the executive, of course, is headed by somebody who does not even believe in dividing people. He carries everybody along. He sees everybody as one. He places a very low premium on differences on account of party. He sees the members of legislature as Anambra citizens much in the same way in which people in the executive arm are Anambra people and judiciary.

So, the true position is that those eleven legislators felt that there was no longer the need for them to continue to frustrate the governor and the government because in the final analysis, they are human beings. They have conscience they were driven by the fact that here was a man who was ready to take the state out of darkness and the things he has put on ground testify to that. And they came out of their own. They called the media.

We read it in the papers like others. And if they did not address the press, for instance, it should have also given that same impression that it was a creation of the executive. They came out. They were shown in the electronic media. They spoke, they signed a document. Didn’t you see the document they signed? I have a copy here. People brought it to me. So, why should people turn around and say it was the executive?. The executive does not believe in sharing money and the kind of politics that is played elsewhere than in this state is perhaps to share money and people to leave their former position.The governor said he has no money to share to anybody. Whatever money he has at his disposal he uses it to develop the state for the good of the people.

When I was speaking with the Speaker he said that one of the reasons the governor gave for not organizing local government elections was lack of security. Now that you have confirmed that the state is secured. What is holding local government elections in the state?
The speaker knows that it will take money to organize local government election. If the Speaker and his colleagues in the house of assembly pass the 2008 appropriation bill the Governor will not have any reason not to organize local government election now that the state is secured.
What is causing the delay because there appears to be allegations and counter allegations about the delay on the passage of the budget. The house is saying the executive caused the delay because they had to come back from Christmas break to listen to the presentation of the budget by the executive?

What would they have done? The executive was ready to present the bill to them, wouldn't they come and receive the draft from the executive?
He meant you presented it late hence he had to recall members on the 21st of December, 207 for the presentation?
It was not presented late. By the time it was presented a lot of people had not gone on Christmas break. May be the house went on early Christmas break. But this is by the way. Okay, between that time and now a lot of time has passed. So, the question you asked becomes very critical – what is delaying the budget? Between that December and now, March is almost ended and it gives everybody concern. I agree that before now that legislature was given the impression that they were studying the bill, they were inviting different departments of government to come and defend and they went and defended.

There was no department that was invited that didn’t go. And all of us were expecting that the budget will be passed and we were also wondering why it was not passed until last week when their colleagues came out to tell us that they were playing pranks. That certain godfather asked them to frustrate Governor Peter Obi, to seat on the budget so that it will not be passed. So that Obi will not have the opportunity of delivering democracy dividends to the people. So he will not be seen as a success. That is the latest. We now know why it has not been passed. Eleven of their members came out to say that because on the part of the executive there was no request that was made by way of asking for clarification that was not given.

The Speaker said that few days back the Commissioner for Finance made for additional request, something like N200 million to the budget?
I am not aware of that additional request or input made by the executive but that does not detract from the fact that their own colleagues came out to tell the whole world what was going on. It was not the case of executive saying it. It came from their colleagues and I think we should believe them because if the opinion had come from the executive or from another section of Anambra State it would have been doubtful.
The House is saying that the request or demand of Group of lEeven – asking for the budget to be passed the way it was presented – was not fair to them because one of their duties is to scrutinize the budget?
You know those people.

They are human beings. They live in Anambra State. I would ask you to also speak to Group II. But I know that if it were the case of mere scrutiny of what was presented by the executive, the house has done more than it should do. The house had enough time to scrutinize whatever was presented- If it is a case of genuine scrutiny. And that is why I believe what the eleven members of the house said. The house has had enough time to scrutinize. What is there to be scrutinized that has not been scrutinized? What question was there to be asked that wasn’t asked and clarifications given?. So, I believe the eleven people who said the other people had a skeleton in there cupboard.

According to the House you budgeted about N40 billion in 2007 and at the end of the year you claimed you had an unutilized N10 billion. This year you have presented a budget of about N84 billion. Is it not an over ambitious budget?
Budget in the final analysis is an expectation. Budget is based on probability. Budget is not something that must be exact. Budget is a proposal: what you intend to do. If at the end of the day, for any reason whatsoever you can’t do it, will anybody hang you? The one that remained last year was it burnt? Was it swindled? There is no budget in this whole world that has been exact. If it has been so it will cease to be an estimate.

It will cease to be a proposal. It’s what we intend to do. And of course as “ambitious” as this one may seem using their phraseology the governor explained to them how he intends to raise the money. The Governor said he was going to recover a lot of debts, a lot of the deductions made from Anambra State money on the assumption that Anambra owed some organizations, that in truth Anambra didn’t owe because there were projects in the past that were supposed to have been financed by some organizations for which reasons deductions are now made from Anambra money. Not just from Federal Government but from banks and international organizations. And as a banker the governor said if a financial institutions, for instance gave loan to a state or an individual for a project and that project was nowhere to be sighted then the financial organization had no reason to take money for that.

So, the governor had gone round some parts of Anambra State where they were supposed to have been established and nothing is there. And he said the money deducted on account of those projects must be returned and he has recovered quite a lot. He told the House that he hopes to recover much more. Such monies will be part of this N84 billion we are talking about. What is wrong with one being ambitious? Could that be the reason why the budget has not been passed? And if for any reason they feel the money, the estimated is too much, let them come out with the one they think is appropriate rather than seating on the budget and crippling government activity.