"WE ARE AHEAD OF OTHERS IN ICT ”
Monday, May 29, 2006 was marked throughout the federation as Democracy Day. Governor Victor Attah was a special guest in an AKBC TV/Radio phone-in programme to mark the epochal event. Below are excerpts from that broadcast:
Sometime last year, you identified some projects as your must-do projects. Your critics are presently saying that you will not be able to do these projects considering the length of time left. What is the true position today, are you still completing them before May 2007?
My critics don't seem to believe me. The fact is that if you don't have power, communication, good roads, airport and seaport, then you can't say there is development. So I really don't go by what my critics believe or don't believe. Money or no money my projects are there and I am completing them.
A lot of people appreciate the concept of these mega projects but the viability or marketability of the projects is what they don't seem to grab. Could you speak on this?
These projects are very viable. Take a project like the airport. That is why we have a partner willing to invest in that MRO. Presently all we have are small maintenance facilities in Ethiopia and South Africa. They don't do the sort of thing we are going to do in our airport. The feasibility study is there and is very clear for all to see.
Sir, you also want to talk about the Science Park and its marketability?
About the Science Park, I and my commissioner for science and technology will be travelling on Saturday - June 3, 2006, we are going to Helsinki where we are-going to expose our Science Park to the world because we in Akwa Ibom State, are even ahead of Nigeria.
We spend so much developing science and technology in the State and I am happy that our sons are doing well in this area. They are helping us tremendously in the implementation level. We have sent over 100 people in the first batch to Canada to go and train in IT. When they come back, they will work in our IT Park and when this happens, you'll be amazed at the amount of money that would be coming to Akwa Ibom from the services they will be rendering from that place.
What and what would be done at the IT Park?
Training in IT for other people, offer IT school, development of software to people. Already there are three companies lined up. One is willing to come and make scratch card, another is to assemble and then grow from assembling to manufacturing. We will now be able to have a true technologically driven economy. For goodness sake, what can you do today without IT. The fact that there is a park, there will make it possible for any aspect of IT to be developed there.
Please Sir, I would like you to clear the air on the Independent Power Plant. Some critics are of the opinion that even after completion, the distribution would be handed over to PHCN?
There are so many armchair specialists who would not first want to know the fact before they talk. There is a sales agreement between Akwa Ibom Independent Power Company and what was NEPA then. This sales agreement for the first time is backed by a guarantee of payment by the Federal Government. People are wondering how we managed to get that. What will happen is that in the sales agreement, whatever Akwa Ibom needs would be dedicated to Akwa Ibom. I admire a curious mind, but one that sits there to conjecture and condemn without finding out the truth is the one I pity.
Does this sales agreement cover the distribution of power?
If you want to read the details of the sales agreement, then I will give you. I have told you that whatever Akwa Ibom needs would be dedicated to Akwa Ibom. There is no way we will lack power after we had generated it. It is only the balance that will go into the national grid. How we will distribute it is another issue that we are discussing presently whether Akwa Ibom would be allowed to distribute it or whether as they are privatizing Power Holding Company of Nigeria another company would win the bid for the distribution. The important thing is that every quantum of power that Akwa Ibom needs would be provided for use in Akwa Ibom.
Still talking about roads, we know you have done massive roads in the State but there are some five roads that the administration has advertised for bidding Aka Etinan Road, Etim Ekpo road, Okoita road and the one in Uda. What happened to them?
What happened was that we had a certain amount of money, when it didn't look as though we were going to proceed with the airport project, we said okay let's put the money on those roads. Then suddenly, we signed the agreement with our partners to proceed with the airport. At this point, we decided to use the money for the airport because the roads would always be there to be done. I have done a lot of roads and the people can testify to this. Money cannot do everything and I am hoping that the next government will do these roads.
What is the state of the drainage projects in the State?
There will be eventually six major drain channels within Uyo. We have succeeded in doing three of them leaving behind another three. This is why there is some problem in Uruan Street, Aka Road and another, which links Nkemba Trough.
Even if we had all the money, we could not have tackled all these problems because you notice that once you do a major drainage like we are doing, you close certain roads and you certainly can't close all the roads at once to do drainage, so we have to take the drainage one after the other knowing fully well that in the process certain I am hoping that the next government would do the remaining three major channels.
