Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
As politicians in Imo State continue to bicker over the sack of Emeka Ihedioha as the governor of Imo State by the Supreme Court, the member, representing Ohaji-Egbema/ Oguta/ Oru- West Federal Constituency, Kingsley Uju Chima has admonished those offended by the judgment to wait for 2023.
Chima, who recently defected from the Action Alliance (AA) to the All Progressives Congress (APC), said the politicians must bear in mind that they cannot win all the time.
The lawmaker also spoke on environmental degradation in the Niger Delta region and efforts by the National Assembly to make the Niger Delta Development Commission ( NDDC) more responsive to the needs of the people.
Since the Supreme Court judgement sacked Emeka Ihedioha as governor of Imo State, there has been some restiveness in the state. What is your take on this?
The simple truth is that Imo is calm and safe. There is no restiveness in Imo. I am not a judge, but I know that any lover of democracy should respect the pronouncement of the highest court in the land. In the past, a lot of judgement has been given right from the lower court to the highest court and we have always respected it. It might not go the way you expect, but I am using this medium to advise Imolites and politicians to always believe in our institutions.
There is no perfect situation you can get, but I do know that the judiciary has done so well in making sure that this democracy is protected. What we should do is to encourage them and if there are areas we feel are not right, we shouldn’t take laws into our hands.
The Supreme Court has said that our governor is Senator Hope Uzodinma. I don’t have any other choice than to queue behind him, and support him as the governor of the state.
I want to assure you that Imo is safe. I know that the judgement must have offended the political interest of some persons, but what I can assure you is that the leaders of Imo are talking to all parties to remain calm and be ready to face the next election of 2023. If we take laws into our hands, then it means we are trying to get back to the old days of the military.
Let the politicians not truncate the good peace we have been having over the years because it is very important to us. In politics, you may not always win. So, let us give those in power in Imo today the benefit of doubt and from their achievement, we will be able to judge them.
Recurring oil spillage in the Niger Delta has been one issue that has given Nigerians serious concern. Incidentally, there are agencies established by law that are supposed to detect these before they occur and find solution to it. It appears that these agencies don’t even know their job?
You are talking about NOSDRA and NESRA. We are not talking about oil detection and spillage now, but environmental pollution. For the fact that NESRA is vested with the responsibility of regulating the environment of this country; which is being polluted. But the problem is the non-challant attitude of some of these agencies that oversight some of the activities of these oil companies.
It appears that the oil companies are so powerful that some of these agencies and even the ministries are scared of approaching them to do some of those things they are supposed to do. Once an environment is polluted, it is the duty of the agencies concerned to move in and ascertain how the environment should be cleaned up. These guys living in the coastal line of our country are suffering today and the only way we can assist them is to make sure that they are safe.
That is why the National Assembly put in place some of these laws that will enable our people enjoy their environment.
I am using this opportunity to ask these agencies to move into these communities, take charge of their core mandate. Whether we like it or not, this is the only way that Nigerians can feel the impact of their assignment. If we keep budgeting money for these agencies to operate yearly and yet, our people in the Niger Delta and beyond are complaining of environmental degradation, how do we feel the impact of the money we budget for them?
Let this incident that happened in Imo State be the contact point for all others that have happened in the past. The oil companies will always tell you it is sabotage. But if I am to pass judgement, I will say that once an environment has been polluted, we should not longer play the blame game.
We should also be able to tell the oil companies to provide security along their pipeline facilities. This is the time to look at how they secure their facilities. If proper security is provided along the pipelines, proper engagement with the communities will also be needed to address cases of anticipated sabotage. But once it occurs, there should be no blame game, but what we should be looking at is how to save the lives of those living around the vicinity because we are talking about hydrocarbon, which is a combination of gas, ammonia, water, crude oil and other substances.
That is why we should make sure that our environment is safe. I am asking the oil companies involved including NNPC, Shell, Agip and NPDC to save the lives of the people living in that vicinity, ascertain the extent of damage and find a way to salvage the situation. NEMA should move in also to assist those who have lost valuables and sources of livelihood.
Some of these people borrowed money for their farms. I know that NEMA are doing their best, but every life is important in this country no matter where it is lost. What we are talking about today is how to keep our environment safe from criminal activities, free from environmental pollution and all other that can cut short our existence as human beings.
You are a member of the House Committee on NDDC and we are aware that the House has ordered an investigation. What is happening to the investigation ordered by the House?
The 9th Assembly inherited an NDDC that has been in existence over the years without proper policy mission. You can see the intense measures we are putting in place. Right now, there is a bill trying to amend some sections of the NDDC Act to make it more accountable to the people.
I can assure that the 9th Assembly will get it right in the area of trying to make the NDDC more responsive to the yearning of the people. On the issue of investigations going on, if you can figure it out, you will discover that a lot of investigations are going on. You have the one being done by the National Assembly, there is one ordered by the President.
The 9th Assembly is looking at how we can actually put in place some policy road map that will make the commission become accountable to the yearnings of our people. We are looking into their budgeting system. Usually, their budget comes in one year after the expiration of an existing budget year. We are trying to correct some of these things so that we can have an NDDC that will be operated through normal budgetary provisions, an NDDC that the stakeholder will make inputs into. That is what the committee on NDDC is doing.
We are having quality consultants that can give us a good roadmap that will enable us contribute our own quota to the development of the Niger Delta. But one thing I can tell you is that we have all accepted the need for the forensic investigation to ascertain how all these monies we have been budgeting over the years are being utilised.
It is not being done because we want to punish people; but because we want to know where we are coming from, and where we are going. If we are able to realise what we budgeted, we will then be able to look at the attendant benefit of this money to the people. That is why we say we are now ready to get the value for the money accruable to NDDC.
We will however provide the framework that will enable the commission function properly and we also support the idea of finding out what is going on within the commission. Very soon, we will give you the report of our investigation.
What should your constituents expect from your representation?
I want to give our people the basic needs of life that will encourage full participation of the youth in our society. If you watch over the years, we have had a lot of unemployed youths. As a legislator, my core legislative interest is to see how our youths can be given opportunities in this country. I am working to see that our youths are empowered.
We have a very disturbing security situation. I can tell you that from what the leadership of the National Assembly, comprising both the House and Senate, is doing; they have had meetings with the President and tried to fashion out ways of providing security to our citizens. I can assure too, that very soon, we will be having a security roadmap that will be a product of stakeholders engagement.