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By Okwe Obi, Abuja
Kebbi State Governor, Mohammed Nasir Idris, has urged Nigerians to endure the hardship that has followed President Bola Tinubu’s economic reforms, insisting that “at the end of the tunnel, Nigerians will laugh.” In this interview, the former labour leader said if the present generation suffers so that their children do not, “we have succeeded.” He admitted that purchasing power has “eaten deep” into the N70,000 minimum wage, but defended the policies as necessary change that earlier governments lacked the courage to introduce.
Idris said he was not worried by the social media frenzy against the All Progressives Congress (APC) and predicted an overwhelming victory for the party and Tinubu in the 2027 general election. He also took a swipe at former Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, and other ex-APC members now in the opposition, saying the party made them.
How confident are you that the APC would win the election, owing to the hardship in the country and other problems?
By God’s grace, election is something that you can calculate. And it is based on what you have done for your people. This is not because I am an APC chieftain. There is no government that has come out with different packages like this administration. Back home in Kebbi State, we have never had it so good like under this administration of President Bola Tinubu. What I believe is that democracy is who brings development projects to your doorsteps. And the Kebbi State has achieved more in this administration, when it came to infrastructures. That is a construction that is taking place between Yauri to Ngaski local government. The road is Malando, they call it Malanduara. It has been abandoned for over 20 years.
But with the coming to this administration, the people, when we go and do our election campaign, they beg us, we see Mr. President and talk that this road is giving them problems and so on and so forth. And after that, we met with Mr. President and Mr. President has seen this and they funded the company because the problem was why the company abandoned it. We asked him, I sat with them. They said it was because of funding. We believe that with Mr. President. Right now, the company went back and continue with that work. We have another road, it is a federal government road from Argungu to Kanyiwa, Kanyiwa to Kebbi local government up to Peka in Niger Republic. That road was being constructed by Shehu Shagari in 1979, where a governor came from, the late governor, Shehu Kangiwa. That Kangiwa is a local government. Since that time, when he was a governor of Sokoto State, that road was being constructed and nothing has happened to that road. No government has done anything on that road. The president awarded the contract. The company is working day and night. Then there is another road that is Koko, Zaria, Kalakala, up to Bagudu local government.
The federal government has awarded that road. Then there is another road we have constructed right now, Koko, Dawai, Zuru, the worst road in Kempe State. And the Kebbi State is now handling that road on behalf of the federal government. When we finish, they will reimburse us. I pleaded with Mr. President, because the company was there since 2018, February, but we have not constructed four kilometers. I pleaded with Mr. President to rebook it and give it to a reputable company that can do it, or they should transfer it. So we work on that road according to federal government specification, and which we did. The federal government allowed us to construct that road, and that is what we are doing now. The road is almost 80% which we did, the federal government allowed us to construct that road and that is what we have been doing now. The road is almost 80 percent, it is 87 kilometers asphalt from the Koko to Udoa. I gave it to three companies Habib Nigeria Limited, ZBCC and JNI. They are working day and night. If you want to go to Zuru, you will spend six and a half hours because the road is terribly bad. We are working on t now, it’s just two hours. By the time they finish it from Koko to Zuru, it’s just an hour.
What do you tell the people who believe that the policies of the government has brought more hardship?
Well, I believe the only permanent thing in life is change. If we suffer now, and our children did not suffer, we have succeeded. But if we continue to allow things the way they are, then all of us will continue to suffer. But let us take the heat away, so that our children will enjoy this country better, better than us. I have the belief that these policies will work. Maybe some government that came and passed did not have the courage to introduce some of these policies. And there is no way a new policy can be introduced that the people will will not feel the impact of that policy. But every policy, at the end of the day, people will laugh. So that is why even Mr. President always asks Nigerians to bear with what is happening. At the end of the tunnel, Nigerians will laugh.
How has your state fared in health insurance? How many workers in Kebbi State have registered?