Why is it that the University of Uyo, the Polytechnic in Ikot Osurua and the College of Education, Afaha Nsit, pay the highest fees in the country?
I do not know of the University of Uyo because it is a federal institution. But sincerely, I am not aware that we pay the highest fee in the polytechnic and the college of education. We will look at this.
The housing projects of your administration do not seem to favour low income earners. Is there any plan for this group of people?
I don't know why somebody would say that, because even before we completed the Shelter Afrique, we had since completed the 50 housing units in all the local government areas. These set of buildings are small and are the low cost houses. Besides, there are a number of Federal Government programmes now for low cost housing which we are encouraging to come into the State. The truth is that the government should have limited involvement in housing provision. What I mean by that is that it is okay for government to build houses but there should be a mortgage institution that takes out the government immediately and shift the burden into the mortgage institution so that the people would be paying back to these institutions and this money used by government to build new housing estates. But in an environment where you don't have a developed mortgage arrangement, government money is tied down. This is why there is low delivery of housing.
Why is it that your administration has not constructed any road in Urue Offong/Oruko Local Government?
This government has decided that apart from major trunk connections, there is a hierarchy of towns in the State, Uyo being the capital and then you have towns like Ikot Ekpene, Oron, Eket, Ikot Abasi, followed by Abak, Etinan and so on. Our concentration was in these major trunks. I have a village as well but that is not our area of priority.
What have you put in place to receive the professionals you keep asking to come home?
Tell this person to come home and he will see for himself what this administration has put in place to make life worth living. I got a special honour from both the Nigerian Institute of Architects and the Society of Engineers for being one governor that has patronized indigenous professionals beyond any other in the country. I engage professionals in everything I do whether it is road construction, airport, power plant, drainage and so on. If this person is not able to find where to fit in, then he is probably not a very good professional.
Excellency, I remember that shortly before the elections, you promised that something would be done about Afaha Obong – Etim Ekpo - Iwukem road but up till now, nothing has been done. What is your administration doing about this road?
I think I had actually referred to this road when I talked about the five roads we had in mind to do. We had every intention to do this road but unfortunately, financially, we are not able to take them on now. By the time we get to the dry season of this year, and we have some money left, I am hoping that we can start with some of these roads, perhaps do the bridge along Etim Ekpo road if nothing else, and something also along Okoita road.
Sometime last year, you raised an alarm that there was a plan by some people to stall ongoing work at the IPP site. From the report available to you sir, what do you think should have been the reason for such negative plan?
The simple reason they also protested to Mr. President about the airport project. You are familiar with the expression - cutting off your nose to spite your face. In Akwa Ibom, they are few; they do not want Victor Attah to take credit for giving the State power and an airport. I am of the belief that these people are sick. This is the security report and it is a fact.
Still on the airport, at a point in time, we heard that one of the problems to overcome was the realigning of roads with the Federal Ministry of Works giving its consent, what is the situation now?
We made a presentation to Mr. President and all his officers that are relevant. At the end of the meeting, he set up a committee with the Minister of Aviation as the chairman. Other members of the committee are Works Minister, Agric Minister because we have taken a little bit of the Basin Authority and the Finance Minister to look at how the project is being financed and so on. That committee I understand finished its report last week and will be presenting it to Mr. President. I sincerely hope and expect that it would receive Mr. President's approval in which case the road diversion will not be an issue anymore because already, we have created and built a diversion.
What is government doing to resolve the crisis in Oron Council?
The stay at home order called by NULGE is an interim arrangement until the whole issue is resolved. I am sure it will be resolved soon as the case is presently in court.
When will the State University of Technology open for academic programmes?
We expect that by September 2007 there will be on campus but the university started operation by September 2005. What I mean by this is that there was enrolment of postgraduate students who were given scholarship by the University and sent abroad to do Masters and PhD programmes. These people will form the core of the teaching staff in the university. It would be a research based institution and we cannot pretend that we have enough to satisfy the faculty requirement in various fields that we want to do research on. The same admission of postgraduate students would be repeated in September 2006. Then by September 2007, there will be the admission of the first batch on campus student. By then also, the physical structures would have been up. I didn’t want to take any secondary school and label it a university because Akwa Ibom is really setting standard under my administration.
