Engr. Victor Tobore Ewere, retired Control Manager, NNPC is retired but not tired as he still oversees/supervises a lot of personal and contractual engineering and construction jobs for the NDDC, DESOPADEC, other Government agencies. This is due to the fact that he left his footprints in the sands of time while actively in service with the NNPC. In this interview with Nyerhovwo Oghenetejiri, Chief Ewere , now an active member of the ruling All Progressives Congress(APC) spoke on a number of national political issues as he assures Nigerians that President Muhammadu Buhari would deliver on schedule the much needed change the party stands for.
Excerpts:
QUESTION: Can we meet you Sir?
ANSWER: I am Chief Victor Tobore Eguerhe, retired control manager from the NNPC. Specifically, I am a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) from Ethiope East Local Government Area of Delta State.
QUESTION: Elections have come gone in Nigeria that put up a new administration now, what should Nigerians expect?
ANS: President Buhari has the pedigree to deliver, he was the Head of State of Nigeria under a military era, he was the boss at the NNPC during that time, and he showed his worth. A lot of the projects we have, he was very key and commissioned them before leaving office, so I have no fear at all that he is going to deliver. Don’t forget that he was a general, someone who was in the Nigeria Army, so certainly he has a lot to offer Nigeria and Nigerians
QUE: The APC’s slogan is change, would Presidentl Buhari and APC be able to give the much needed change Nigeria are yearning for? Should Nigerians rely on him to do it?
ANS: Certainly yes, President Buhari would deliver on his electoral promises, he would not betray the confidence Nigerians reposed in him and the ruling APC by freely giving their mandate to him and our great part. You would have observed that it is barely three weeks after inauguration and he is not a man coming to rush things, He is a man who has plans, and normally with a period of time he has to look into his them and diligently implement his plans, programmes and policies to the benefit of all, so Nigerians should be patient and don’t forget that the immediate past PDP led administration almost crippled this nation, he will surely deliver, he will not rush up things, Nigerians should be rest assured that he will perform well. President Buhari has target plans and mile stones and he would meet the set target and milestones for our great country and the people
QUES: Can Buhari give Nigeria the much needed change that Nigerians are yearning for?
ANS: It took President Buhari many years to get to where he is today, he and the entire leadership of APC has been in leadership positions in Nigeria before, they have examined the problems of this country that is why they came together in order to change this country for the better, from corrupt to a society of zero tolerance for corruption, from hate that has been so much generated in Nigerians, change that hate to love. This is when people start feeling the sense of belonging, have a enough to eat, good houses to stay, electricity and good roads, things that are affordable, a situation where people see others as themselves without separation. This is the change APC stands for and APC have the men to drive Nigeria into the promise land status. APC have people that are accountable, people who are ready for service, APC have bulk warehouse of experienced technocrats, people who are honest and of very high integrity, the technocrats are available for service, the engineer medical doctors and from all facets of the professions are ready to give quality service for the overall interest of our dear nation, it my prayer that President Buhari and the leadership of APC should look intently into the manpower warehouse available in ACP, people who will dedicate themselves to the implementation of policies and programmes of our great party, APC so that at the end, the government will successful and Nigerians will get the much needed change they yearned for and I am very sure that APC will provide all this. As an APC member, I belong to the Grassroots movement for Buhari (GMB), President Buhari as a true Muslim believes in Allah, just as Christians believes in God. He would do what is best for Nigerians,l take Nigeria to a greater height and place Nigeria where it rightly belong in the scheme of things in the world.
QUES: The Peoples, Democratic Party (PDP) was in power at national level for the past 16 years, your assessment, if they had not done well, should Nigerians expect more transformation than the ones under the PDP led administration?
ANS: Sixteen years of a nations’ life is no joke and a short period, if you have a child sixteen years ago, today we would be talking of a grown up child. Sixteen years of Nigeria life under the PDP is best described as a colossal waste because when you look at the huge amount of money that came into this country during that period, the price of crude oil accruable to government at the centre compared to what is on ground, there is nothing to write home about, no tangible projects has been implemented during this time but if you look at Nigeria 16 years before the PDP government came into office, we have refineries in Kaduna, Warri and Port-Harcourt which were geared towards towards production for local consumption and export but for the wasteful sixteen years of the PDP, all the refineries are now comatose, I can tell you that with APC in the saddle of leadership now at the national level, look at Prof. Yemi Osibanjo Vice President, if you listen to him, you will know that he is a man of stuff, he is grounded and connected to the Awolowo family and that speaks volume. I attended free primary school when Chief Awolowo was in power and if not for him, I, probably would not have gone to school, so we should count ourselves lucky to have the likes of President Buhari and Prof. Osibanjor at the helm of affairs and they cannot afford to disappoint Nigerians, it is not in their character to do such thing, their words is bond.
