RE: EKWEREMADU’S 2023 DECLARATION: A MANIFESTO WITHOUT AN AGENDA

Dear Dr. Hyginus Eze,

I read through your piece on Ekweremadu’s presentation of his agenda, “A Pathway to a New Enugu” and I’m moved to respond to some of the issues you raised as it is critical to properly enlighten the public. You should not be an Ikeoha supporter (Everyone can’t possibly be) to be constructive in your presentation and to put things in their proper perspective. It is expected of the enlightened to rise above the fray, above pettiness, above clannishness, and above personal attacks.

You listed several positions he had occupied, saying that for that reason, he doesn’t represent “Oganiru Enugu” (Enugu’s progress). Let me help you because you didn’t even name all. You forgot to add that he was President of his age grade in Mpu at the age of nine and also the President-General of Mpu Town Union for many years on the insistence of his community before he became an elected local government council Chairman where he won the Best Council Chairman award. Lest I forget, he was the secretary of the pressure group that agitated for the creation of the local government too. He equally made Aninri’s presentation when the panel for the creation of new local governments came to Enugu.

So, upon the creation of Aninri, it was the elders of Aninri that went to him to come and lead the council as the pioneer Chairman. In other words, Ekweremadu has been in leadership positions since he was 9. Just so that you know. If it is incompetence that has sustained him in leadership all these years, then of all men he must be the luckiest.

Did I hear you say he never sponsored a Bill or lifted a finger to better the lots of Nigerian youth or defend the women? Please, who pushed through the Not-Too-Young to Run Bill and it became a part of the 1999 Constitution to open the political space for the youth? If you’re not aware, chat me privately so I could supply you with the phone numbers of Samson Itodo and Cynthia Mbamalu, the Executive Director and Director of Programme of YIAGA Africa, respectively. I’m not even going to mention the over 4,000 students that benefited from the Ikeoha Foundation’s bursary awards or the hundreds, including medical doctors and lawyers that benefited from the Foundation’s full scholarships. I won’t mention the number of youth that he facilitated their regular government appointments or those he helped to political power.

At least, I know two that are currently serving in the Enugu State House of Assembly. Are those beneficiaries no longer part of the youth? Forget about some tortoise, who feel they can easily shed their shells. Everybody knows how each got to where he is, for as my in-laws would say, “Onweghi ebe onye Obe koro ji nwanne ya na amaghi”. Loosely translated, it simply says that there is no place an Obe man farmed yam that his brother doesn’t know. If you still don’t understand it, see Chief Mike Onu.

Concerning women: you just showed that you are writing what you don’t know or just what someone else asked you to write. But I will still hold you accountable because you’re matured and educated enough to make simple fact findings. If you have ever attended any function where Ekweremadu is the host or in charge, maybe as chairman of the event, you would have seen over and over again that he always wants women served first. Just at the consultative meeting with the media where he presented the Agenda you tried unsuccessfully to diminish, someone wanted to snatch the microphone from a lady because she had taken more than the two times allotted. Ikeoha came to the lady’s rescue, insisting she must be allowed to finish her presentation.

If you have ever followed the constitution amendment processes, you should have known that Ikeoha has championed women’s causes. Ask Senators Olujimi, Tinunu, etc. At ECOWAS level, he is well known for his gender friendliness. In fact, the association of ECOWAS female parliamentarians have given him an award on that account. He has been invited by several international organisations, such as the Washington-based International Republican Convention to chair committees or present papers on women-related matters.

Perhaps, You have forgotten about the Ikeoha Foundation’s Adult Literacy Programme, which has benefitted over 12,000 persons, most of them women. Do a simple Google search and you will see a plethora of reports, videos, and pictures from the Ikeoha Day celebrations. That song “O kara anyi obi, okara anyi obi/ Uje na una, okara anyi obi/ Iso Ikeoha, okara anyi obi, o na-enye anyi mmuta!” was actually composed by those women.

Besides, Ikeoha has studied the Nigerian situation and has been preaching and pushing for a switch from First Past the Post electoral system, which we currently use, to Proportional Representation to give women more political representation. This is what is in practice in practice in places like Rwanda, which has been the world’s number one in women representation in national parliaments, according to the Geneva-based Inter-Parliamentary Union ‘s monthly ranking.

You asked why Ekweremadu hasn’t come out with a position on the voting recent voting out of a constitution amendment bills on 35 per cent (you wrote 30 per cent) affirmative action? You were totally wrong. Not only did he vote in support of the bills, he issued a statement, where he lamented the development. See this report entitled “International Women’s Day: Ekweremadu bemoans poor legislation for women’s participation in politics” (https://www.google.com/amp/s/dailypost.ng/2022/03/08/international-womens-day-ekweremadu-bemoans-poor-legislation-for-womens-participation-in-politics/%3famp=1). Also see this 2018 Thisday report entitled “Ekweremadu Frowns at Relegation of Women in Governance” (https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2018/06/13/ekweremadu-frowns-at-relegation-of-women-in-governance/). So, he didn’t start today.