I admire your developmental projects but why is it that most of these projects are sited only on one side of the State at the expense of other parts
The beauty of projects in Akwa Ibom is that they are located where they should be located. I cannot locate a seaport in Ibesikpo Asutan because we are not a coastal State. The nature of the university that we are building requires that we also have access to the water because there will be marine study and marine architecture, and that is why it is where it is. The same with the IPP because that is the only place we have the gas supply. The same gas supply that is going to ALSCON will supply our power plant. The airport is where it is after a series of over flying the whole State trying to find where we can find enough land to position such an airport. Thank God you have not accused me of putting everything in my local government area. I am happy that I have selected the locations of these things after very good advice by experts as to where they should be located to benefit the State. I am the governor of Akwa Ibom State, not the governor of any particular local government area or senatorial districts. These projects go to where they ought
to be. The Science Park is in the capital because that is where it ought to be for various reasons including ease of communication with the government and other state capital and so on.
What have you put in place to ensure that all projects embarked upon by your administration would be completed by your successor should you happen to leave next year without completing them?
I will do everything I possibly can to try and complete those ones that should and can be completed. By that I mean the university is not something you complete in one tenure. But I certainly will complete phase I of the airport. There is a phase two to build, which are the second runway and the terminal building. What I have put in place is for Akwa Ibom people. I am making Akwa Ibom people very conscious of what their future ought to be and the benefit of these projects. All the next administration has to do is to continue from where I had stopped. I came and completed the Idongesit Nkanga Secretariat and I am happy to do this. I want to hope that whoever comes next will continue and complete what I may not have completed so long as it is accepted by Akwa Ibom people as a necessary project.
Would you by anyway have a hand in the emergence of your successor?
Of course I will be interested in who will succeed me but the truth is that the choice will be that of Akwa Ibom people.
The Stock Exchange is one of your projects and a lot of the people don't seem to know the benefit they stand to derive from this project.
I cannot repeat the programme that is being run by Mrs. Mary Ebong almost on daily basis. I would advise them to listen to Mrs. Mary Ebong as she is doing everything she can to educate Akwa Ibom people on the benefit of the Capital Market.
Your Excellency, please what has become of the proposed general hospital for Udung Uko Local Government Area?
The same thing that has become of the proposed general hospital for Ibesikpo Asutan where I come from, for Itu and other places. When we came in, we discovered that there were 12 LGAs without a general hospital. We had hoped that we would build minimum of five or six before we leave. But we have managed to build three though none is in my local government area. I may not have been able to complete all my projects but I am expecting that the next government will come in and build the next three or four as the case may be and eventually we will have all 12 and then every local government area would have a general hospital.
A lot of people are appreciative of what you have done in the different sectors but one area they have not understood is why you have not constructed a 21st century, FIFA approved stadium in Akwa Ibom?
Let me go back to the last question to be able to answer this question. I am now building an Independent Power Plant so that the next government won't have to build it, and it will be earning money for the next government. I am building a five star hotel which the next government will not have to build but it will be earning money for the next government. Same thing with the airport, the huge investment in telephone mobile system and so on. Why am saying all this is that we needed to lay some foundation for the next government that will not have to lay this foundation but will rather be earning income from the foundation. It will have the opportunity now to build six general hospitals where I did only three, an opportunity to build a stadium where I only designed one, and also more roads where I already built so many. When you are starting, you spend money in so many different meagre expenses. So apart from not needing to make such meagre expenses like I did to provide these things, the next government will actually be gaining income from them. So he'll have the opportunity to do a lot more. I will be the first to admit that we have not paid sufficient attention to sports but if I was going to pay attention to sports, I would not build anything less than the sort of stadium that I have described here. We have designed one with every possible facility, but as I have said one government in seven years cannot do everything.
Why is it that the Nkemba drainage does not follow the original specification as one realizes that the drainage gets narrowed at the Nkemba area thus giving way to flooding anytime it rains?
What we are going to do is that we are going to expand the scope of the project. That particular segment of the project was done by the World Bank. We tried everything to tell them that the size of drain they were putting there would not be adequate but they went ahead and did what they did. Now we have to spend State government money to expand the job. When this is done, you'll see that the water will flow properly. The present connection from one to the other is narrowed and so the volume cannot flow smoothly. Once we expand the size of the gutter, the water will flow. I apologize for the temporal inconvenience.
Ika has been hot bed of political violence and from time to time it will erupt and seems to be no solution in sight at least at the moment. What is your government doing about the situation in Ika?
