Buhari should step on toes including those who funded his campaign – Okorie

By Johnbosco Agbakwuru  

Chief Chekwas Okorie is the founder and National Chairman of the United Progressive Party, UPP and also the founder of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA. In this interview he says that for Buhari to succeed he would have to step on toes including those who sponsored his campaign. Excerpts:
Nigerians have been subjected to untold hardship as a result of fuel scarcity and there is the clamour for the removal of fuel subsidy, what is your take?
I think it is a measure that is long overdue because the fuel subsidy has been a major source of corruption. And not only that, it is drain in the treasury of the Nigerian people; it has also distorted the real price of petroleum products in the open market.is drain in the treasury of the Nigerian people; it has also distorted the real price of petroleum products in the open market.
Now payment of subsidy or lack of it has been referred to as the reason for non steady supply of petroleum products.  Now  it  has been removed, it means the product  will now be subjected to market forces.

Okorie

And if that means first of all blocking that  drain on our common treasury and the availability of the products, it is better.
It doesn’t really make for sound logic to expect  petroleum product to sell the same  rate as it sells   at the point of delivery. If it is open to the open market then market forces will determine. Competition will set in and it will, at the long run, be better for Nigeria.
There has been scarcity of  the products for some time now, what do you think may be responsible for that?
One the anticipation of the removal of subsidy because this thing did not just occur overnight  and there  are  people who have been monitoring the recommendations of the National Assembly with regard to the budget.
Another one is that the Jonathan administration is winding down. Another is that they are owing the marketers subsidy money.
You said that after the election you would present a formidable opposition against the incoming administration, how would you operate?
Well, maybe the opposition will provide more of the constructive engagement. But you see, this thing about opposition, nothing is fixed.  The attitude of the incoming government will determine the attitude of the opposition.
If we are invited to participate in government, we will not turn it down. We  will participate and continue to make our views and see how  far we can canvass our own views.
But I can tell you too that even from some of the statements credited to the president elect, we are beginning to see some meeting points in our ideological  approach to government as articulated in my revolutionary agenda during the campaigns.
For example,  the president- elect has been credited to have said that the declaration of assets will not only be compulsory but also will be made public just as we would want it to be.
Then, the president-elect has also been credited as saying that he would also look into the  missing 20billion dollars NNPC  funds. We agree on that. There was a recent recovery of N307 looted by Sani Abacha. So you can imagine the amount of our money in private hands.It has been so but our government didn’t seem to be interested, maybe because of those who are involved. Buhari  administration shouldn’t toe the same line.
So  far we  are beginning to  see  a  meeting point in what we thought we would have done  if we had that opportunity. And to that extent, all we can do is to offer hand of  fellowship and engage his government constructively.  And of  course, where we think things are not going well, we shall very constructively  criticize it.
The opposition said rather than  remove subsidy as a means of tackling corruption, there are other measures  that could be adopted.
The point  is that, what it costs the average Nigerian now to get a  litre  of fuel  is so high now, it is not even available and this is across the country. And where you get the so called  government fixed prices, are only in government regulated filling stations and they are just few.
And so  people are suffering  buying fuel sometimes adulterated fuel on the road just to be able to  move around.  And it is all because of this subsidy thing.
I do believe that prices will go down over time because it will now be competitive.
Would you support the in-coming administration to raise supplementary budget for fuel subsidy? Do yo not support partial subsidy for now?
My attitude is that we should not go back to it.  It has brought a lot of  distortion; it has opened the room for a lot of corruption  and I even don’t see what the  Buhari administration  can do to  check the cartel once you continue to pay  subsidy on the  products they have imported and  they have their own way of manipulating figures with  the banks and the suppliers. It will be difficult to monitor what we are paying as to what is actually supplied  because it is all paper work and that is why the corruption there has gone so high.
The cartels in the oil and gas business are well plsced Nigerians who call the shots. Do you  think this incoming government and  administration will  actually  be able to  step on the toes of this cabal?
I personally trust  Buhari  to be capable  to step on any toes including those who funded his campaign.  He  has that moral standing, strength to do that. He can do it. If he fails to do it, he would have failed the whole country because part of what gave him the presidency is respect and admiration for his high moral rectitude.