ByOkwe Obi,Abuja

TheExecutive Director, Estate Services, Federal Housing Authority, Ezekiel Nya-Etok, has defended the biting reforms of President Bola Tinubu. The former governorship candidate in Akwa Ibom, in this interview, appealed to Nigerians to give President Tinubu another term to fix the reforms for the betterment of the country. The chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), told the candidates of the ADC and NDC, Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi, to relax their ambition and support the president, instead of downplaying his achievements for political gains.

What are your thoughts on the state of the nation and the 2027 polls?

There are many things we need to change in this country if we want to fight corruption. Right now, I am an executive director. In certain places, I would have a Prado and a Hilux waiting, which are normally attached to this office. But my salary is just a little over N1 million, and after taxes I go home with about N700,000 or N800,000, the cost of one return ticket to Uyo. If I was not well settled before coming here, how on earth would I live?

Let me appeal to Nigerians to understand political communication. The politician is not here to give you a situation report. Politics is a game of interest. The opposition’s position is not necessarily that President Tinubu is bad. It is, “I don’t care, give it to me.” So the strategy is to demonise whoever is in office, based on sentiment rather than facts. They are the same people who called President Jonathan useless and now say, “Oh, the days of Jonathan.”

There was a time in this country when people could not pay salaries. Today, virtually every state pays. Pensioners who were owed for 12 years are now receiving their gratuity. Today, over a million students no longer have to worry about a portal closing, because of NELFUND. I was an indigent student, and I know what that means. So when you listen to politicians, myself included, please do not listen with your heart. Listen with your head and do due diligence.

The hallmark of a leader is the capacity to take hard decisions. Couldn’t President Tinubu have waited for a second term before removing the subsidy? In a closed-door meeting, we asked him why he did it from day one. He said there are processes you cannot short circuit, and that subsidy removal needs five to six years to stabilise. If he had started in his second year, governance would have given way to politics. His legacy will be that he stabilised certain things that Nigeria can use.

Why haven’t we communicated this? We let it become the story of a man who brought hardship and poverty. Those of us who understand better have not told the people that the gains will not come immediately. I agree that things are difficult, but I have looked beyond that to the fundamentals.

Some of us have told him that if he returns, he should not give all the money to governors again. Maybe 70 per cent should go to the states, and 30 per cent should be kept in a joint account for social housing, mass transportation, primary healthcare, security and education. And he is listening. Atiku even claimed Tinubu copied his idea on subsidy. That is one of the biggest endorsements of the President, inadvertently. It shows he listens and is willing to adjust.

There is also something we in the media have not communicated. You are not subsidising the poor. You are subsidising us. I have several V6 and V8 vehicles, and the fuel I alone consume, my whole village does not. Remove the subsidy, and channel the money into mass transit and social housing, which benefit the poor directly. Anybody who wants subsidy back is not thinking straight.

I also propose that INEC ban rallies beyond an opening and a closing one. Every other engagement should be a town hall. When did you last go to a rally where anybody said something? At a town hall, you can drill a candidate for two hours, and campaigning becomes something you can decide on.

You have talked about the successes recorded by this administration, such as the fuel subsidy removal. What about the hunger?

Things are difficult, and I have said so. But my mother once held me down to be given a Novalgin injection. I resented her for years, until I understood that she was crying too, because she knew I needed it to get better. The President has taken very hard decisions, but they have a long-term good effect. Today, the World Bank and global indices say Nigeria’s macroeconomy has stabilised. A private sector person can now plan around the Naira, which sits between N1,300 and N1,800. Macroeconomic stability is the foundation for the microeconomy.

But “people are hungry” is not a manifesto. It is a situation report. The opposition says people are hungry, and I agree. What is the solution of the ADC, the PDP or the NDC? Tell us.

Housing is where I would act now. Accommodation takes a minimum of 60 per cent of your salary. Apart from the Shagari and Jakande housing schemes, no administration has matched what the President can deliver, and we have held more than 10 meetings on models for social housing.

On Peter Obi and Kwankwaso, I respect both. Nothing will make me say anything derogatory about them. My only problem is timing. Four years as President will demystify any man. Goodluck became a saint after Buhari came. If Obi becomes President, in the first week people will expect announcements, and he will say he is studying the situation. By the end of the first year, northern politics and succession will begin. Because I love him, I do not want him demystified.

What is the hope of the common man in Nigeria now?

The macroeconomy has been stabilised, so companies are likely to come back. Some of us inside the house are also campaigning for the subsidy removal to benefit the poor directly, through social housing, mass transportation, primary healthcare, security and education. Mr. President is going to look at it.

What would be your rating of this administration?

This is one government that is willing to take hard decisions, and I am very happy with it. Peter Obi and I fought up to the Supreme Court, APC against Obi, yet President Tinubu appointed me to work with his son-in-law. When APC members objected, he said, “I have known him for over 30 years. He is passionate and committed to housing delivery.” That shows he looks at excellence. I would rather resign than not show a scorecard on housing. By the end of our administration, Nigerians will see enterprise estates all over the country and a complete paradigm shift in housing delivery.

Do you think the NLC is justified in seeking a review of salaries?

No. Ajaero is my friend, but they are making a strategic error. Whatever increase you add to salaries is soon overtaken by prices. Instead, the NLC should work with FHA and ask the Federal Government to supply a minimum of 500 houses in every state every month. The money aggregated as salary increase could give us at least 200 estates monthly, and virtually every worker would own a house in less than four years. Nothing stimulates the local economy or creates employment like housing. The NLC should also negotiate mass transit with the Ministry of Transport instead of a salary increase.