2015: Not even Clark can stop me from being governor –Orubebe

[Mirror]

Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Elder Godsday Orubebe, is no doubt in the eyes of the storm, following recent attacks and petitions bordering on allegations of corruption and non-performance against him by some stakeholders. But Orubebe, in this interview, presents his own side of the story. SOLA ADEBAYO reports:

How do you react to the allegation by some stakeholders in the Niger Delta that you are just pocketing the money being made available to the ministry for the development of the region?

I think I want to reason that that is another level of madness exhibited by people who think that the way they are, that is the way others are. Today in this country there is a process of doing things and the President has emphasised on that and he has put that in black and white to everybody. There is a procurement law in place. How do you pocket money? How? For a project to be done, first it has to go through the National Assembly, to be passed into an appropriation law. For you to do anything you have to go through due process, due process would do due diligence on the contractors, on the pricing, on the funding plan you have made for the execution of that project. These contracts are tendered, advertised and people would tender for these contracts and when these contracts are awarded, they are awarded to people.

So how do you pocket money? People talk out of ignorance. They don't know what it takes for the award of a contract. As a minister, I don't have the power to sit down in my office and call in Mr. A and say I have given you this contract. It is not done, it is advertised. And this level of contracts you are talking about, they are advertised, they go through Due Process and it is when Due Process is satisfied that they would give you the Certificate of No Objection and it is with that certificate that you would forward your memo to the Federal Executive Council, FEC, where you have 42 ministers, the President, the Vice President and other technical advisers looking at the contract before it is awarded and so it sounds stupid, it exposes the level of ignorance of people to sit in their houses, offices and in the market places to say that ministers are pocketing money. It is absolute nonsense.

Are you actually corrupt in view of the recent outcry by some Delta leaders and a group led by a former Member of the House of Representatives, Mr. Dino Melaye, asking the EFCC to prosecute you over alleged corrupt practices?

Categorically, Elder Orubebe is not corrupt and cannot be corrupt. When Dino Melaye came out that time and said that I awarded contracts that were not in the budget, that I awarded contracts worth N27 billion and that I have paid the money and that I have pocketed the money. That I awarded particularly one contract for N1.2 billion and then increased it to N12 billion and paid it. I think that Nigerians are more clever now; Nigerians now understand what governance is, Nigerians understand more the process of awarding contracts. Of course that time I came out on air and addressed a press conference. The man said N27 billion but the contracts that were awarded were just N6 billion and he said I have paid all the money but the contractors were mobilised with only about N990 million and as at the time they were talking, we were owing the contractors and we were even talking to their bankers to let them know that look we gave contracts to these people and the money is not available yet and that they should give them time to work and went to the extent of mobilising, inviting the media. So, most of the negative stories about me in the media are stories that are fabricated, they are stories that are developed in the bedroom of some people, who claimed all kinds of things but it is unfortunate that that is the kind of society that we have.

The same Delta elders accused you of terminating and review the contract for the ministry's youth centre in Edo State four times for self-enrichment. How far is that true?

Again, this is another madness. We terminated that contract only once and I explain to Nigerians. Even in one of my tours to Edo State, when I visited the governor, I also made the point loud that we awarded nine training centres at the same time and that the one in Edo State was performing at abysmal form and we had to visit that place over and over and I got convinced that the contractors were not going forward and we wrote to the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) and recommended for the termination of the contracts and the contracts were terminated. And BPP later directed us on the best way to go about it and that is the process that is going on. We are going through another process of bidding to ensure that the project is awarded to another competent contractors that can complete it. The contract was terminated only once and the action passed through due process. No minister has that power to terminate and re-award any contract. For you to terminate any contract, you must provide all the facts to BPP and they will examine the facts before you get a nod to terminate the contract and make the pronouncement.

Unfortunately, the so-called reasonable people, who call themselves elders are people that have never done any significant thing in this world, they have never succeeded in anything in this world and when I saw their frivolous petition, I laughed and I challenge them to any level. Well, my lawyers are looking into that matter and we are going to take appropriate actions against them, because they cannot go on air to smear the names I have built over the years.

Are you bothered by the call on Mr. President to sack you from his cabinet?

I am not bothered at all because Nigerians, including Mr. President, know that these are people that are acting foolishly and they are ignorant of the measures Mr. President has put in place to ensure transparency in governance. I am not bothered about them and that is why most times I don't talk about it because everybody knows that they are acting through malice and unfortunately, they don't have the facts. I think these people are day-dreaming and they have personal interest. Some of them expect certain things from me and when they are not available, Orubebe is a bad man and it is very sad. But as far as I am concerned, that concept of blackmailing people for personal gains is old version. That is old concept. The new concept is doing things transparently and getting things done so that Nigeria can move forward. A lot of them have sought favour from me and a lot of them have benefited from me in one form or the other, if you ask them they will tell you and if they want me to publish it, I will publish it. Some of them have a lot of dirty deals that I am helping them to cover up and if they provoke me to publish it, I will publish it. Some of them are not credible as they are just deceiving the public. Nigerians would be surprised that they have credibility baggage by the time I am provoked to expose them.

The smear campaign is a cheap blackmail and I will not succumb to that kind of blackmail. We are doing things transparently and we will continue to do it despite the talks by this category of people. We cannot be intimidated, we are on course and we will get to where we are going. I think it is better that they begin to act as reasonable people and get their facts right before they come out to misinform the public.

Why do you think some people are after you?

