National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, insists in this interview with GBENRO ADEOYE that President Muhammadu Buhari’s government has not been slow

The All Progressives Congress won the election about two months to President Muhammadu Buhari’s inauguration and yet, no ministerial appointments. Are you sure this party is prepared for governance?

I think that view is a bit misinformed. In the first instance, President Muhammadu Buhari came to power just about six weeks ago and it is not correct to say that because certain appointments have not been made, therefore, the government has slowed down or that the APC is not ready for governance. Unfortunately, this view is gaining ground but it is not correct.

A party has two documents that guide it when it comes to power, the first is the manifesto. The manifesto is what you put together as your proposals and ideas when you are not in power yet. This government, as soon as we won, we set up a transition committee. That committee was to look at our manifesto and the handover notes that we received and see that we are able to harmonise both. Like they say, you campaign in poetry, but you govern in prose. Until you are in power, you don’t know exactly the kind of situation or rot you are going to meet on ground. So however laudable some of your programmes might be in the manifesto, until when you are given the handover notes, you don’t really know how feasible they are.

In our own case, we were not very fortunate with the level of cooperation that the transition committee got from the immediate past government. I’m sure that everybody knows that we are not making excuses, it’s true and it’s a fact that until five days to the inauguration, we never received any handover notes. So that hampered us.

Secondly, the rot we met was unexpected. In spite of whatever anybody is saying, the obligations that were left behind was about N7trn. When you have obligations of about N7trn, then you know it is a very deep hole. I’m not talking about debts or unpaid workers’ salaries, but obligations left in all the various ministries.

Beyond the failure to appoint ministers, Nigerians say everything about this government is slow, is it deliberate?

Again, why do people say this government is slow? This government is not slow. The government is focused; it is methodological. It is following its manifesto and the recommendations of the transition committee in what it’s doing. People will say this government does not have ministers and a Secretary to the Government of the Federation, but we are saying this government wants people with proven track records of competence and integrity. This is coupled with the fact that Nigeria is a delicate country that is sensitive to ethnic and religious divides. Even when you want to make appointments, you will make it, looking at two issues.

One, the APC itself came in as a coalition government of different parties or forces. Two, we have inherited a complex country. All we are doing is to make a thorough and meticulous research before we start putting people in key offices. And in any event, if you look from 1999 till date, it has always taken about six weeks for any administration to name its ministers. Also, this is the first time we are having a real transition. It’s not one President succeeding himself or one party succeeding itself, this is a completely new scenario where you have hundreds of appointments to make, so we have to be very careful. Then again, Nigerians must understand that the fact that you don’t have ministers or SGF or Chief of Staff does not mean that the government is not performing. This government is performing. Policy statements are being issued, things are getting done. But we have this fixation on ministers and their appointments. This Buhari effect has really fast tracked matters and within the six weeks, we have not been idle. Within six weeks, the President has hit the ground running on security.

Are you referring to the recent spate of bombings and the lives that are being lost every day? How does that translate into hitting the ground running?

Nigerians should look at things in the correct context. What was Boko Haram this time last year? What is it today? This time last year, Boko Haram held territories.

But by the time former President Goodluck Jonathan left, our soldiers had reclaimed the territories and we were winning the war. But Buhari came in and Jonathan’s success seems to have been lost…

No! It’s not lost. You see, let me tell you something. The achievements will be lost only if the liberated areas have been retaken by the insurgents. What did Jonathan administration achieve? His administration liberated certain territories that were held by Boko Haram insurgents. He achieved driving the insurgents out of Sambisa forest. We have not lost one single territory, not one inch, since we came to power. Anybody who understands insurgency will know that once you dislodge them from their stronghold, they will lack central command and control and each of them will go on suicidal missions. They don’t have the capacity they used to have before to plan attacks. What we have today is each of them operating in silos and I can assure you that by the time the multinational joint task force takes off at the end of this month, and with the new appointments of the service chiefs, improving our intelligence gathering, we are going to see that Boko Haram will be a thing of the past

Cc: Lalasticlala

http://www.punchng.com/feature/hotseat/buhari-is-not-slow-hes-working-mohammed-apc-spokesperson/

Earlier you said you admitted that you did not realise the rot in government until you got in. Nigerians will like to know why you made so many promises without having the full knowledge of what was on ground.


