My Wealth Of Experience Enough To Turn Bayelsa Around- Agbedi

Honourable Frederick Agbedi is the representative of Sagbama/Ekeremor Federal Constituency of Bayelsa State in the House of Representatives. Agbedi, a former Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the oil-rich state is now contesting the ticket of his party at the upcoming governorship primary election. The politician who prides himself as the best candidate for the job said he has invested about 40 years into politics and wants to use his wealth of experience to better the lot of the state. Agbedi, the Chairman House Committee on Gas Resources during the Yakubu Dogara-led lower house in this interview with GBENGA OSINAIKE, FUNMI FALOBI and DAYO EMMANUEL, explained why he is the best man for the job and what he would do differently when he assumes office. Excerpts:

Last year the Federal Government came with the idea of Ogoni clean-up; a project some didn’t believe in. One year after, what can you say is the outcome and did your committee then make any input?

We are not directly involved in the Ogoni clean-up project. In the National Assembly, once in a while we carry out an oversight function in the appropriate committee especially the ministry of the Environment. It is a responsibility under the committee on the environment and from day one, when the present government in its first term proposed a clean-up, some of us said it was something that was being taunted around as something that was going to happen. This is four years down the line,nothing substantial has happened. I am happy to say that even the Ogoni people who were celebrating and were feeling that some of us were pessimistic have come to completely realise that it was not something that the government meant. It was just a political agenda wanting to make the people believe that it is a government that is having their interest. Then at some point when the election got close, they started hyping it as it was going to garner votes for them. But largely if leadership is realistic in what to do, these are the kinds of things you see government proposing to do when they don’t really mean what they say. So it is a failed project in any respect you chose to see it.

What do you think is really happening? Is it money or is it that the Ogoni people are not cooperating?

The people are not the problem and it is not largely money. It is political will. For me the government is not interested in implementing it. That is the truth of the matter.

But it is supposed to be a plus for the government if they do or don’t you think so?

It is not just a plus for them. It is a plus for every sector. Firstly, environmental remediation is very important. Secondly, it will bring accolade, praises for the government. Thirdly, you will have realised a large expanse of land that could be useful in one way or the other. Fourthly, issues of health hazards would have been taken care of and we would have as well got international commendation for achieving it. Then maybe we take it as one achievement by a government voted to bring dividend of democracy to the people and as we speak, none of these and all are a far cry. It is just a deceit system of the leaders to our subjects.

But sometimes when we talk about the situation of the Niger Delta we sometimes fail to query the governors. Is it that the governors who draw so much from the federal coffers are that powerless after the get 13% derivation? If everybody is complaining, should the governor complain?

Why won’t the governors complain? Have you ever paid the Niger Delta the 13%? Or 13% of what are you paying? What is the 100% and where is it coming from?

We have about 2million barrels per day benchmark from the budget and the 13% derivation from oil goes to the oil producing states, has that changed?

People don’t even understand what we are saying. That is why most of the time you talk of so much money going to the Niger Delta, the people are not doing anything and all that. People keep asking what the Niger Delta governors are doing with the oil money they are getting. First of all if I genuinely earn money, I should determine what I do with it if I earn the money genuinely. So when we say Niger Delta gets a lot of money, how much percentage does that represents? That is the question. I say that Niger Delta states get what percentage of what they don’t know. Somebody is just somewhere and he determines what he wants to give. He determines what he wants to declare and hands over the remaining as 13%.

You mean as it is nobody knows what the country is making as it were?

Nobody knows that. Not even the NNPC can tell you to the last drop of oil that is sold or the gas that is sold and say out of this we are giving you 13%.

But we are said to be doing about 2millon barrels per day according to the budget and sometimes it drops due to the activities of militants according to reports…

It is not just activities of the militants that can drop production. Any other reason can drop the production quota. Now what happens is that you say we are producing 2million barrels per day, what is the cost of producing 2million barrels? How has the government appropriately monitored the cost of production so that is why most of the people describe the industry as an industry that is shrouded in a lot of mysteries and secrecy but as a nation, if you had allowed investors to invest and then you are levying, you can determine what you levy and you know what you get through your levies. But we have made ourselves part and parcel of the business that was why sometimes ago we couldn’t even pay our call-off capital because somebody is operating the field and your officers who should do the monitoring you don’t even have the capacity to determine the cost. Some of us who had cause to investigate got a mind-blowing report. A situation where you yourself have a cost different from the supervising agency, you are not sure of what goes on.

Are you in support of privatisatising the NNPC?

As far as I am concerned, anything that has to do with government or that is a parastatal of government or a corporation of government does not work. This is because as a people we have always seen such as everybody’s property. Today, NLNG is the most successful story you can tell in the country because they run it as a private organisation even as the Federal Government has 49%. But when the dividend is collected by the NNPC there is still story as to how it was distributed to other tiers of government. So NLNG is always that successful because it is run as a private company even though the Federal Government has 49% share. It is the majority but the operation is conceded to private sector because it is private sector driven that is why it is a huge success story.

When Alhaji Atiku Abubakar was campaigning, he mentioned selling NNPC and people were skeptical while many people didn’t have problem with that but the only question was who is going to buy it? In your own opinion who should buy?

Somebody has to buy if it’s going for sale.

Including the person selling?

The person selling is not supposed to buy. It is not his property. If it is a public property he cannot buy it. That is where the law of corruption applies. If by any means he is buying, the laws will catch up with him.

What if he is buying by proxy?

Even by proxy there should be a point at which the law is unveiled that this purchase is by proxy and when it is unveiled the appropriate hand of the law should be invoked. That is the way to go.

Coming to you now, you are an aspirant and there are about 20 others contesting to clinch your party’s ticket at the primary election in Bayelsa State. What are your chances among the 20 others?

That is the beauty of democracy. The more the merrier. I have told Bayelsans all the time that I am the man to beat. I am the party man. I have worked for the party and supported the party. The party has worked for me and supported me too. I have made governors, Senators, Chairmen. I have made a Vice President. I have taken people round the state and they have won their elections.

So it is payback time?

I am experienced enough. I am very competent. It is not just a payback time. It is such that my wealth of experience is going to assist in growing Bayelsa State and turning things around. I have been in politics for about four decades so I pride myself as a professional politician.