QUES: Over the years, Nigeria has received a lot of money and some states governments are owing workers salaries, what is your comment on this?
ANS: This is a sore-point, sore point for this country. We have governors whose gallivant all over the place, living in opulence and you wonder if people like this could starve workers who are probably in level seven or eight, their salaries between N18,000 or twenty thousand, but not paid, when you look at their palatial residences, the fleet of cars they drive and the number of domestic servants that they have. Their lifestyle is something else, it is a criminal offense because people are dying because they cannot cater for themselves and their children. Going to ministries if you look at the faces of workers there, I assure you it is very disturbing, such people should not be forgiven because it is a crime. For them (Governors) to now be asking for bailout, at this point with all the money at their disposal, Nigerians should hold them accountable
QUES: Your comments on current epileptic supply of petroleum products to Nigerians and attendant hike in prices.
ANS: These tumbling prices are as a result of mis-management, the decadence that has been in the system is appalling, this is a country that is blessed with a lot of crude oil, technocrats nurtured this technologies to get crude and get it refined, we have four refineries, if they had been well maintained and managed, we would be talking about affordable crude price. For instance, the Turn Around Maintenance (TAM) at the refinery in Kaduna was contracted out as political patronage to a contractor not qualified to handle such technical job and it was not properly done. It was a Japanese company that constructed the refinery and a Nigerian who had no knowledge about the workings of the refinery.
QUES: How do you think the average Nigeria can benefit from the Buhari administration?
ANS: Adequate supply of crude oil to these refineries, good maintenance culture schedule for the refineries, procurement and or provision good spare parts coupled with use of technocrats in Nigeria and with all those plans, we can produce raw products. The Augean stable should be cleared of corruption; the equalization fund and the subsidy removal thing are all enmeshed in corrupt activities. I took part in the project that linked the whole parts of the country with pipe lines, tanks and pump stations to pump refined products from Port-Harcourt, Warri to various areas across the country, as we speak, I can tell you that after the completion of that laudable project, it was never put to use till today for the benefit of Nigerians, it was commissioned but never used and I am sure the pipes are rusty now.
QUES: APC seems to be struggling to come out of the problem that arose as a result of the emergence of Senator Bukola Saraki and Hon. Dogara as Senate President and Speaker, House of Representatives against the wish of the party leadership, what is your comment?
ANS: This is expected when people come together after victory will be angling for different positions and so this is a natural process. But with the caliber of people in the leadership position in our great party, the APC, I am sure it will be settled in no time, it would be resolved. Of course you understand in a pool of water if you throw a stone, there must be bubble, the ripples will come down, it is not insurmountable. It will create a situation for a greater, more united and stronger APC. Now, we are learning to come together in a new atmosphere and my message to my party members is that they should not rock the boat, there is enough for everybody and like one of my political leaders would say in those days, “If you kill an elephant in a village, everybody will be satisfied”, so it is advisable not be greedy. Do not say it is either me or nothing; let us cooperate put all hands on deck so that this country would be great.
QUES: The outcome of the just concluded general election shows that the APC appears not to be too strong in Delta State with your man, Olorogun O’tega Emerhor losing in the election, your comments?
ANS: Delta state has been very unfortunate politically, Delta is a State where rigging brings out bogus and outrageous figures from a small, this has continued and it is not right to say that my principal, Olorogun O’tega Emerhor lost the election the way it was put. The number of registered card carrying APC members that are eligible to vote are far more than the figures shown in the result of the elections, we know the membership is much higher and this abracadabra game was done by the PDP to embarrass the APC and I can tell you that given what we now know, the card readers were not used in most places, and that already has contravened the electoral laws. I heard some PDP members saying that Olorogun Emerhor drop the legal issue before the tribunal and go ahead, but if they had wanted progress, overall development and peace, they would have done the right thing from the beginning by allowing due process of electoral law to take place, not after rigging the election, after committing atrocities then you want the APC to forget, things are never done this way or else it will continue to happen in the state. This is the time stamp out electoral malpractice from our system; you cannot say some remote villages that you can hardly find hundred persons to be allocated or given outrageous votes.
QUES: So, you advice Olorogun Emerhor to go ahead with the legal battle to reclaim his alleged stolen mandate?
ANS: Hundred percent, he should pursue it and I can tell that I am ready to support him as we work hard to ensure Olorogun Emerhor comes out victorious and is rightly given his place in Delta. Let me tell you, people in Delta State is in minority in the country and we should not be in opposition to the party at the federal level, if you place yourself as opposition, and you are in minority then you have lost out in every thing. The Yorubas were able to do so in opposition because of their numerical (education, wealth etc) , they were very strategic just like the two other major groups in Nigeria, they can afford to be in opposition but for a minority state like Delta to place itself in opposition, it is a suicidal.