In the constitution amendment exercise in the 7th Senate, which he chaired, he worked with his colleagues to make right to education, basic health, etc. justiciable. That was also in addition of other women-friendly amendments, which the State Assemblies equalled ratified. But the President withheld assent. So, it is only ignorance or mischief that would push anybody to describe anyone, who has done all these as a dyed-in-the-wool conservative politician.

You claimed that Ekweremadu as the highest political office holder under former President Goodluck Jonathan couldn’t handle the Enugu-Onitsha expressway. I’m surprised you didn’t add the Enugu-Port Harcourt expressway too. You claimed that he squeezed everything into Mpu. There You go plying the fallacious lane again.

Let me clear a few things before I come to the main points. Ekweremadu, as a Deputy President of the Senate, was the number six in order of protocol, not number four. The Chief Justice of the Federation comes before immediately after the President of the Senate and Speaker. Two, the Senate Presidency is one, just like the Presidency. The Deputy President of the Senate is therefore not as influencial as many erroneously assume. It was actually Ekweremadu that made that office appear big due to his personality, human relations skills, leadership skills, humility, and political smartness/strategy skills, which combined to win him trust of his principals and admirations of his colleagues, governors, ministers, and leaders across all arms of government and across all political parties.

That said, the fact is that the first major road project Ekweremadu attracted after he emerged the Deputy President of the Senate in 2007 was the Oji-Awgu road. The Awgu-Ndeaboh-Mpu-Akaeze was the Section B part of the road. A selfish politician could have pushed for the one that leads to Mpu. But he pushed for and got the Oji-Awgu axis into the national budget. Unfortunately, the contractors the Federal Government awarded the road showed every mark of incompetence and lack of capacity. They were just wasting time and money. Ekweremadu and the parliament did everything they could to have the contract revoked. It was only in 2018 or thereabout that the FG succeeded in getting the contractor out of the way and Setraco brought in. Look at what Setraco has done there. Did you know that someone, who was vying for the Senate against Ikeoha in 2019 connived with the contractor to petition against Ikeoha over the revocation. They blocked mobilisation to Setraco for a while. But Ikeoha encouraged Setraco to go to work and fought hard to have the obstacle removed.

Awgu-Ndeaboh-Mpu-Akaeze Section was completed much earlier and speedily because, learning from the Oji-Awgu experience, he worked hard to ensure that the FG awarded it to a big contractor with capacity. In fact, it was first awarded to a company owned by an Awgu man, and a personal friend. On getting to know about it, he went to the man and urged him to decline the contract, as his company didn’t have the capacity to do a road in Aninri topography. The FG later re-awarded the contract to Setraco. They finished that road in about two years or less. The rest is history. And if you haven’t seen other road projects facilitated by Ikeoha such as the Nenwe-Oduma-Uburu road, Nenwe-Nomeh-Mburubu-Nara road, the Ozalla-Agbani-Akpugo-Amagunze-Ihuokoara-Ebonyi road, the ongoing rehabilitation of old Enugu-PH expressway, the road to Anikenano -Ugwueme, Ezere, Awgwunta,Nkwe, etc. just to name very few, then I can’t possibly help you.

Now, back to the Enugu-Onitsha road. It’s unfortunate that the road detoriorated to this level. However, how many roads in Nigeria are in order? It’s a national problem, which I will try to address shortly, as I’ve done severally before now. But mischief won’t allow some people to reason.

Besides funding, which is the real challenge facing our roads, another fundamental challenge and cause of the delay in the completion Enugu-Onitsha Road possibly by the Jonathan administration was the serious flaw in the engineering design. It would have been a waste of resources. After RCC had done a few kilometres, the built portions were collapsing. In fact, it was so bad that RCC said they could not continue. The choices were to re-award it to another contractor or wait and redesign it. Ikeoha and others insisted it should be redesigned; that the South East would wait rather than get something that wouldn’t last at all. So, it had to be redesigned. I hope people like you won’t blame Ikeoha for the flawed design as though he is the engineers at the Ministry of Works or the Minister of Works.

Now, the design has some level of filter (sand), cement, double binder instead of the initial single binder, and polymer, etc. It’s now more expensive, no doubt, but anyone, who has plied the reconstructed portions of the road can attest to the difference and it’s durability. All sections of the road, including the 9th Mile – 82 Division section, has been awarded. The problem now is the funding, but they’re making progress gradually.

Now, back to our roads in general. It’s systemic, not an isolated South East issue. The problem with our roads is systemic. It has to do with our road funding and management/governance approach. Instead of concessioning our roads to the private sector, we are still using annual budgets, which are usually not only a tip off the iceberg of the funding needs of our roads, but are rarely released up to half each year. Nigerians hear that Federal Government has awarded a road contract for say N10 billion, but in the end, N4 billion is hardly released after 10 years. Before a new tranche of fund is released, the completed parts are already broken. Nigerians would then tell you that their leaders have “choppulated” the money. Government doesn’t give any individual any such money to do roads. While there could be corruption in procurement process, the real issue is funding.

Permit me to throw more light on this. Sometime ago, Fashola said the FG needed about N10 trillion to fix our roads. The FG has currently awarded over N4 trillion worth of road contracts across the country.