Well, I want to believe that some of them see me as a threat, some of them feel that with me around, they would not be able to realise what they want to gain in life. Some of them have confronted me that I want to take leadership from them and I begin to wonder if leadership is just for some people. Leadership emerges through the will of God and I have never contested leadership with anybody. I am concerned about delivering what I am supposed to do to support Mr. President to deliver his programmes for the people. Others believed that 2015 is very close, either Orubebe is going to support somebody strongly or is planning to contest and they just go on but as I said I am not surprised and I am not bothered because I serve a God, who is always there for me.

The rumours are everywhere in Delta State that you are nursing governorship ambition in 2015, how do you react to the rumour?

Well, I have told people who care to listen that today, as far as I am concerned, my immediate concern is to support Mr. President to enable him deliver his transformation agenda for the people of this country. I stand as one of the key supporters of Mr. President, one of the key loyalists of Mr. President to do what he wants us to do to move Nigeria forward. As far as I am concerned, 2015 is still very far away and it is in God's hands. When we get to 2015, that is when other things will come up. When we get to 2015, I have the right to contest like any other Deltan but that is not in the agenda for now. I am working, standing by Mr. President to enable him deliver his promises to the people of this country.

But you are being accused of declaring for governorship during your recent condolence visit to the family of a prominent Urhobo politician.

Can any reasonable person ever believe that someone who wants to be a governor would go to a burial ceremony to declare his intention? It is absolute nonsense. I was there on condolence visit and we were talking about the activities of the man and that was how we ended. And so it was nonsense, it was cheap blackmail for anybody to say that. If I want to contest for governorship of Delta State, even if want to contest in 2015 and I want to declare, number one, I would have made proper consultation and number two, when I am declaring, the entire state will gather at one place for me to declare and tell them. It is not just to say I am going to contest, if I am going to contest and I am coming to declare, my programmes for the state would also be discussed. So whatever anybody said was absolute nonsense.

But your leader, Chief Edwin Clark is one of the people who accused you, he even said you are not fit for the governorship of the state. What is your reaction to that?

Well, Chief Clark is entitled to his opinion, but fortunately in the statement, he also said that he was told, he was not there. And so he must have acted from uninformed position. I am sure some mischievous people that are always around looking for their daily bread must have carried that information to him. But thank God, he also said he was not there, he was informed. Number two, if I want to contest the governorship of Delta State in 2015, Chief Clark also knows that I have the capability to run for the governorship of Delta State, I am not barred by the constitution and I have support of people and if I want to run, nobody will stop me from running. He is free to support anybody but there are thousands and thousands of people, who will also support me if I want to run in 2015 but today as I said, I am standing by Mr. President so that he can deliver to the people of this country his promises.

A section of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Burutu Council of Delta State, where you and Clark hail from recently announced your suspension from the party. Are you still a member of the PDP?

I am glad you said a section of the PDP. I think we have today, a group that was put in place by Chief Clark and it is these people that went on air to say Orubebe is suspended but as far as I am concerned, I don't lose sleep over it because it is of no consequence.

What is your relationship with Chief Edwin Clark now?

I don't have any problem with Chief Clark. He is one of the leaders we have in Ijawland. I don't have any problem with him. Our relationship is still very cordial.

But supporters of Chief Clark have openly said that you an ingrate in view of the widespread belief that he recommended you for appointment as a minister. Why are you ungrateful to him?

Chief Clark never and did not recommend me for appointment to the government but he supported me when the battle over my appointment started. Two things I have said, he was not the one who nominated me but he supported me when there was crisis over the appointment. I know the person who recommended me and at the appropriate time I will mention that name. I was recommended to the government by a young man, whose identity I will reveal at a later date. However, I have done everything humanly possible to carry Chief Clark along.

What is your relationship with the leadership of PDP in the state?

My relationship with the leadership of PDP is very cordial. Peter Nwaoboshi is my state chairman and I am supporting him and his entire executive so that we deliver PDP for all the elections in 2015.

You are being accused of in instigating some party members to drag the party to court.

How can I instigate people to take the party to court? If I want to go to court, it is me that would go to court. If people are aggrieved and they go to court, are they saying the people don't have any right to go to court to seek for redress? If somebody is walking and stumbles on a wood, it is Orubebe, I think they should stop this nonsense. And I have told you that I am working with the state chairman of PDP to ensure that we deliver in all future elections.

How is your ministry helping in the actualisation of President Goodluck Jonathan's transformation agenda?

This issue of Mr. President's transformation agenda revolves around doing things in a normal practical way. When he became President and I was appointed Minister of Niger Delta, Mr. President said look, East/ West Road must be completed. You know this is a project that was awarded in 2006 and it was expected to be completed in 2010 but as at 2010 it was like we were doing a new project again because when it was awarded in 2006, there were no drawing and designs at that time and so the road was just going on without baseline drawing and it was in 2010. So by 2010, detailed designs and drawing of the East/West Road were completed.

And we came to realise that this is a road that has 42 bridges, spanning from 70 metres to 850 metres, I came on board as a minister and completed 36 of the 42 bridges, a road that has over 1000 culvets, and today we have completed 704 culvets because we have financial plans put in place. The critical areas are culverts and bridges and we have gone very far on that and I have told everybody that by December 2014, this road which has been there since 2006 will be delivered to the people of Nigeria, particularly Niger Deltans. I think we are on and nothing will stop us from getting to where we want to get to. This is one of the outputs of Mr. President in the Niger Delta.

National Mirror