QUES: What is your candid advice?
ANS: My advice is that Deltans should be wise; they should understand the politics of this great country of ours. Deltans should put themselves in a situation where they will be rightly considered. For instance, in the affairs of the things in this country, let us play that kind of politics when Delta State will been seen by the federal government as a bride.
QUES: So you mean Deltans should ensure they do not end up in opposition?
ANS: Absolutely, Delta should not be seen as opposition, those people who are agitating that we should forget about our case in the tribunal because they are getting crump’s from Asaba do not love Delta State.
QUES: Urhobos are the largest ethnic nationalities in Delta State, have they been able to use their number to their advantage politically?
ANS: There have been a lot of “Black legs” in our tribe because peanuts they get, we have been fooled so many times, somebody told me yesterday that we, the Urhobos are lucky because the position of the Secretary to the State Government (SSG) was given to an Urhobo man and the Speaker of the State House of Assembly given to the Urhobos and I asked, where else would such positions would have been zoned to as Delta North had gotten governorship, Delta South got the Deputy Governor, so where
else do you want such positions to go to. Same place? So we keep fooling ourselves. These people who are giving out their right among us should recognized that what they are doing is not good to our generations to come because they are placing them at a disadvantaged position by thinking selfishly
of their family and themselves alone. Don’t you see what Late Chief Aziza was trying to do as Prsident General of the Urhobo Progress Union (UPU) before he died, these are the type of people we want, people who can sacrifice for our ethnic nationality because it is only united we stand and divided we fall, only then we can move forward and rightly claim our position as majority ethnic group in Delta State and fifth largest in Nigeria. We will not oppress anybody, all we are saying is that what belong to you
should be accorded you and what belongs to Urhobos should be accorded them, do not deny us because at the end of the day it will not tell well on entire Deltans. Added to that, we should realize that
Urhobo is the fifth largest ethnic nationalities in Nigeria and our past heroes have sacrificed a lot for the unity and progress to this country, our land have given so much to this country in terms of crude oil
and gas. As I speak, the quantity of gas in an Afiesere, Otorogun and parts of Ughelli is so much and we still have a lot to contribute to this country, Nigeria. But we should not be denied goodies, Nigeria as a country is the fifth largest oil producer in the world, we not given good account of ourselves.
QUES: During the last general elections, Urhobos seems to be divided, had two
governorship candidates. Don’t you think this was one of the reasons why the Urhobos were not able to get the governorship positiont?
ANS: The emergence of two governorship candidates in the state from two different political parties was as a result of manipulation of the people by the PDP and Urhobo Progress Union (UPU) gave in to these tricks. Of course, one of the candidates was so much full of himself and did not bother to consider the interest of the Urhobos at all because he knows the game he was playing, doing this even after the APC had won at the federal level. He wanted to put the Urhobos at opposition which is not fair. What would have been appropriate at that time was for him to step down, throw away his personal pride and ambition and mobilize his supporters behind the APC candidate for the overall interest of the Urhobo nation. Like I said it was a mistake, and the manipulation and machination of the PDP and UPU leaders. I hope such mistakes will not made again. I am very confidence that there is going to be a re-run election because if you want things to be done in a right way, what took place in the last election contravened the electoral laws of the country and so there is no way we should allow to go, we must correct it, this had been one of the major problems confronting us in this country. Things that are wrong should be described as wrong and not dressed up
QUES: In the event of re-run what is your advice?
ANS: My advice is that we should look towards the national level and we should not settle for opposition , we do not have the numerical strength in population to generate the effect of being in opposition; we do not have the wherewithal to be in opposition. So it would be wise for Deltans, PDP members inclusive to vote APC, vote Olorogun Emerhor which will be beneficial to all of us.
QUES: What benefits should Deltans nay Nigerians expect from President Buhari’s administration?
ANS: Delta State have been in a sorry state, we have been very unfortunate to have leaders who came in with projects that are ill-implemented, look at our roads, no industries that are capable of employing our teeming unemployed youths, I think the President Buhari government will look favorably on Delta State, after all Delta State is one of the states that feeds this country, so he will do everything for us to be happy and peaceful because we are contributing greatly towards the overall economic advancement of our great country, Nigeria and there is no reasons why another refinery cannot be established. In Italy, a state along the coast has five refineries, so there is no reason why we cannot have larger petrochemical plant here, no reason why comatose D.S.C should not work and even Agro Allied Industry, I see no reasons why we should not have in Delta swamp rice farms, the President Buhari government can do all these for us, lets support then APC.
