Olusola Balogun wrote: The face of a turn-coat!!!! following the interview by Hon. Remmy Hazzan on MITV where he criticised some policies of the Ibikunle Amosun Govermment, i hereby re-produce the interview he granted to DAILY INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER ON TUESDAY OCTOBER 16TH 2012 so that all discerning readers can juxtapose it with what he said on MITV. Enjoy reading...... Ogun Assembly not rubber-stamp to the executive, says lawmaker Posted on Tuesday, October 16th, 2012 REMI HASSAN, second-term lawmaker and former Deputy Speaker of Ogun State House of Assembly who represents Odogbolu constituency, is ranked among the vibrant and vocal lawmakers in Ogun legislature. He talks to Senior Reporter, ANTHONIA SOYINGBE on activities of the legislature in the state and his support for national conference. Some members of the Ogun House of Assembly (OGHA) were, before the last Local Government election in the state said to be displeased with some decisions taken by the state governor as regards selection of candidates. Has the issue been resolved? The problem of marginalisation will always be in any political group but the onus is on the leadership to ensure that there is a balance .That however is not an event; it is a process. I think the noise is less now which means the leadership is doing something. The agitation will continue to come but it is up to the leadership to always live to expectations. Ogun State seems to be witnessing positive change in terms of physical development. How would you rate the present administration under the leadership of Governor Amosun? This administration is dogged, focused and result oriented. It is an administration that is really passionate to transform the state from where it was to where it ought to be. We are beginning to see results in terms of infrastructural development and in terms of environmental uplift such that one will be proud. Even if you are coming here to transact business, you will be proud to always come. This administration has really been able to meet the yearnings of the people. But we must understand that the challenges are much and not something that can be tackled in a day. So the job continues until all of us can boldly say we have achieved. The signs are there that things are getting better in Ogun State but it is not over until it is over. Many see state Houses of Assembly as ‘mere rubberstamps’ to the executives. Is this the case in OGHA? Whoever said that must be ready to define what that means. For all I know, things that need concurrence and approval of the House will surely have to pass through it. Where they (executive) deserve to get the concurrence, they get it where they don’t deserve to get it they ordinarily don’t get it. If face-off with the executives is what makes a legislative institution really populist legislature, I don’t think that is good for democracy. What happened in the past happened because we sensed that danger was looming in the state and it was going into a very precarious financial mess. If at this time we say yes to something that we are convinced will help in the developmental strides the state needs to take place, then no apology. Things now get to the hallowed chamber before they are done unlike what we experienced in the last administration where the executive did things without consulting the legislators even when the constitution expressly says so. If what we are doing now which is right is rubber stamp we owe no apologies because we are doing what the constitution says. We have been doing well. Even when controversial bills are passed, apart from the fact that we are entitled to debating such bills, we still call stakeholders to public hearings and aggregate all these opinions. Thereafter, we come up with a bill which has the input of those who sent us here. I don’t know where rubberstamp comes in here because we go through the rudiment of what the constitution and the law prescribes. Ogun State government recently came up with a policy wherein contractors construct roads and the government in turn pays later. Can this policy be sustained by subsequent governments? The Speaker of the House of Representative once said that we should try to separate institutions of government from individuals occupying the seat. We should create a framework that will ensure that things are done rightly and create a mechanism and ensure that in doing those things the templates are there and outlive the one bringing the lofty ideas. We are set to pass the bill into law. It is so simple; contractors who are privilege to see the performance of this administration in terms of drive for IGR (Internal Generated Revenue) are encouraged to have part payment especially in road construction. It is only in the area of roads that we don’t have private sector involvements. So far it seems it is only government that could put road in place. The arrangement provides that from what comes into the state on a monthly basis as IGR, there would be a fund which will be managed by some portfolio managers. It is not just that the money will be there; it will be aggregated together and reinvested in something that can bring in some short term dividend and profit. We get the proceed at the end of an agreed time. We thereafter call on the contractors who have parted with their funds to the government and we make further payment aside the one we have made before. Overtime we found out that the arrangement is such that it pays this entire required sum in the implementation of all these infrastructural developments. If we had waited till the fund is available, nothing would have been done. For it now, if it looks as if the contractors are not in any way protected, the law is what they will fall back on. They are also confident that the law will be passed. It is a very good initiative and it is very obvious that there is a genuine intention to develop Ogun State. I think other states should do same because it is a very lofty initiative. Some developed countries