Health insurance scheme, I know before I came there was a problem. But when I came, right now I am talking about 300,000 people are benefiting from Kebbi State Contributory Healthcare Management Agency (KACHEMA). That is the programme of that health scheme for workers. 300,000 people. And we are also planning to add additional 50,000 also by early next year, by God’s grace. We are going to introduce additional 50,000. And when it comes to the issue of health, I inherited 30 general hospitals. And there are hospitals that since 1978, they have never been renovated up to this level. When I came, I took it upon myself that I am going to renovate all these hospitals. I introduced additional three general hospitals in order to balance off. Because there are places where they need a general hospital. And they have been crying for it. When I came, all my life I stayed in Kebbi State. I worked with all the governors, all of them. I worked with them. Two, I worked with them as chairman of NLC. Four years each. One, I worked with him when I was the national treasurer of Nigeria Labour Congress; even during his time, I became president. So, right now, I am talking, out of 33 general hospitals, I worked on 27. Some of them, we have already finished putting equipment in them. Some of them, their equipment is ready. We are just waiting for the contractors to finish. So, that is why we keep those ones that are remaining, five of them, so that when we finish this one we’ll also take on that five. And the primary health care, we have 225. I worked on 175. And all of them, we put equipment in them. Because we know that, yes, there are so many challenges, particularly in the health sector. That is why one time a candidate of the opposition party went and took one hospital and engaged this guy, Dan Bello. And this hospital is not in Kebbi State. It’s in Kafur, in Katsina State. They showed one old man lying down on the bed. There’s no mattress, there is no blanket, nothing. Because he wants to contest with me. He wants to portray my administration in a bad light. Even if you want to contest, subject yourself to the people. Tell people, ask them, what have you done for your people? What did you do? That was why, when they called me for debate that time, they said that I should come and tell them what I wanted to do. I said, look, it is not an issue of what I want to do. All of you here, what have you done? All of you have reached the highest position in your own areas of endeavours. What have you done? Not what you want to do. You are a general in the Nigerian Army. In your own area, you have not recruited three boys in the Nigerian Army. What are you trying to tell? You did not do it before. But to me, I have done it. Before I even think of it, I will tell you the number of teachers, I will tell you the number of workers, I stand for them to get employment. I will show you the community works. Go to the school I have finished. My own primary school is in Birnin Kebbi. I have renovated, constructed so many classrooms for them, brought light, fenced the school, gave them water, and so on and so forth. And I bought furniture for them. So, all of you, I’m challenging all of you, what have you done for the schools you graduated from? Tell us, if you have bought a single table and chair for that school, come out and see it. I’ll give it, I’ll put it as a challenge to them. We are not here to tell people what I have done. The people of Kebbi State know what I did before. So I don’t need to ask, what are you going to do, because I have been trusted and tested.
There have been accusations and counter-accusations that the former Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, was pushed out of the APC and he is angry with President Bola Tinubu. Is it true?
I don’t want to talk about that. If he left APC, is he not the beneficiary of the APC? Is there any person in this country that has benefited immensely in the APC like him? Since Nigeria got independence, is there any minister, a Minister of Justice, that is as lucky and got power more than all these ministers put together?
Ahead of the elections, are you worried about the spread of fake news?
The fake news is all over in this country. Nobody can shy away from that fake news. I do not believe our people will listen to fake news because people believe in what you have brought to the table. That is it. You can be a minister yourself and the most powerful minister in this country but you have not brought anything to Kebbi State people. Even a Federal High Court, other Ministries, let it be, you don’t have any power to seek an assistance from your colleague, a minister, to carry a project to you in Kebbi State. What of your own ministry, the Ministry of Justice? You could not build a Federal High Court for us. That was directly under your own ministry. As I am talking now, the Federal High Court doesn’t have a building in Kebbi State. They are in a temporary site, a building of the state government. If not because of the coming of President Tinubu, that I pleaded with him, now they are constructing the Federal High Court under this Attorney General.
For yourself and for President Tinubu, what is your call to the people of Kebbi State and the Nigerian people at large?
