Ajaokuta: A case of ministerial impudence?

Ever before his visit in February to the Ajaokuta Steel Company’s premises on fact finding tour, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara had never hidden his pains on the state of the complex, especially with the huge economic potentials it has for the country, and yet neglected over the years. JOSHUA EGBODO writes
House acts on promise
Right at the premises, he announced that the House would hold a special debate session, involving experts and cabinet ministers superintending over the mining and steel sector. It was on that note that the House, on February 25, made it public, its intention to hold the debate session last Thursday. The Minister of Solid Minerals, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, his State counterpart, Hon. Bawa Bwari, Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, Ohinoyi of Ebira land, Alhaji Ado Ibrahim, Chairman of Ajaokuta Local Government, representatives of workers’ union, experts in mines and steel as well as other stakeholders were invited for the debate session.

Minister’ depressing act
On the day however, none of the invited Ministers was on ground. While Adeosun in a text message to the Speaker pledged to be with the lawmakers at 3pm because of some official engagement, the duo of Fayemi and Bwari angered the members by a letter sent in their stead by Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Mr. Abubakar Muazu, to the effect that both would not be available due to earlier scheduled engagements.
The letter dated 27th February, 2018, with reference number as; MMSD/S/BUDG2017, explained that the Ministers had prior official engagements. “The Honourable Minister Dr. Kayode Fayemi and his counterpart, the Honourable Minister of State, Honourable Abubakar Bawa Bwari are slated for official engagements during the scheduled period of the debate.
“The Honourable Minister has prior diplomatic schedule engagement in preparation to the focal labs of ERGP relating to the Mining Sectors while the Minister of State will be leading the Ministry’s delegation to Canada to attend the PDAC Conference”, the letter which was read out to members by Dogara stated in part.
This set the stage for the furious lawmakers to take turns in condemning the action of the two cabinet ministers. They were more furious that they had the audacity to state in the letter that “there is no going back” on the ministry’s plan to concession the company, a move several experts have objected to.
The Speaker explained that he had earlier responded to the minister’s excuses by stressing the need for them to be at the debate session. “In your letter under reference, you said the two ministers in the Ministry would not honour the invitation due to prior commitments. We think that the debate presents an opportunity for the Ministry to debunk the widespread allegations that the proposed concessionaires have tied the hands of the Ministry.
“We are worried that the apparent boycott of the session by your Ministry can only lend credence to the allegations that the top echelon of your ministry are deeply conflicted in the matter”, Dogara had stated.

Fruitless pleas
Attempts by Majority Leader of the House, Hon Femi Gbajabiamila, who moved a motion that the House transited from sectoral debate to investigative hearing on the matter was rebuffed by members, even as he agreed that the duo’s boycott of the session was an assault on common sense.
In his remark, Chief Whip of the House, Hon. Alhassan Ado Doguwa, urged the Speaker to take decisive action against the ministers, as their absence is suspicious, lamenting that the President appointed ministers, who are insensitive to the plight of the nation. “There is no APC or PDP here, we should declare emergency here”, he said. So also did Hon. Yakubu Barde, who noted that the interest of this country should come first.
“Mr. Speaker the ministers refused to obey your letter of invitation, you can imagine what chairmen of committees are going through whenever we invite these government officials. This is APC ministers not respecting APC lawmakers. Action must be taken”, the lawmaker stated. While Hon. Mohammed Umar Bago frowned at the unnecessary romance with government officials, which may have been encouraging disobedience, the lawmaker said such will never happen in the Senate. “We have been so lenient and magnanimous. Let us draw the line from today, they have crossed the red line.”

Executive rascality?
In similar vein, Hon. Uzoma Nkem-Abonta frowned at the display of he termed executive rascality in the current system. “There is display of executive rascality, for a minister to decline lawmakers’ invitation. There should be a sanction for these ministers before we draw the line. We should declare vote of no confidence and incompetence on them. They are not performing. How can a nation grow without steel. Mr. Speaker I think you should arrest the Minister”, the lawmaker stated.
Also in venting his anger, Hon. Zakari Mohammed, who called on the House to stand down the Ministry’s budget, added that “the only way we can check this people is not to look at their budget. We will not look at their budget until they honour our invitation. We can declare them arrested. There is conspiracy of silence. We must investigate them”.

Members thumbed down Fayemi, Bwari
After several other submissions on the same line, the House ended in passing a vote of no confidence on the two ministers. In justifying the action later, the House through its spokesman, Hon. Abdulrazak Namdas explained that it wouldn’t just end at vote of no confidence, but that the House would have no working relationship with the duo in the mean time. “There is no point having a relationship with people who have no respect for you”, he stated.
To many, it was not clear if the House is gradually losing respect from the executive, because it was not clear that Adeosun who earlier sent in a text message to appear at 3pm, a time which the special session did not last up to, later made any effort to keep her promise. Or, to others, it could just be a defiant attitude on the part of the Ministers, who they observed must be called to order by their Principal, President Muhammadu Buhari, who publicly confirmed recently that governance was being slowed down by sour relationship between the two organs of government.
An Ad hoc committee expected to be constituted this week would be investigation the circumstances behind the current status of the company, as well as the politics slowing down all experts’ recommendations, and make recommendations to the House on the way forward.

 

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