•Oshiomhole has performed in Edo more than all PDP governors combined

BY CLIFFORD NDUJIHE, Deputy Political Editor

Senator Victor Oyofo, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP and national officer of the Senators Forum, was in Lagos last Thursday for the inaugural meeting of South-West chapter of the August body. He told reporters that the states don’t need extra money from the federation account in terms of more revenue to meet the N18,000 minimum wage. He also canvassed dissolution of the states into six regions to move the country forward. Excerpts:

How do you view calls for a review of the present revenue allocation formula to give states more funds?
I will not subscribe for more revenue for the states. In fact, the states agitating for more revenue are not being honest, they do not need more revenue. The states do not deserve more revenue at all.  What have they done with the allocations they have been getting? They should tell the people how they have been spending the revenue. How many of the states can show off the roads that they have tarred, the hospitals they have built and the social amenities they have provided with the revenue they have been collecting in the past?

The argument that the states have more responsibilities and are closer to the people than the central government is mere propaganda. The statement that they cannot pay minimum wage is also a lie; they should pay the minimum wage. The states will normally appropriate the money belonging to the local government areas and yet expect the councils to function. They should go and pay the minimum wage.

What is your take on calls for a national conference and constitutional amendment?
We need to have a national conference but the only thing is that I am not sure of what it can achieve, but definitely we need to reduce the number of states in the country. We also need to make the six geopolitical zones the federating units because the current states are mere liabilities.

So, you don’t agree with Senate President David Mark who said that more states would be created?
I am not making my suggestions based on Mark’s statement. Anybody is free to hold his or her opinion but what I am saying is that many of the present states are useless. They are not adding any value to the lives of the people. When  we look at the number of unemployed people in the states, it is a wonder if the state governments have the funds to take care of them considering the lifestyles of the state executives and their deputies as well as other government officials. Nobody is going to reward anybody because there are 400 governors in Nigeria. Nigeria does not need the large number of states it is currently having.

What do you make of the rising wave of insecurity in the country, recurring bomb blasts and the security challenges posed by the Boko Haram sect?

We need to address the problem of hunger in this country because first and foremost, a hungry man is an angry man. We need to look into the state of poverty of many Nigerians with a determination to addressing it. It is not enough to discuss issues of unemployment, poverty and other matters that are keeping many Nigerians down and frustrated, but there must be a solution. What many of our youths are going through has made them to become more desperate and they are ready to do anything. The fact is that if you think your life is worthwhile, you will not think of blowing up another human being. I think we should first look into the state of poverty, unemployment and other social problems in the land.

Do you think the government should engage the Boko Haram people in dialogue over the bombing matter?

Whether there is dialogue or no dialogue, my position is that there is nothing any government can do in a situation where the people are not happy. Even in the United States of America, there is nothing the government will do in a situation like this, when the citizens are not happy. If anyone graduated from the university, got a job, got married and had children, what reason will that person have to go and blow up himself along with others? If the government engages Boko Haram people in any kind of dialogue, of what significance will that be to the yearnings of millions of Nigerians? I will not say it is good or bad but will that solve the anger and hunger in the country?

Will it solve the energy problem or reduce unemployment? The country is tensed and the reasons are not far from the fact that things are not working well with many Nigerians. They need job, the energy sector is not working and this has ruined several small-scale industries, kept millions of people out of their jobs, caused the closure of several factories and with people losing their jobs, the problem of insecurity just escalates. Today’s insecurity did not just start, it is a consequence of so many things and the fact that many people are tired of the present situation means that something has to give. My plea to the Federal Government is that it should try and address the necessary issues that will make Nigerians happy.

How can the PDP resolve the issue of zoning now that the South West claims it has been marginalised?
It is something the party should look into critically. But on the other hand I don’t think it makes sense to zone legislative offices. Legislative offices rely on experience, they are not like Executive offices where we always have the platform on which the occupier comes and he starts to execute.

The legislative office of the Speaker that was zoned to the South West was a wrong move. Fellow lawmakers would not have respected Mulikat Adeola-Akande if she had emerged the Speaker. Such zoning arrangement was something that was bound to fail. What PDP should have done is to look for something for the South-West that is not a legislative position. When I spoke about the Senate I did say that the Senate President is not for rookies who do not know their left from right in parliamentary procedures and practices. My position was that the Senate President should not be zoned. We cannot continue to jettison good leadership and qualities for zoning in the country.

What is your advice to President Goodluck Jonathan and the National Assembly?
There must be a collective will to address the issue of poverty in the country whereby every Nigerian would be made happy. President Jonathan should start thinking about policies that will quickly transform the nation and make it workable for an average citizen. He should set machinery in motion that will address unemployment and should also show more passion on the issue of electricity.

The National Assembly should pass bills that will transform and affect the lives of the people in a positive manner. There is much hope and aspirations from Nigerians about the present administration. Nigerians are really looking forward up to President Jonathan and the National Assembly to deliver the dividends of democracy within the next couple of years.

How would you rate the performance of Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN)?

Except we are not going to face the truth, Oshiomhole has performed better than all the PDP governors we have had in Edo. The state of public infrastructure is improving under the present administration than any of the PDP governors and he has given more hope to the people, but that is not to say that I will not vote against him in the next election. I am still going to work for my party, PDP. I will vote against him in the next election because he is not a PDP member. The only situation that will make me not to vote against him is if he crosses over to the PDP.