Our people know what we did. Kebbi State is the largest producer of rice in this country. I have purchased 10,000 solar pumps, 25,000 CNG pumps, I bought tractors, 150 trucks of asphalted fertiliser and 10,000 herbicides, I distributed them free of charge to Kebbi State farmers. With the coming of this administration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu and I have continued. Even this year, I will flag off distribution for dry-season farming. And this thing that we have been doing, we will do it in the rainy season and we will do it in dry season. Because we feel that it was Kebbi State that crashed the food price, particularly rice, in this country. So our people know what we did. This government of President Tinubu and my own government, they know what we have been doing. We did and we will do it again, by God’s grace. So, I know our people, based on the developmental projects that we did, based on the intervention that President Tinubu provided for the people of Kebbi State. If the people of Kebbi State did not love President Tinubu, I was the first Governor in this country to endorse him for a second term. The records are there. And even last time when we had Argungu International Fish and Agriculture Festival, I brought the President to Kebbi State. He has seen things for himself. The Vice President went to Kebbi State about three times. The Minister of Agriculture went to Kebbi State for over five times. This is a clear sign that Kebbi State is for us and we will continue to maintain that. People that have benefited immensely in APC, they left APC. APC has made them to be what they are. They were nobody before. How can people trust an opposition person in Kebbi State when they know what even the late President of Blessed Memory, President Muhammadu Buhari, did for him? And he abandoned Buhari and left to another party. But to our surprise, if he is on the ground, even if I’m not a Governor, as I remain as a comrade, maybe I am in APC, if I’m leaving APC, I will go with a substantial number of members of APC.
He left no single exco of his party to follow him to ADC, not to even talk of his own councillor. Is he a person that has people? He did not leave with a single exco his ward. Look, let me tell you, nobody should deceive anybody. He was sitting on Attorney General when we went for local government election. He could not win his own polling unit not ward, polling unit. What are we trying to say? People that are on the ground, people that have helped people, they know them. One time comes, you will see the votes that we get for President Tinubu and my humble self and all our candidates that are seeking election under the flag of our great party, APC.
Are calling on everyone to vote for the APC?
Yes, I’m calling and I’ll continue to call.
Wait and see, this weekend I’m going to inaugurate my campaign council and on 17th, the presidential campaign council will be inaugurated. Just watch and see what will happen.
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How has the transition been like, moving from being a labour leader and now to politics and even becoming a governor?
Let me first and foremost thank Almighty God for sparing our life up to this moment to witness this very good interview, because this is first of its kind. For the people that I know, people that I worked together when I was the Deputy President of Nigeria Labour Congress and at the same time President of Nigeria Union of Teachers. And as a labour person, because up till now, even when I was on the other side now, there is no way that I can forget Labour, because it was Labour, particularly the NLC and the NUT that made me what I am today. So, I have no cause whatsoever not to thank the organisations and their leaders. I didn’t know that I would contest the governorship election, because my dream of life, my journey in the Labour movement, I was always praying that I want to God to help me and put me as a number one worker in Nigeria and a number one teacher in Nigeria. And God has done it for me because God has given me the opportunity to subject myself to an election and be elected as President of the Teachers’ Union. And I was elected Deputy President of Nigeria Labour Congress and my prayer also to see myself as a number one worker. And I am heading towards that, because a majority of industrial unions agreed and they endorsed me that when time comes, they want me, yes, to be their leader. And we are working towards that and to God be the glory. What I am looking for, God says, no, it’s not that place you are looking for, I am going to give you a higher position. I was just sitting down in my house when I got a wind of change. Change in the sense that somebody that was contesting and the whole Kebbi, because the sitting governor then agreed that he is the person. He anointed him and people, even when he was being anointed, people were saying, why not Comrade? Why not Comrade? Because we prefer Comrade than him. The governor then, the sitting governor invited us and asked us that, yes, all of you are my brothers and whoever gets this position, I don’t have anything against, but preferably I want the Minister of Justice by then to take over from me when I finish. He asked