Chinelo Obogo

Industrialist and rights activist, Chief Rita Lori-Ogegbor, has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to thoroughly investigate candidates before they are given appointments into his cabinet. She said she will protest if those without integrity are appointed. This is just as she urged the president not to increase Value Added Tax (VAT) as it will make it difficult for businesses to function effectively. She speaks further.

 

It has been over a month since President Buhari’s second tenure commenced and he is yet to set up his cabinet. There are reports about the intense lobbying for political appointments but many have urged the president to eschew politics and appoint competent technocrats who can help move the country forward. What is your advice to him?

Some of us still believe in President Muhammadu Buhari because we still see him as a man of integrity. The country is more plagued today by corruption and we believe that unless corruption is dealt with to a reasonable extent, we are wasting our time. I have written a letter to the president to remind him of why people voted him, despite all odds. What is worrisome today is that the people who are now jostling and running around Abuja looking for jobs have gone very far in collecting these jobs. I believe that some people are involved in giving out these jobs and we want to know whom they are, because for people like us who think that Buhari is a credible person, such things makes us sad. We want him to know that it is his integrity that made the party survives.

Our fight for integrity and anti-corruption is a fight we believe in and we are therefore determined that it should succeed. This is the only way Nigeria can be a country of pride, stability, free from hunger and penury. Since Buhari’s victory, he must have been bombarded by job seekers but he should remember that a lot of us contributed to his victory and we are confident that he would not let us down by appointing men who have ruined us in their previous positions. Already, people are looking for jobs in the highest places like ministerial appointments, NNPC, NDDC and Ministry of Niger Delta among others. These plum jobs should not be given to anybody whose integrity is in doubt.

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We ask that he looks into the integrity and lives of these people who are asking for these jobs. A lot of them have cases with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) and the police. They are using the power of money to suppress these cases, but we know them. We therefore ask that before these men are appointed to these high positions, they should be referred to the law enforcement agencies for clearance. If this is not done, these men will be vicious and use their positions to marginalise, milk this country and suppress those of us who are fighting, thereby making our lives more miserable. However, we shall continue by the grace of God to fight these people who are making the lives of the poor miserable.

Some prominent members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) have urged President Buhari not to change the current regime on Value Added Tax (VAT). As a business owner, what would be your recommendation to the government?

I do not want to over flog this issue because Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, the National Leader of the APC and who is also one of our country’s visionaries, has written about this severally and it cannot be truer. Whether anybody likes it or not, Tinubu is one of the few leaders I respect very much. He has spoken about this issue and said that VAT should be left alone and I believe him because he is correct. Some of us who have been industrialists for over 50 years are appealing that VAT be left as it is.

Industries are finding it very difficult to survive, pay salaries, maintain factories, pay electricity bills, purchase raw materials and pay taxes among others. Industries are closing down every day and workers are being thrown out of their homes with their families. Therefore, Value Added Tax (VAT) should be considered a no go area with the state we have found ourselves in the country today.  Today, what is still helping the country are people like us who are making efforts to still pay salaries and we are begging that VAT should be left alone, or else, a lot of companies will close down and workers will suffer.

The national chairman of APC, Adams Oshiomhole said some time ago that the party is compiling a list of candidates to submit to President Buhari for appointment. Should Buhari reject candidates brought to him by the leadership of the party based on your past allegations against Oshiomhole?

Oshiomhole has caused a lot of trouble in APC and whatever he has done is best known to us. People who fought hard for APC and paid for nomination forms to contest primary were denied the tickets and the next day, Oshiomhole declared other people winners. I spoke about it when it happened. It is the integrity of President Buhari that has sustained the party. The two people who we look up to in APC are Buhari and Tinubu. I am reminding President Buhari not to joke with his integrity and that is why we want him to properly investigate anyone lobbying for appointment, especially for NNDC. A lot of money has gone into the NDDC and nothing has come out of it. We know those people who do not have integrity and if any of them who have stolen our money and rendered us useless are appointed, we will protest and EFCC will have to investigate all the candidates.