Naira recast policy good, but not well managed, says Moghalu

The Director General/CEO of the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) and a leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) party, Chief George Moghalu, in an interview with MOHAMMED ABUBAKAR, said that the overhaul of the currency is desirable, but the management of politics has created loopholes, resulting in the suffering and anger of Nigerians.

Preparing for the 2023 general elections has been mired in internal contradictions, particularly in the two main political parties; can we say that governance at the national level is declining?

Yes, it's a demonstration that you're dealing with human beings. One thing you need to understand is that the human elements have to play a role when you talk about governance, managing people's feelings, expectations and ambitions. So such problems must arise. The issue of currency exchange is important because it is a national concern that affects everyone, including APC. I think there's actually not much to it, other than some people thinking the timing isn't very good. But there is a general consensus of opinion on the need for the process. I haven't seen anyone objecting to the policy, but what I'm hearing is that the process is mismanaged. But then I think the problem can be easily fixed and I think the government has the situation under control.

Your presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, and other top leaders in your party, such as Governor Nasir El-rufa'i of Kaduna State, say he is targeting the presidential candidate of left. Do you agree ? The important thing is that the presidential candidate of our party is a human being, before he becomes a candidate; he also has interests and concerns. From what he said, he is concerned about the masses, people's feelings regarding the implementation of the policy. He did not criticize the policy, he only complained about the process of implementing the policy and I think he did so in the exercise of his basic human rights. A few others have also expressed similar concerns regarding implementation and the government is taking note of these concerns with a view to addressing them accordingly.

The fuel shortage, which Buhari promised to remedy in 2015, appears to have worsened under his leadership as president and oil minister, what does this say about his leadership ability? Let's be fair to Mr. President. During his administration, he has done a few things that show he is a statesman, determined and committed to pursuing whatever agenda he has committed to. Remember that it was the president who enacted the law, the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) and one of the features of the law is that he liberalized the petroleum sector and as we know all, the Nigeria National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, is no longer a government agency. It is now a limited liability company that must operate according to the standards of commercial tradition in a competitive economy such as ours. Yes, we all expected fuel to be everywhere now and NNPC came out to explain why the challenges exist and the efforts they are making to ensure product availability. In this case, we must not lose sight of the human factors, there have been criticisms from various sources and at various tables as to who and who are causing the bottlenecks, but the fact is that the problems are solved. It's not about the president as a person, because he provided the environment for the industry to grow. We must encourage and support him as he continues to lead the process.

Does this underscore what his critics criticize about his leadership style: once he assigns responsibility, he doesn't monitor performance? I do not agree with you. People are punished, interrogated for not having done what they were entrusted with and the examples are not lacking. Also, giving someone a job and letting them do the homework should be recognized because if someone gives you a job, it means they believe you can do it. And giving yourself the freedom to get the job done is something to be commended, not reviled. That's not to say, however, that there shouldn't be checks and balances, circumstances where people are called to order. What I'm saying is that people were questioned in the performance of their duties. So, it might not be entirely correct to say that he doesn't track, which gives his appointees the latitude to do whatever they want.

Still on the currency exchange, there has been a blame game between the CBN and commercial banks over the availability of new naira notes and the president is watching, isn't that a sign of a leadership failure? Can't you see what happened? Some bank executives have been exposed; in fact, a few officials were arrested for treasure...