I think you are missing the point. You see, a political party must have an agenda. It must be able to analyse situations and say what are the major problems confronting my country today. When I get to power, how will I address them and what will be my priorities? That is what they mean by a manifesto. A manifesto also distinguishes one party from another. Are you going to be social welfarist party or what?


President Buhari promised to publicly declare his assets and prune the presidential air fleet, he hasn’t done anything in that regard, yet you say this government is not slow?

What has that got to do with being slow? Hear that. Wait, I will answer you. I think the office of the Code of Conduct Bureau said the President can only go public after it has verified the assets he said he has.


No, what the CCB said was that it didn’t stop the President from going ahead to declare his assets publicly.

No, the CCB said so. No! No! No! Supposing I said I have 10 houses but actually have only one house. Then after verification, it is discovered I have only one house, won’t that be ridiculous? So that was why the CCB said that it should happen after the assets are verified; it is then the President can now make his asset declaration public. But how do you term that as being slow? Then the other one, you ask about pruning the presidential air fleet. So even if I want to sell my car, won’t you value it to know the condition in which it is? Do you think what they want to sell is Akara (bean cake)? Number one, I don’t know when he made that promise. But even if that is true, a man has four years to spend in office and you want him to do everything within the first four weeks? What is this inordinate haste about?

But with the pace at which the President is going, how will he deliver on his promises to feed school children, steady the Naira, pay graduates stipends and the rest?

I’ve just told you now that what we discovered in four weeks is that money meant to be paid into the federation account had been paid elsewhere. When that money can be put where it belongs, what do you do with it if not to use it to execute your projects? I’ve just given you two examples. I know that there is a new era of transparency in Nigeria today. So we are not really daunted by challenges but let Nigerians know that [size=15pt]we have met a very bad situation on ground. It’s not an excuse for us not to perform, though. We do little things[/size] but people are not appreciative of them; small drops become a river.


Don’t you think that Buhari’s aloofness has come back to haunt him and the party considering the National Assembly crisis?

All I will tell you about the National Assembly is that we are working towards resolving it. The party has a crisis on its hands and it is working towards resolving it.

What about the alleged rift between Buhari and a chieftain of the party, Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu?

Some people somewhere are feeding a lot of stories to the world about a perceived rift between Asiwaju and President Buhari and I can tell you that it doesn’t exist. There is mutual respect between the two leaders. When you are in politics and there is nothing to write about, people will write about all kinds of things.

But you surely can’t deny that there is a Northern agenda to cut down Tinubu’s influence in the party which manifested in the National Assembly crisis?

That is absolute bunkum. You see in APC, we don’t think in terms of North, South, West, East, no. The whole of Nigeria fought for the victory. It’s a national mandate and it cannot be reduced to an ethnic or regional mandate by anybody for whatever interest. I’m a member of the party’s National Working Committee and I don’t think in terms of North, West, East or South, no. When we were fighting for this mandate, we sought everybody’s support, we can’t get there now and start saying it’s a Northern mandate or a Southern mandate.

People say the APC leadership should be ashamed for making an issue out of the National Assembly crisis when in 2011, the APC supported former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, against the directive of the Peoples Democratic Party. Yet, the PDP let it go.

I think you are comparing apples with oranges. It’s not the same thing.

They all disobeyed party directives, what is different in that?


Leave us to resolve the issue. I can assure you that the party will resolve the issue.


So when can we expect the list of ministerial appointments which the APC failed to use the two months it had before inauguration to prepare for?

When you set up a transition committee to go and give you an agenda and restructure government, you have to wait for that transition committee to come back before appointing ministers. I remember that the committee did recommend reducing the number of ministries. So supposing the President had nominated 29 ministers and the committee says you should have only 19, what happens to the other 10? So we have to wait. There is so much importance attached to nominations by the public and less attached to governance and the workings of the government. But again, we can assure you that sooner than later, key appointments will be made including those of ministers.


But how will the President deliver on his promises and his party’s manifestoes when the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, and his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu, don’t belong to the same caucus?

I have said it here that I would rather not comment on National Assembly crisis.


