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…Says claim of his sack from APC like sacking landlord from his house
From Adetutu Folasade-Koyi and Romanus Ugwu, Abuja
The Managing Director, National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) and former National Auditor, All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr George Moghalu, has, over the years, built himself into a political brand, as a party administrator and political appointee.
Speaking to Sunday Sun, Moghalu described President Muhammadu Buhari as the best in terms of infrastructural legacies, stressing that Nigerians will understand the impact he has made by the time he leaves office.
He also challenged the incoming government of Bola Ahmed Tinubu to surpass the achievements of the outgoing administration, just as he enumerated the mileage NIWA, under his headership has recorded in his first tenure.
As a close ally to President Buhari, what do you think he will be remembered for by the time he leaves office?
He will certainly be remembered for so many things. Nigerians will appreciate President Buhari when he leaves office. No Nigerian leader has impacted the nation, especially in infrastructure as Buhari has done. He may not have done everything because as I will always say, Nigeria is a work in progress. He may not have done everything, or solved all the problems in Nigeria, but he has really done very well.
Nigeria is a work in progress because there are things that we are still improving on. For example, we cannot finish building all the roads in the country; we cannot pave all our roads. It is not possible and even if we deploy all the total budgetary allocations into road infrastructure, you will still not deliver the roads 100 per cent.
The natural thing to do is to prioritise the needs as we progress. It is about managing the resources gradually, taking them up one after the other. It is about dealing with them properly one after the other so that they cannot be repeated. We face another one and gradually we will get to our desired destination. Construction will never stop. For example, Abuja today is developed, but Gwagwalada is opening and Kaduna Road is also still open, we are still moving towards those sides. Some people are moving towards there and very soon, Abuja will take over part of Nasarawa. Today, you don’t even know when you cross Maraba and enter Karo in Nasarawa State.
Why would you rate Buhari over his predecessors in terms of infrastructural development?
I want to be challenged in making that infrastructural development claim. I am ready to be challenged and I will use the second Niger Bridge as an example. We have been getting promises in the Southeast for the project for the past 20 years before Buhari came. They flagged off four times. They will set up canopy and flag it off, but after flagging off as soon as the elections are over, they will remove the canopy and the project will stop there. That was the situation of the project until Buhari assumed office, started it, finished it, and delivered it. Another legacy project is the Enugu-Onitsha expressway. I stand to be challenged, throughout PDP’s 16 years in power, no single gravel was poured on any road in the Southeast. I want to be shown that road. Show me just one; I am not talking of two. I want someone to show me just one. And that was the time when the Southeast had Secretary to the Government or the Federation (SGF). We had Chairman, House Committee on Works; Chairman, Senate Committee on Works. We had Deputy Senate President, we had Deputy Speaker, and we had the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning. They were all sitting around the table, but not one federal road or even federal project was attracted to the Southeast.
Does it worry you that most Nigerians will remember Buhari as the president that inflicted the worst economic pains on them?
It depends on the side of the divide one finds themselves and the perspective one is appraising it. Like I said in my opening statement, Buhari didn’t come to solve all the problems of Nigeria and even himself did not claim to have done so too. He never claimed that he has finished solving all the problems of Nigeria. He is only human, he has given his best and that is why I said that Nigerians will appreciate him the most by the time he leaves office.
When he leaves, we will be able to have the opportunity to do a comparative analysis of those before him and those that will come after him. By then we will be able to place him where he belongs, and I know for sure that history will judge him right.
What should Nigerians expect from the incoming government?
It won’t be fair to demand from me to set agenda for the incoming government. However, the basic expectation should be to build and improve on the achievements of and legacies Buhari recorded in the past eight years. They should not only depend on improving them, but also set another standard. If Buhari finishes his eight years and another government comes in, my expectation, like any other Nigerian, is that the new administration should take us to a higher level from where they met the country. If the new administration met us at point three, it is incumbent on them to take us three steps higher to point six. They have to, so that when he finishes his own tenure another person will come and build on the legacies he has recorded. That is life and that is administration for you.
Have you reconciled with your party, the APC?
Am I quarreling with my party? Yes, I took my party to court because I was injured and I got judgment, but as far as I am concerned, the relationship is very good and cordial, pretty very good I can say. I am a core party man. I am a founder of APC. I didn’t join. I played a commendable role and I make bold to say it out loud that I didn’t join APC. I was among those who founded the APC. So, contemplating sacking me in APC is somebody sacking a landlord from his house.
Like most founders of the ruling party, are you also among those complaining that APC did not give them fair treatment?
It is not in my place to assess other people’s expectations and experiences with our party. I would rather talk about myself. And you asked me whether APC treated me fairly and I will tell you that President Buhari treated me fairly by appointing me to this office. The appointment gave me the opportunity to serve our country.