me, Comrade, what do you say? I said, Your Excellency, I have agreed. No, go and discuss it now. I said, I am not going to discuss it with anybody morally. I told him that I have seen life, someone, and you are the sitting governor and morally you should decide who will succeed. And I will support the person. I will support him. That is how the thing happens. I will continue along the line. I was the person that led the delegation. The form of Malami was being filled in my house. And I led a delegation to go and hand over that form to the National Secretariat of the APC. I did not know that God has already destined that position to me. One day, I was just sitting in my house. Up to today, I continue to say my coming as a governor is divine. Because I was sitting, somebody called me and asked me: Are you Comrade Nasir Idris? I said, yes. What happened? Are you not contesting governor of Kebbi? I said, no, I’m not the person, no. Because the Minister of Justice is contesting the position.We are supporting him. He said, look, Minister Malami did not tell you that he is not contesting? I said, no. He said, look, let me advise you. Go and buy your form and subject yourself to an election. Because I have the belief, based on my consultation, that the people love you. They want you to be their leader. So I advise you to purchase the form. The man cut off the phone. Because it was a number. So, after two, three minutes, I said, let me call this person. Let me get this number, put it on the truecaller. So that I will know the person I am speaking to because he did not tell me his name, he did.not tell me anything. I searched for that number, I did not see it. I searched that number, I did not see it. So you can see how God works. Then I called all of them. I called Malami, I called the sitting governor and told them that I had made my mind to buy a form. And that I am going to contest the governorship of the state. So that is why I said my coming is divine. And the journey of my contest is very bumpy. Very, very bumpy because the majority of the people that mattered in the APC had decided to leave APC for the PDP. And they joined forces with a retired general that I contested with. He just finished retiring from the military, not more than five, six months. He joined politics. They ganged up. And they were doing the electioneering. Those people on the other side are saying, how can a comrade, how can a teacher preside over the helm of affairs of Kebbi State? That is where I was a bit angry.
Because people did not even believe that was God. When you say, how can? We are going to block him, we will deny him. He can’t preside over the helm of affairs. But we remain resolute. Because, like I said, I have no cause whatsoever not to thank these two unions. My background as a teacher. My background as a labor leader. The workers and the masses. The market women, the artisan, the laborers, the drivers, and so on and so forth stood by me, particularly together with the masses. I subjected myself to an election. In 21 local governments, I won 18 local governments. 18 out of 21. And because of the forces, they declared my election inconclusive and I was leading with 45,278 votes against my opponent. So I just decided to give you this little history. When we do the inconclusive, after two weeks we came back, 30,000 people cast their votes. Out of that 30, 000 I got 19,000 with some pressure. They declared me, they had no option. They have to declare me winner. After 24 hours, they took me to the tribunal all with the intention of collecting the people’s mandate. The workers’ mandate, the teachers, and so on and so forth. To God be the glory, I watered it down at the tribunal. After two days, three days, they took me to court of appeal. We did in the court of appeal, I got victory at the court of appeal. After a week, they took me to the Supreme Court. Because what they sought, that what has happened in the history of politics in Kebbi State, and in the northern part of, I, the first election, we have lost only three senators to PDP. Four House of Reps out of eight to PDP. So you can see, yes, we lost the presidential election also. Yes, so that is why I call my coming as a divine coming. God has the reason for bringing me to preside over the home of my peers of Kebbi State. So with my struggle in this union, I didn’t find it difficult to preside over the home of my affairs of Kebbi State. Because apart from that, with the support I have. Because if it was Malami, they gave that mandate, at that time, Kebbi would have been a PDP state. But God helped us and vindicated the people of Kebbi. And they gave us the opportunity. That is why the journey was too bumpy. And a lot of troubles. But God said, it was that teacher, that teacher. So I have the cooperation of the people of Kebbi State. That is why I did not find it difficult to preside over the helm of my affairs of Kebbi State. My experience, my background as a labour leader, a teacher gave me ample opportunity. Because I presided over the helm of my affairs of Nigeria Union of Teachers. Which has 100% members, literate, not illiterate. I presided over the helm of my affairs of NLC. During that time I was even acting president of NLC. So I