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From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
In the run-up to the 2027 general elections, there has been an influx of opposition politicians, including governors and members of the National Assembly into the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). While critics say the development will lead to an implosion in the APC, a member of the House of Representatives, Moshood Oshun, says nothing of such would happen.
Oshun, who represents Lagos Mainland Federal Constituency of Lagos State, on the platform of the APC told Daily Sun that the ruling party has a unique way of accommodating interest. The lawmaker also spoke on the frequent approval of loans for President Bola Tinubu by the National Assembly amongst other issues.
Excerpts:
How would you assess President Bola Tinubu’s chances in the next election, especially against the backdrop of the many challenges in the country- the power situation has worsened, insecurity is on the rise, hunger everywhere.
That would not be a fair statement if you are saying to me that insecurity is on the rise. The security situation is getting better. Yes, we still have issues with insecurity. We still have challenges. But you can’t tell me it is getting worse.
There was a time in this country when we read every day 300 abducted here, 500 abducted there. This killed. That killed. That has reduced. You and I know that has reduced. That is number one.
Number two, the issue of insecurity is not something that can be eliminated once and for all. All over the world, in the UK, US, we still hear of insecurity. We still hear of terrorism attacks. These are countries with the best technology. It is like you saying crime can be eliminated. Crime cannot be eliminated in any country of the world. We are trying to make sure that we bring it down to the lowest. But saying that it has increased, that was not a fair statement.
If you look at the economy of this country, in the last three years we have had a lot of improvement. You and I know that there was a time in this country, things were so extensive, it is coming down. Security is getting better. Infrastructure development is going on in this country. You can see it. There is no state in Nigeria today that has not been affected by the Bola Ahmed Tinubu regime. There is no state that has not gotten infrastructural development. It cuts across board. I am not saying this is the best we can get, it can get better. But for now, it is a gradual process. We are getting there. And I am sure we will get there.
Nigerians know what is good for them. There is no point telling ourselves stories. We have an opposition with no track record. That goes about lying. That gives us false information. You have somebody telling us that I have never flown first class in my life and we saw him on a chartered plane. You have habitual liars. But Nigerians know what is good for them. Yes, it is tough. But Nigerians know there is progress. There is light at the end of the tunnel.
We have people that said something to us before and we have seen the other way; compared to somebody that came to you even before he was elected and said ‘look, if I am elected, I am going to do this, this and this.’ And after the election, he did what he promised. What more could we be asking for.
Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu didn’t just come to power and say I am going to remove fuel subsidy or I am going to float the naira. He said it before the election. The funny part is that all the candidates said the same thing. Obi said he was going to remove fuel subsidy. Atiku said he was going to remove fuel subsidy. So, Nigerians know that if any of them was elected, fuel subsidy is gone. Eventually Bola Ahmed Tinubu came to power and removed that subsidy. What has he done wrong? Nothing.
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The President during the 2023 campaigns told Nigerians that if he does not fix power in four years, they should not vote for him for a second term. And three years into his administration, the power situation in the country has gotten worse. What have you to say on that?
When you are campaigning it is like somebody trying to go into a room and you don’t know what is in that room. I am sure he is doing everything within his power to fix that. Look, he stands to gain nothing if there is no power in Nigeria. Again, like I said it is a process. If I tell you that if I come into power I am going to build a beautiful house for you, you don’t expect me to build that beautiful house in one day. It will take steps- the foundation will be done, laying of blocks and after that the roof, the painting. It is a process. And we are in that process now. You and I know that there is hope in front of us.
Ceritics say there might be an implosion in the APC. Presently you have 32 governors and almost the entire National Assembly. They say that the party may not be able to manage the various interests. What do you think?
There is nothing to implode in APC. I want to ask you a question: if you are in a ship and the ship is sinking and there is another ship beside you that is floating, will you sink with that ship or jump into the next one? Would you sink with that ship that is sinking or jump into a ship that is floating? Look, people are coming into the APC, because they realised that this is the best party in the black world, in Africa. They realised that they were on the wrong ship. They realised that their ship was sinking. They realised that what is in APC they don’t have in other parties. So, if somebody decides not to die in a sinking ship, would you blame that person?
If you live in a house and the House is going to collapse, will you stay in that House? You won’t. You will leave the house to go to a better house. There is no implosion in APC; they have only come to join a better party. They are welcomed. When it comes to the issue of nomination, the party will do it the way we have been doing it…
(Cuts in ) The baba sope way?
If you say baba sope, you must be a member of a party. Maybe that is what you do in your party. In our own party, look whether you like it or not, we have a system. And that system is for us to make sure that the best candidate emerges. So, I don’t know what you mean by baba sope or whatever you call it. I don’t understand.
You used the analogy of people jumping from a sinking ship into a floating ship, are you not afraid that the weight in the ship may become too much and make it to sink?
If for example you live in Maitama and you moved to Asokoro. You decide to join a Church in Asokoro, would that church send you back? Would they tell you that you are not allowed there? I am asking a question. If they have decided to join us, we can’t send them back. The only thing we will do is to reinforce our ship, and ensure we have more base. If we need to build a bigger ship, we will build a bigger ship to accommodate people coming in and that is what we are doing.
The National Assembly recently approved a fresh loan for the President. Remember that sometime ago, the government said the country has made so much savings from subsidy removal and all the rest. Why is it difficult for National Assembly to interrogate anything from the president?
Before the removal of subsidy, the 774 Local Government Areas in Nigeria, how much was their allocations? But today, they are getting more money. That means the money we are getting from subsidy removal; we are spending it somewhere. We are putting it into the local politics. Let the local government chairman develop his area. If we have 774council chairmen developing their areas simultaneously, Nigeria will be better for it.
Imagine that every month, a council chairman develops two, three roads, build two, three schools, and builds hospitals. The president doesn’t want to centralise everything. Let the council chairmen do more. Let the governors do more. The governors are getting more money. The council chairmen are getting more money. You and I know that. We are saying let them go and develop their area.
At the same time, the president is not shifting his responsibility to them. The president is doing a lot. Like I said earlier, all the states in Nigeria are getting something from the federal government. We have 360 members here. They facilitated projects into their communities, funded by the Federal Government. Imagine if a member of the House of Representatives, is being asked to nominate projects to the tune of N1billion. N1billion in 360 constituencies, that is a big improvement.
We are not taking loans to go and eat KFC or to go and eat amala. We are taking loans to develop Nigeria. There is no business that thrives without taking loans. There is no country that is not taking loans. Most of the first world countries that you think are doing very well, if you look at the debt they are owing, you will be afraid. But what is important is that these loans are being taken for the development of Nigeria. It is not going to anybody’s pocket.