At the 2022 budget defence session with the House of Representatives Committee, Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, told the House that the Ministry needed N7.4 trillion to complete ongoing 854 highways and bridge projects across the country.

He also revealed that federal government was indebted to contractors to the tune of N420.5 billion. Fashola called for embargo on new road contracts pending the funding and completion of the already awarded road projects.

Please, do your simple fact finding. You would see that the Federal Ministry of Works Capital Budget is hardly ever up to N300 billion in the last 10 years. At most they have a budget of a little over N200 billion approved. And they don’t get more than 50 per cent to 60 per cent budgetary release at the end of the day.

So, as you can see, a year’s total capital budgetary allocation isn’t even enough to clear debts for jobs already done by various contractors. That is assuming that everything is released. And you know that is simply NOT POSSIBLE .

Let me tell you for free that the only road projects guaranteed to succeed as I write are Lagos-Ibadan Road, Abuja-Kano Road, and Second Niger Bridge. And it is so because these ones are not dependent on annual budgets. They depend on special funding and are financed by the National Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA). People like Ekweremadu and Toby Okechukwu (while Toby was the Chairman of the House Committee on Works in the 8th or last Assembly) were able to transfer the Second Niger Bridge from the PPP arrangement Julius Berger had with the Federal Government to the NSIA. Thanks to Berger’s inability to get viable partners/matching funds. Thanks also to Fashola’s patriotic spirit. Some other roads that stand greater chance of succeeding are those being funded from the Sukuk bonds, eg. the road from Opi through Abor and all the way to Awka attracted by Ikeoha and his team.

Let me address your beer parlour statement that Ikeoha as a Deputy President of the Senate couldn’t fix Enugu-Onitsha and South East roads. I hope you still remember that this man was a lawmaker, not an executive functionary? Hope you know he was a Deputy President of the Senate, not President of the Senate? You can only blame him if these roads were not put in the national budget, year in, year out. But as explained, to budget is one, to fund is another. And with what I have explained, the funds aren’t forthcoming.

Meanwhile, when you blame a man, who had no executive powers over the state of South East roads, you seem to forget that Nigerian roads have even defied successive presidents, who were the chief executives of Nigeria and had all the powers to “do and undo”, as we say in Nigerian parlance.

Just for your information, OBJ couldn’t fix Lagos-Ibadan Road in the eight years that he was President. I was at an Obasanjo’s Library event a few years back and I can tell you that Lagos to Abeokuta road is unpresidential – not because OBJ wouldn’t have earnestly desired to pave the roads with gold. It’s a systemic challenge.

Jonathan couldn’t fix East-West Road for the nearly six years that he was President. It is the single most important road connecting all of Niger Delta. By the way, I used the East-West Road from PH to Yenogoa in October/November 2020. It’s the spelling of an eyesore. In fact I travelled to as far as Otuoke on that trip. The Yenogoa-Otuoke Road isn’t presidential too. Because we first went to the Niger Delta University at Wilberforce Island, we wanted to use a shorter route to connect from Wilberforce to Otuoke, but were advised to detour midway. We went back to almost Yenogoa before heading to Otuoke because the roads we were plying was cut off by erosion somewhere.

Sometime last year, Niger Delta youths barricaded and protested on that East-West Road for days. It wasn’t that His Excellency, Good luck Jonathan did not earnestly desire to fix the roads. But it’s systemic.

Yar’Adua couldn’t do much about Kano-Katsina Road. Jonathan re-awarded it. Buhari met it. It’s almost seven years of Buhari’s administration and that road is still work in progress.

Perhaps, you have never used Abuja-Minna Road or Bida-Minna Road. They’re not a palatable experience, especially for articulated vehicles. The people of Niger State had to stage a protest, blocking the Minna-Abuja Road in 2019 and 2020. Last year also, truck drivers barricaded the Bida-Mokwa-Kwara road in protest of the totally broken roads. Yet Niger State alone produced two military Heads of State.

These are roads in the areas that have produced presidents. So, the fire that consumed the tortoise and it’s hardened shell, what wouldn’t it do to the fowl with a feathered gown?

Now, regarding Ekweremadu’s Agenda/Pathway to a New Enugu, I hardly know what to tell you because the document is quite all-encompassing. It covers Good Governance; Portable Water; Road Development; Education; Youth and Women Empowerment; Security; Health Sector Reform; Opportunities; Employment and Economy; Energy Sufficiency; and Housing/Urban Renewal. He covered the youth as much as he covered the elderly. He covered the villages just as he did the townships.

Furthermore, he not only explained what he intends to achieve under each, he equally spelt out how he intends to achieve them. He took as many questions as the journalists were ready to ask. He equally summarised the entire thing in bullet points in another document. He was at Solid FM for two hours, explaining the Agenda, taking calls and contributions by Ndi Enugu.

This electioneering season will come and go. But the impressions you make will live with people for many years to come. So. Let’s be careful and free God.

Lastly, one thing is sure, His Excellency, Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi’s successor will be sworn in on 29th May 2023. It will not be who anybody wants. It will be whom God decides to give power to, for He is the giver of power, not man.

• Mazi Uche Anichukwu