are already doing this and domesticating it in our own level is the only way out of the financial mess we have found ourselves. Almost all the states in the federation are confronted with various forms of insecurity. Governor Amosun months back purchased some apparatus to combat it yet it is still on the increase. How best do you think this issue can be addressed? I want to first of all disagree that insecurity is on the increase here in Ogun State. It is the other way round for us here. I don’t know the last time we had incidence of bank robbery. That notwithstanding, it doesn’t mean that the entire thing has been eradicated. Security in Nigeria which Ogun State is part of is a systemic problem. It is one of the side effects of the social problems we have in the country. Majority of those involved in the crime are between the ages of 18 and 45 years old. Gainful employment is a very good antidote of curbing those who are tempted to go into crime but where are the jobs? Where are the industries that will employ all our youths? If that question sounds rhetoric, there is a way out of it. It is just for us to face that decisively. And until we succeed we are not going to give up. There is a sector that can singularly employ almost everybody and that is Agric sector. That will make everyone of us an exporter of one product or the other because we would have met up with domestic demands and have more to export. We need to take cognizance of that. In the long run we will reduce criminal tendencies among our youths. The other side of it is that some of the youths are not really ready to work but we know that if we do the needful and we identify those who are not ready to work them we take them as real criminals. I see the steps we have taken in Ogun State; setting up the Security Trust Fund with the procurement of so many security apparatus so as to aid the police in their fight against crime as a good attempt. It is an all encompassing challenge and everybody must sit up including the government and the governed. Beyond seeking employment it is better to be an employer. Federal lawmakers won the heart of the masses recently through the reversal of the proposed N5000 note. How best can lawmakers at all level regain the confidence of the masses considering the fact that many Nigerians don’t trust their political leaders? The long time we spent under military rule hasn’t made our people to really appreciate the role of legislators and executives. That dangerous norm is still there and it has also been the basis for measuring performance of public office holders no matter their portfolio. People believe that your performance is by the number of projects you execute. We should realize that legislators don’t do projects. For us, we first need to educate the people that if we are able to influence projects to our constituencies, that is the hallmark of our representation which of course will impact positively on them. We all know that sometimes you are elected on a platform that is not able to give you the leverage you need to do the influencing of projects as you want. That is the idea behind constituency project initiated by law makers at the federal level that helps narrow down something into each lawmaker’s constituency. The idea of constituency project is a welcome development which helps lawmakers to narrow something to their constituencies. I enjoin lawmakers not to look at financial implications of projects rather they should go for projects that will impact on lives positively. How much of consciousness a legislator has in the constituency he represents will determine what obtains in the constituency he represents. It will also determine to a large extent the project he influences. With time the understanding of our people will gradually change to conform to what is the situation and practice in the global context. People should understand that lawmakers’ input at the chambers is what translates to development. Consciousness of what is going on in your constituency is the only way to ensure that an impact is made concerning the people. Most representatives don’t know their constituency the way they should. People should get closer to the people they represent and there must not be disconnect between the representative and the represented. Nigeria at 52 is battling with so many crisis ranging from social, economic, ethnic and financial crisis. What do you think is the best way out of these crises that are hampering the development of the nation? I believe that God has Nigeria at heart which is why despite all we have passed through we are still together. Some other nations didn’t go this far. I am asking us not to take the granted for granted. Nigeria so far is not good enough. We need to sit down, talk and determine the way forward. I subscribe for a national conference so as to move this nation forward and to make everybody a stakeholder in the Nigeria project. Until that is done, fundamental issues will continue to crop up; disagreement will continue to be the order of the day; insurgencies by some people for whatever they call the share of Nigeria’s booty will continue. If we are able to sit down and agree on the way forward whoever now goes against what we finally resolve will be the enemy of Nigeria and we can now all face such person. Are you saying that Nigeria can’t move forward without a national conference? We need the conference because of agitation from different ethnic nationalities on fundamental issues. Our togetherness is based on the constitution and many have seen it as faulty. The only way forward is for the real people to sit down and deliberate. Each ethnic nationality will be well represented by people who the people want to speak for them. Some elected officers are there on faulty elections. So it won’t be too good if elected public officers are chosen to represent the people. Each ethnic nationality will be represented.
Posted on: Sun, 11 Aug 2013 07:54:20 +0000
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