Ika has a cyclical system of eruption. It erupted just before the election of 2003 and it is erupting again just before the election of 2007. Government is certainly doing something about the situation because we have gotten the permission of Mr. President to call out the army. By the time the army is called to take charge of the situation, we cannot say that nothing is being done about the situation. The army is there now along with the mobile and regular police, and it is believed that we will get to the bottom of the problem and solve it once and for all.
Sir, the Pensions bill is yet to be passed but civil servants are contributing. Please where is the money?
On the May Day, I made a statement, which I can confirm again that all the contributions are lodged in the Central Bank of Nigeria because we have not yet selected the pension manager. It was also during the May Day that it was also brought to my attention that the local government workers were not contributing. I have since asked the chairman of Local Government Service Commission to make sure that local government staff make their contribution. We want a uniform system, and all the money is in the Central Bank of Nigeria.
Sir, the University of Uyo does not have specialized courses that relate with the aviation industry, as a youth from the State who has an interest in the upcoming Akwa Ibom airport, what is your advice on a possible course of study?
We have already given three scholarships for people to go abroad to study aviation related courses, which unfortunately are not provided in any of the existing national universities. So if you are interested, the admission conditions are very stringent. If you show evidence acceptance into a university to study in the area of engineering maintenance, you certainly can apply for an overseas scholarship and you will be considered.
Charity they say begins all home but all along we have been talking about other people. The AKBC does not have a permanent office accommodation and I know that you are putting up a very beautiful secretariat for all government ministries and parastals to be accommodated. When is the AKBC having its corporate headquarters?
Let me take this opportunity to congratulate you for getting back on air. They brought me a design but I told them I was not going to build it. Reason was because the design was so elaborate and I know you didn't need that I have ordered that the thing be re-designed and hopefully we’ll start the building. But if I can’t start it, at least we will have a buildable design for whoever comes next. There are a number of projects that we would have wished to do.
We hear from the grape vine that some work has been approved for the present stadium, is this true?
Yes, money has just been approved for some measure of leveling, we want to re-grade the present stadium, fill it and make it much more beautiful for our activities. That is the much we have been able to do there.
It is one more year to go, and one would want to know where you now want to concentrate your effort?
To complete those projects that are very vital. As I leave you here, I am starting a round of visits to project sites to make sure that that power plant will turn on power, that an aircraft will land at that airport before I leave office, that the science park will be operational before I leave office, same with the hotel and the stock exchange. This is now my concentration apart from the roads that must be finished.
What kind of person would you like to succeed you?
I don't want to sound like I am repeating our President. He has started a lot of reforms and his anxiety is that these reforms which people have realized are good for the country must be sustained. Somebody asked a question not long ago of what guarantee I have put in place to make sure projects I started would be completed and so on. I would like to see somebody who believes in this philosophy, not one who sees every major project as a white elephant project. I want to see a governor who believes in the philosophy we expounded; one philosophy that is based on the opinion and wishes of Akwa Ibom people. I will like to see such a person succeed me so that hopefully these projects can be continued. Let me repeat something that I have said a number of times. When I was asked not long ago what I would like to do when I leave office, I said I am a consultant, and would like to continue in my consultancy. I will be very happy if whoever comes after me will consider engaging me as a development consultant. It will not be a matter of working for a governor, but rather working for my State.
It is not everybody that can attract development to a place but thank God that I have been given that personality. I can go anywhere in the world and talk to people to come and establish business here. If the governor would consider engaging me as a development consultant, I would be very happy to continue to develop Akwa Ibom for Akwa Ibom people.
Sir, when you wind up exactly one year today, where are you going to?
I will go on holidays. I know very well that I can't be governor again but whenever the people think I can be of service to them, then I will accept after I might have come back from holiday. I would be very happy to serve the nation in a higher political office but if not, I would want to be engaged by whoever shall succeed me as a development consultant.
It is said that your name has been listed as one of those considered to be president of this country. Are you aware, if so, what is your reaction?
I know that that has happened but it is nowhere one zone can select not to mention elect the president for this country. You have to have been selected almost by a consensus across the board. The President himself has asked the governors to look among themselves or from outside to see whether they can find a suitable candidate.
I believe in the next few months the situation will be very clear and we will know who is running for what office at the national level.
Culled from The Pioneer newspaperTHE END