had to resign and join the politics. So honestly, when I came as a governor, I did not find it very difficult because the experience that I gathered, from the local government, to state, to national, to even regional, to global. I did not find it difficult. God has helped me. That is why when I came, I told my people, that you have no cause whatsoever to worry. I am here, I was born in Birmingham, brought up in Birnin Kebbi worked in Birnin Kebbi. And the lead teachers in Kebbi State, lead workers through the NLC in Kebbi State. So all the promises that I made, by God’s grace, as I am talking now, 90% of them, I cannot say 100. Because nobody, no leader is perfect. So I did my best, all the promises that I made and make sure that by God’s grace, God has helped me to fulfill those promises. Because I wrote all of them, I have a committee, a five-man committee. Wherever I go, if I made a promise, these people would put it down. So when we started, they brought their report. They said Your Excellency, during our electioneering, these are the promises that we made to the local governments and, I told workers in Kebbi State that I was going to build a new secretariat because the secretariat we have in Kebbi State cannot contain all the workers. And that secretariat is an old secretariat. So, I told them, that by God’s grace, I am going to ensure that I put all the workers in one roof. One, there is going to be a synergy, there is going to be cooperation, there is going to be a lot of things. So that the atmosphere for workers to work will be very, very conducive. So I house all of them in the same room now. My secretariat is 25,000 capacity. And all our workers are working in the same room. I assured them that also, when the minimum wage came, because I have to show leadership by example. Workers in Kebbi State are not enjoying 30,000 minimum wage by that time. But I promised the workers, I say, you have nothing to lose. I am one of you, I know your problems. Just make sure that you stand by me. And I assure you that you people will not regret it. And they did so. They look at me as their own. So I implemented the N75,000 minimum wage. I gave promotion. Teachers that are not being given minimum wage, and I told them, I said, the era of treating you as second class workers in Kebbi State is over. I am one of you. Stand by me. My victory is the victory of all of you. I implemented N75,000 minimum wage for them. And I always said, even if you pay 100,000, let them bring the table of that 100,000 and compare it to my own and see and try as much as I can not to cheat in terms of implementation. And they are very happy. When I put committees to negotiate, the Labour did their own through their joint service negotiating council and their government did their own. Then they came together to harmonise. They didn’t have much of a difference because when I look at it, the labour is only 108 million that is different between them. Because I told my government side committee, I said, look, as you see me here, I will show leadership by example. I am a labour leader and whatever comes to workers, I will try as much as I can to see that I did justice to them. I come to them and say, ah, this one is just 108. I say, let us adopt labour own. That is what we did. So that is why you don’t here a complaint from Kebbi State. NLC will come and say that, we have been shortchanged, or this one, or that one. No. We did that one to ensure that we have industrial peace and harmony. And that is why workers of Kebbi State can beat their chests and say that, yes, one of our own is there. And we have not lost anything.
Beyond the minimum wage, is there any plan to ameliorate the plight of workers in your state before the next minimum wage discussion is concluded because of the high the purchasing power?
Yes. I just come back from a journey. And by God’s grace, I know what the federal government has decided to do for workers. And we should also think that being a labor leader, definitely something will be done for the Kebbi State State. I am going back tomorrow. It was because of you that I decided to say, okay, you people should come today, so that I know I’m finished. Tomorrow, I will go. Definitely, workers in Kebbi State will not be an exception. I have already set up a committee, and I’m writing now, under the head of service. They are working. And by God’s grace, when I go back, I will communicate with him.
Government approved 70,000 Naira, Your Excellency, If that is agreed, is Kebbi State willing to pay or even pay more?
I already set a time and number. If the federal government increases salaries, Kebbi State will be among the first states to implement it. We have no cause whatsoever. You can’t shy away from the truth. I know, the purchase power has eaten deep into the 70,000 minimum wage. And what the president did, the president has done well. The president believes in the purchasing power of the 70,000 minimum wage. That is why Mr. President graciously approved additional 70,000. So that it will cushion the effects faced by Nigerian workers. So, I’m going back home. We also have to be seen to make sure that we do the needful. To try and also reduce the hardship faced by our own workers back home.
