Akwa Ibom Zoning ‘ll count in 2015– Etteh

Hon. Okpolupm Ikpong Etteh is the leader of the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly in an interview with TONY ANICHEBE in Uyo.... Speaks on Zoning of Governorship in the State Ahead of 2015, Governor Godswill Akpabio’s donations, among other issues Excerpts:

What is your position on zoning which has dominated 2015 governorship election in Akwa Ibom?

Since the creation of Akwa Ibom, there has always been zoning. With the emergence of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 1999, Victor Attah from Uyo Senatorial District became the governor, and from 2007 till date, Godswill Akpabio from Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District has been the governor. That is to show you that there is zoning, whether written or unwritten; Akpabio is not from the same senatorial district with Attah. Akpabio came from Ikot Ekpene while Attah came from Uyo, meaning that two senatorial districts have occupied that office. Whether there is zoning or not, it is one senatorial district that is left to occupy the governorship seat.

The zoning of political offices is the strength of PDP as a party. Zoning or rotation is enshrined in PDP constitution whether it is written or not. Take for instance, when Attah was governor for eight years, the deputy governor came from Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District, the Speaker emerged from Eket Senatorial District. 

The party chairman came from Eket Senatorial District, the secretary of the party came from Uyo Senatorial District while the deputy chairman came from Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District. Is that not zoning? There is no written document that says it will go that way; it is a convention by ratification. Today the governor is from Uyo Senatorial District, the deputy governor from Eket Senatorial District and the Speaker of the House of Assembly and chairman of the party is from Uyo Senatorial District. Do we have any written document that says those offices should rotate that way? No, it is because we are PDP and PDP believes in zoning as enshrined in the party. In as much as you are a member of PDP, there is zoning. Every true PDP member believes there is zoning in PDP.

Okay let us leave the word zoning and call it rotation. Some people don’t like the word zoning. For instance, the first person who represented my constituency in 1999 was Bassey Essien from Esit Eket and today I am the Assembly member from Ibeno. After my tenure, it reverts to Esit Eket and that is the rotation, there is no written agreement on the movement of the seat, everybody knows it’s going there because I will no longer contest for that office. The word zoning is embedded in PDP, there is no argument about that, the moment President Goodluck Jonathan says he is no more interested in the presidency, automatically the seat moves, but he has a right to contest again because he is in his first term.

As a card-carrying and founding member of the PDP in my ward since 1998, I will tell you that there is zoning in PDP. We don’t need any document to prove there is zoning. If any member of the PDP says there is no zoning from one ward to another and one constituency or district to another, that person is not a member of PDP because if the person was a member of the party from 1998 and followed the records and proceedings of the party, he or she will know there is rotation or zoning and will not argue about it. It is incumbent on PDP to know that two out of three have taken their slots for governorship remaining one, so it is not issue for debate for justice and equity sake.

There is also an argument that the rotation of the governorship should be based on ethnicity in that the state is sitting on a tripod of Ibibio, Annang and Oron ethnic groups. Do you share this view?

I am the leader of the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly and I represent the PDP in the Assembly. The PDP of which I am a card-carrying member does not recognise ethnic groups. So, in the context of zoning or rotation, the PDP constitution recognises the senatorial district. So the issue of Annang, Ibibio, Oron, Obolo is no issue when it comes to the norms in PDP as a party. The party cannot include the over 300 tribes in the country into its constitution.

President Jonathan is not Nigerian president because he’s an Ijaw man but because he is from South-South. So, what am saying is that zoning of governorship does not follow ethnic nationalities but the senatorial districts.

How do you see the emergence of Governor Akpabio as chairman, PDP Governors’ Forum?

For me as the leader of the House of Assembly and member representing Esit Eket /Ibeno state constituency in the state Assembly, Akpabio’s emergence as chairman PDP Governor’s forum is a big-plus for Akwa Ibom State. This means that Akwa Ibom is working. PDP and its governors’ forum cannot appoint someone without a track record to lead them. The party’s leaders, stakeholders and Board of Trustees (BoT) must have sat down, look at his track record of performance before settling for him. They also know that he has the capacity to lead; he has the energy to work tirelessly to ensure there is peace and cohesion in the party. This is one appointment done on merit. The position again is a recognition of what Akwa Ibom State has offered PDP, because this is one state that is committed to the party. If you want to look at the performance of PDP in Nigeria, Akwa Ibom is a case study.

Criticisms have trailed Governor Akpabio recently over his donations to individuals and groups. Were these donations captured in the state budget?

As far as I am concerned, monies are budgeted to office of the governor; the governor has security vote and administrative money. Has anybody in this country asked the President how he spends his security vote? This is because security matter is one that is not discussed openly. The governor has salary and hospitality votes to run his office; there is room for miscellaneous expenses and Governor’s Office administration. 

There is provision in the state budget, allocating money to the office of the governor. So, whatever money the governor spends is allocated to the office of the governor. We can only say the governor did not spend the money well if the report from the House Committee on Public Accounts indicts the governor or if the Auditor General sends in its annual report that the governor has misappropriated funds, that is when the public account will invite the governor to come and explain. But if you have looked at all the budgets passed and reports on implementation from the office of the Auditor General, there is no indictment of the office of the governor that he has misappropriated funds.

So, what people are saying is not correct, the governor has salary and many other subheads to spend money. To me there is nothing wrong with what the governor has done so far.

The state Assembly has just approved a $500 million (N80 billion) loan for the governor. It was said that the Houes was divided before it was passed. What really happened?

When the proposal came from the executive to the legislature, it was our duty to find out why he needs the money; it is not enough to read the governor’s letter and approve. That was why the House decided to summon the Commissioner for Finance, Commissioner for Economic Development and the Permanent Secretary, Budget Office to come and explain the merits and demerits of taking this loan, because we have earlier ratified the governor’s request for N50 billion. since his inauguration as governor in 2007 he has never gone to any bank for loan and from that year we have been having provision for N50 billion loan in the state budget. 

So, with the magnitude of ongoing jobs, we granted the governor the approval to get the first loan of N50 billion from a local bank with 18 per cent interest and the government came back and said that the interest on the loan is so much and that the state may not be able to pay before May 2015 and that we have a better offer from an international bank with single digit interest rate of less than nine per cent. What they wanted to do was to use the already approved funds provided in two initials budgets of 2012 and 2013 in which provisions were made for N40 billion loan each totalling N80 billion. So, for us at the Assembly we saw that as the best for the state. It is a good deal for Akwa Ibom State and there is no division among the lawmakers on this.

There appears to be peace in the state Assembly after a recent crisis that threatens to sack the Speaker. How do you achieve this stability?

As far as I am concerned, there is no crisis in the House ever since we came on board. From June 2011 till date, we have been in peace and the Assembly has been peaceful. If there is crisis, I will tell you as the Leader of the House. What you hear are rumours and speculations, people don’t believe we can stay together for two years without crisis. They call us rubber stamp because we work harmoniously with the executive. The government seeks and obtains the House approval before undertaking any major projects and these accounts for the harmony and peace between both arms of government.