National Publicity Secretary of Ijaw National Congress (INC), Ezonebi Oyakemeagbegha, in this interview with ANN GOWIN says ensuring the completion of the ‘Southern tenure’ at the Presidency will enhance unity, equity and justice in the country. He also speaks on other national issues, including the growing culture of abandoning projects by government agencies, saying there should be a law to criminalise it.
The push for the continuation of a southern Presidency in 2027 stems from several political dynamics. What is your take on the matter?
Ordinarily, it is too early for politicians to begin to talk about the 2027 elections because I think the President needs to concentrate; the governors need to concentrate to deliver good governance to Nigerians. There are a lot of things demanding attention. It’s too early but politicians, being who they are, prepare ahead of time. So, it is not out of place that southern politicians are agitating that the Presidency should remain in the South. We agree with that. The Presidency should remain in the zone because it’s our right. So, it is a welcome development.
Does the call for the president to remain in the South have to do with completing the southern tenure or prioritising equity and merit?
All are involved; merit is there, equity and fairness are also there. A president from the North has just done eight years and for fairness and oneness in the country, I do not think politicians from the South pressed for power to shift to the South; they allowed the North to complete their eight years. Therefore, for proper understanding and fairness and for oneness in the country, I believe very strongly that the Presidency should remain in the South to enable the zone to have its fair share of eight years.
You will recall that when former President Goodluck Jonathan was there, some politicians from the North tried to pull some of the politicians from the South down. Some southern politicians also betrayed former President Jonathan and they took the seat from him. So, we are saying that this time, we in the South will not agree that they come up with any tactics again to unseat a southern man as president.
We have a gentleman’s agreement in this country. Inasmuch as it is not written in the constitution, we should still adhere to it. The country is shared into two zones. We have the North and South. So, if the North has done eight years, it is just ethical that the South should do eight years also before it goes back to the North to do eight years. That is the understanding we have in this country for fairness, equity and justice.
Many believe that former president Jonathan is credible and electable to do a second term. Do you agree?
That is also arguable but now we have a president who is from the South that has done just two years and counting. So, we are saying that the southern eight years must be completed. President Jonathan was not allowed to complete his eight years. There was a gang up against him and now the issues are coming up again; we are insisting that the South will complete their eight years. If we wanted to argue on that issue – Jonathan’s case – we would have also insisted that the South should do an extra eight years. But let us, for the sake of peace, say ‘okay, on the Jonathan issue, we will let it go; but for the Presidency that is now in the South, we will complete the eight years tenure.’
Are you saying President Bola Tinubu should be re-elected in 2027?
I have not said the current President should complete the eight years tenure but if it is President Tinubu that is completing his eight years, he is from the South, good enough! If it is another candidate that is from the South, it is still good enough. All we are saying is that the eight years will be completed by a southerner. We will not allow any power shift from the South to the North because we allowed the eight years of late President Muhammadu Buhari to be completed peacefully. Former President Buhari finished his eight years without us minding that he may not have performed well. But for peace to reign in the country, we allowed the North to complete their tenure. Therefore, the South will also use their eight years well and we should be allowed to complete it peacefully.
Does this mean any push for a northern agenda may be perceived as unfair?
It is very unfair for any northerner to push for a northern agenda. We see this pressure from the North; they give the impression that there are some persons who own the country more than others. That is not true; we are all shareholders of this country; every citizen of this country owns the country equally and has equal rights. Therefore, we will not agree with the impression that a southern president has not performed or trying to lure the South to support them. Our eyes are clearer now; they are more open; we have seen their position and we understand the politics clearer now.
We didn’t see any person from the North coming out to oppose late president Buhari when he was president regardless of his performance. So, we are saying that it is a gang up against the South. As I said, if the North has done eight years, and there is a gentleman agreement that the North will have eight years and the South will have eight years, I call on southern politicians to strongly unite and come against this despicable agenda against the South.
There are issues of alliance currently going on among the southern governors with regards to switching to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). Can this alliance in any way bring unity among southern politicians if the Presidency is zoned to the South?
If the Presidency is zoned to the South, it will bring unity, not minding the party anybody is contesting from. If it’s zoned to the South, I am sure the governors, politicians in the South, will unite, regardless of whatever party, to achieve victory because they understand the issues better now considering that the North did their eight years in peace. It will bring unity among the governors. So, definitely, if the Presidency is zoned to the South, it will bring unity.
Do you have any words of advice for Southern politicians?
Let the politicians know that some people feel superior in the country. If you subject yourself as a less superior person, you won’t achieve anything. So, I call on southern politicians to strongly unite.
Let’s talk about the South-South Development Commission (SSDC) recently established by the Federal Government aimed at fostering socio-economic development in the zone. Do you see a duplication of efforts of the NDDC in establishing the commission?
For me, I am very glad that another commission has been established to further develop the South-South region if it is genuine and funding will be made available. I think that creating even 10 interventionist agencies to develop the South-South will not be out of place. We have been deprived.
You know very well our contribution to the economy of the country.
The terms of the South-South Development Commission are clear. I have also read the Act and seen that it is not a duplication. It is a welcome development that a commission of such nature is in place.
So, the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) mandate is different from the mandate of the South-South Development Commission; it is not a duplication; it is a welcome development. We, therefore, encourage the government to make funds available for the commission because the challenge will be lack of funding. Let the government give them a free hand to do the necessary work.
But is funding really the key challenge? What about the issue of proper utilisation of the funds?
Yes, the individuals appointed to man such offices matter a lot. I have looked at some of the personalities that were inaugurated recently. I believe that with their antecedents, they will perform if external influences are not there. I know too well that sometimes they establish these commissions and put people they will use as instruments to loot funds. But believing that these are people that have love for the South-South, we are hoping that they will perform.
In a recent report by The Guardian, several abandoned projects were uncovered in the South-South region, including roads, bridges, hospitals, etc, which some blame on the disunity of the leaders. What’s the headway?
The INC recently did a survey of abandoned projects within the Niger Delta and it was alarming seeing the number of projects that were abandoned and the amounts of funds that were involved in such projects; it is rather unfortunate. I think there should be a law; if you talk about projects, they must have a period. That is the definition of a project. One of the characteristics is that it has a period. No project is forever. If it is three years that you want to execute the project, the three years should be there and the findings should be there. So, if you look at the projects that have been abandoned, there is a need to come up with a law that can punish offenders if they don’t complete projects.
For anyone to initiate a project and fail to complete the project should be a crime. The law we are proposing will help guide and reduce abandoned projects. I also read your publication on the abandoned projects; it was a deep and well investigated report and that raises serious concerns that if we don’t take a proper position to fight against the menace of abandoned projects, we will have more abandoned projects in the South-South. Some of them are uncompleted roads, which instead of helping the people are endangering their lives. Money, which would have been used for some other purposes, is put in a project that won’t be completed; that does not make any sense.
For instance, if you initiate a project of constructing a bridge across two communities or a bridge that crosses another road and you abandon it, a huge amount of money has been wasted yet the project is not completed. It will rather worsen the challenges of the people. So, if any agency is sure that it cannot complete any project, there is no need to put money in that particular project because it is as good as not even doing anything. So, I am strongly calling for a law that will criminalise abandoned projects.