Why can’t NIWA under your headship make provisions for small boats that can go through waterways to shorten the journey from Festac to CMS, Lagos Island instead of people going by road which usually takes longer hours?
The answer to the question is very simple. NIWA is a regulatory agency, not a transport company. However, what we have done even as a regulator is to partner with the various interest groups, and various companies on PPP arrangements and the arrangement is still ongoing now.
Let me announce to you that lots of vessels are on Lagos waterways operating that route just as I mentioned. There are also many companies partnering with NIWA, but I can’t give you details because I don’t want to mention one and not the other. We have complete information and their lists if you demand them.
What is the projection of NIWA, in naira and kobo, in that area?
It is a huge business, a very big business I will say. It is a multi-million naira huge business. Like I always said, the maritime sector in this country has great potential, very great potential. What we need to do is to invest more in it and we will now start reaping the benefit. Apart from the employment opportunity generating capacity, it has other big potentials. Take, for instance, when they were working on the Third Mainland Bridge, I had to provide temporary jetties in some locations in Lagos. And people were using it. More importantly, I have discussed with an American company that wants to bring vessels to do local transportation on our waterways, not only in Lagos, but also in Port Harcourt, and Calabar. I can confirm to you that all of them have the potential of doing so. So, I am encouraging them and I am talking with them. Wherever we see the passenger flow getting quite high, we usually build new jetties for them, so as to encourage that particular mode of transportation because it has a lot of potential and there is a lot of gain we can harvest from it. For example, in the past four years, I have not gone to Apapa by road whenever I am in Lagos. I go by water from Island to Apapa from the old Maroko jetty. I always board a boat from Island to Apapa through Maroko jetty and enjoy the smooth ride.
How far has NIWA encouraged local operators to function on waterways?
Yes, I can tell you that we have to a large extent also encouraged the local transport fleet. For example, we are setting operating standards for boat manufacturers. I can tell you sincerely that since I became NIWA MD, I know the number of locally manufactured boats we have procured, and I can put a seal on them because they have been delivered. A good number of them are manufactured in Port Harcourt; some others are manufactured in Warri. These are classy patrol boats and vessels that we have deployed, and we have not found them wanted in any way or form. They have justified our confidence, they have earned it. So, we are supporting them and we are encouraging them. That is why you can find out that in our procurement processes, we always insist on the local ones. And good enough, when they bid, they usually outbid those that want to import from China or from anywhere. And if we look at the cost implication, we will always deal with the local ones. The good news is that we are getting the same services we desire and deserve.
What is your projection in that sector in naira and kobo in terms of contributing to the GDP?
It is very huge, but I won’t be able to give you, in specific terms, how much in the figure, but I can tell you that it is remarkable. It is something worth the investment. I am one of those who said that water transportation is the way to go in this country. I remember I said openly the day I was appointed that my team and I will only see ourselves as having succeeded, by the time I leave office, if water transportation becomes the transformed means of choice, both for cargo and passengers. If I am able to actualize that, then I am good to go. And that is why you see me struggling and making efforts to ensure that cargos are moved by water. We did the basic analysis and realised that 60 to 65 per cent of the containers that arrive in Lagos end up in the Southeast, at either Onitsha or Aba. If for example, we put them as five million containers that end up in the Southeast, what that translates to is 10 million trailers on the road because five million trailers will bring the containers and five million trailers will take back the empties. So, it will be a big relief if we can remove that quantum of weight from our roads because that is why we are having an infrastructural failure. So, if we are able to encourage that aspect of transportation, I can assure you that we are good to go, because apart from the funds that are going to be saved, it is cheaper to go by water, it is more environmentally friendly, and it is even more secured. We have lots of advantages.
How is the N700 million stalked Cabotage financial funding going to affect your agency, NIWA?
Stopping it will not solve our problems. I would rather suggest that if they have any issue, it can be sorted out because Cabotage funding will be used to develop the industry for the rebuilding of new boats and vessels that will be deployed on waterways. So, stopping it does not make any sense.
What are those unfulfilled dreams and legacies as you coast to the final lap of the administration in office?
I will advice you to wait until when I finish my first tenure before talking about my unfulfilled dreams. What may look as unfulfilled dreams could still be achieved before I leave office. Yes, I have some programmes drawn up when I assumed office and I can tell you that I am far gone into it. In fact, I will say that I have done about 60 per cent of them. And I am very confident that I would have achieved all of them by the time I leave office. I am very confident about that. As for legacies, I hate talking about legacies; because it gives me the impression that I am assessing myself. I rather leave the assessment to people, to my colleagues in the office, to the maritime sector and to the maritime industry. You will feel the impact better.