Some experts still wonder why this government failed to consider the negative effects of pumping so much money into the economy with the bailout, one of which is inflation and the Naira slump. Did the APC-led government overlook this?

Look at the exponential effects on the economy. People have more money to buy more goods; the manufacturer will produce more and employ more people. But for God’s sake, we are talking about human beings. We are not talking about statistics or numbers. We are giving people a lifeline, people who had no source of income for nine months. Their relations have been borrowing, but when we now created a lifeline for them, people are complaining. I think the essence of government is to take care of the welfare of its people, which is what this government has done.

Nigerians have every right to be impatient. Things have never been right in Nigeria since independence.

Interesting moment ahead as per the campaign promises...

Mr Lai

If nothing is done, I fear the campaign promises are 'mere words' to gain power?

I didnt expect less from u mr Liar Mumumad

Buhari is busy promising....

Appointing service chiefs and adviser who are professionals in writing promises.

Boko haram are busy acting....

Appointing,recruiting and aligning with people known for action.

To hope in nigeria is like hoping in the dead, for nothing good shall come from the land of dead.

Gr8tasign:
I didnt expect less from u mr Liar Mumumad

Buhari is busy promising....

Appointing service chiefs and adviser who are professionals in writing promises.

Boko haram are busy acting....

Appointing,recruiting and aligning with people know for action.

To hope in nigeria is like hoping in the dead, for nothing good shall come from the land of dead.

I think you are going to the extreme?

Oh, another lie from Mr. Liar.

Sorry wrong thread. .

Go on sir

Shut up Mr man. your cups is full

Reality is here and no more propagandas! Just keep on dodging the important questions, we are watching as things unfold.

I can feel and see that's he is working. Is it in the area of corruption, relative power supply, the increase in suicide bombing....... Yes! There's link between corruption fighting and suicide bombing. They are trying to distract the government. Thank God, Buhari is not losing sight of the goal post.

Mr lai !


Keep it up cos u r jus living up 2 ur name.

Liar

We are waiting for the fullness of time.
Only God knows when that is.

eleojo23:
We are waiting for the fullness of time. Only God knows when that is.

Mr lai mohammed the lying liar is here again...

This government, as soon as we won, we set up a transition committee. That committee was to look at our manifesto and the handover notes that we received and see that we are able to harmonise both. Like they say, you campaign in poetry, but you govern in prose. Until you are in power, you don’t know exactly the kind of situation or rot you are going to meet on ground. So however laudable some of your programmes might be in the manifesto, until when you are given the handover notes, you don’t really know how feasible they are.

So they knew all this and yet they were busy making unrealistic campaign promises...SMH

Lie Muhammed will for ever remain what he is .....a shameless Liar

ATTENTION EVERYONE:
Please vote Nairaland rapper. His name is Blaqbones. Help vote and share https://polldaddy.com/user/demo47/
please help call mod to take this thread to the front page. This young man is really good and he's been on Nairaland for years. Lets support him. Check out this thread.
https://www.nairaland.com/2454758/nairaland-rapperblaqbones-made-vectors-king#35911335 vote and share.

mehn... the interviewers no pity this man.

The heat is on.

Liar Mohammed has just exposed himself as a clown.
His answers are incoherent.

Indeed, we've entered one chance with dis dullard at the helm of affairs.

Mr Liar Mohammed again.
Am in the wrong thread.
I don't want to associate with Liar Mohammed.
#Runs_out.

RollingStones:
Mr Liar Mohammed again.

Am in the wrong thread.

I don't want to associate with Liar Mohammed.

#Runs_out.

[size=18pt]Once a statement is from Liar Mohammed, OBVIOUSLY IT MUST BE A FAT LIE. By their fruit "name" we know them [/size]

'you campaign in poetry and govern in prose' lia mohammed

The synonym for "Liar" should be replaced with "Lai Mohammed".

L-I-A-R !

preferably I will prefer him to use the word " slow and steady"

this lai can tell lies I hardly believe your lies Mr liar.

This man is a complete definition of LIE.

when liar mohammed parents gave birth to him, they knew he is the definition of lie. such a benefitting name for a shameless liar.

If you are asked to define LIE.Just point at LAI MOHAMMED.

I love this interviewed! We need more like this...

Ishilove, lalasticlala