So is it right for us to say now that the Kebbi State government is ready to implement N70,000 transport intervention?
Yes, that is why I said I have already put a committee. I don’t want to pre-empt the committee. But definitely, workers of Kebbi State will see an increase, by God’s grace.
Beyond that, what have you done for the workers in Kebbi State?
What I am trying to say is we have to talk on the minimum wage. Like my brother has said that there are other states that have not implemented it. But I also said I have to show leadership by example. Because I was a leader of labour in my place. And these people also believe in that. That is why when they ask me, please, your excellency, when you come as a governor, we want you to build that secretariat. 25,000 capacity and we house them in the same room. I implemented the minimum wage. In Kebbi State, I do not owe salary. I don’t owe pension. I don’t owe gratuity. I don’t owe benefit.
How is coming up with funds to pay workers because some states are still struggling to pay because of paucity of funds?
I am a teacher and I believe in financial discipline of resources. Yes. Whether we like it or not, we got increase in our allocation. We got increase, but we also got additional responsibility. Yes. We got additional responsibility. So therefore, people are saying that, yes, our allocation has tripled. Our responsibility also has tripled. Yes. The more you got much money, the more you get much problems. That is it. So even with that, we try our best to see that all these areas are not lacking. That is why in Kebbi State, you see, the relationship between government and Labour is very cordial. Very, very cordial. And as far as our workers are concerned, you know, we implement promotions. We give them annual increments. All these things we are doing it. Before I came there was an embargo. But because of the number of unemployed youths that we have, I know what it means for a young graduate to be floated in the labour market. I recruited 2,000 teachers. 2,000 health workers— dctors, nurses, pharmacists and other health workers. Even watchmen. Watchmen. I had to employ. And in the post-civil service, I employed 1,700. Because some of these are casual staff. And I cannot be a labour leader that I fought for casualization. And I will now come and allow casualization to take place in my state. I absorb all of them into the civil service.
Kebbi State used to be at the lowest in terms of IGR generation. Yeah. There has been a steady improvement in IGR. I think you moved from 35 to 31 as of last year. Yeah. how were you able to do this?
No, even that one is not a correct indices. It’s not correct. You know, statisticians will just sit down in Abuja and they start calculating something. They have not gone to the actual place that they should go and find out the figures. Find out the actual truth of what is happening. I know I try my best to ensure that all those leakages, because when you talk of revenue, you must also talk of leakages.
So all those leakages, we try as much as we can to block them. So that is why our revenue has increased, IGR revenue has increased.
How much was it before you came on board and how much is it now?
I think I would not want to give you the figures, because I do not want to quote a figure that is not correct. But I know there is significant improvement in what we were collecting before and now.
What do you have for workers in Kebbi State after the 2027 elections?
Look, by 2027, by God’s grace, we will also have a new minimum wage because the government has put a committee in place. And even if I do not do anything for my workers, if I make sure that I sustain, because a worker wants to collect his gratuity when he retires. Before, the workers were being paid on percentage, 10%, 15%, 20%, and so on and so forth. But now I pay 100%. If you retire, they calculate your money, I will pay. If you retire, you will get your pension. If it is not more than 15% of that month, your name will be included into it. That month you get your pension. So if the government sustains your payment of pension, paying you gratuity, if you die, the government will pay you, the family will take the benefit. I think even if I do not introduce anything, for me to sustain this one is something. After all, we are going to introduce new packages for workers. Right now, I am buying and building about 155 federal mortgage houses. Right now, I m constructing 250 houses all for workers. There are other ones that are 75, that I’m renovating now. All of them will go to workers. So you can see, all these things are packages. I know by God’s grace, by that 2027, because the part of these houses, by God’s grace, will be commissioned in December. So by 2027 we will also introduce, because there is a problem in the area of housing by civil servants. I am a labour leader, I know what is there. So we will continue to do things that our workers will enjoy.
