Emmanuel Igbasan is Ondo Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning and a Chartered Management Accountant. He was a former bricklayer, a motorcyclist operator and a commercial bus driver. In this interview with journalists in Ondo State, Igbasan narrated why he stopped lying about his age. Osagie Otabor was there.

What does it mean to work with a man like Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu?

I see the governor as a highly insightful person. I see him as a man that’s devoid of offence towards anyone. He takes actions as it comes to him out of free conscience. I had studied him when I came into governance, he is a lover of intelligence and a lover of critical issues. Sometimes he’s abrasive and intolerant of indolence and lies, these have make people to misunderstood his person. I have a very close relationship with him. I enjoyed attending the National Economic Council meeting with him. He is a man of great convictions. If he is convinced he would go ahead. If he makes a genuine mistake, it is not intentional, that is the kind of person he is. He is passionate on developing Ondo State to his best ability. He also love people with sincere heart. Working with him has further enriched me to making sure that I am sure of my facts and figures before I talk to him. I don’t talk to him as a politician. I talked to him as a technocrats and a coordinator of the economy. I do tell him the truth no matter what.

Do you ever think you will become a Commissioner in Ondo State?

Do I ever think I would become a Commissioner? The answer is No. Most of us come from mud, not even from the stone. My first degree was earn as an Okada rider. I was also an apprentice to a bricklayer, and that my boss turn out to also build my house in the village and he’s still a bricklayer today. I was also an apprentice driver sometimes, I drive from Kubua to Kano to eke out a living even after my graduation. I prayed that the future should be alright for me, the future has not arrived but we are in the next bus stop.

Having pass through these experiences in life, how do you feel about the first million naira you made?

The first good money I made was N40,000. When I finished school, I worked with a Microfinance bank. They paid N7,500 per month, I asked the bank Manager one day, how many years he had spent on the job, he said 16 years. His clothes and shoe were too bad. I called another worker there who was a graduate and has also used 12 years on the job. He lived in a room with his wife and children. I then decided to resign from the job because that was not the kind of life I wish for myself. I started looking for work but my age has advanced. I then removed 10 years from it. Pacific Bank called me and when I got to the interview, they realized that I lied about my age despite that I performed well. I was not employed. They wrote there that ‘despite that he was brilliant but he was a liar.’ I went back home and I tore my CV. Since then, I don’t lie about myself and I was determined not took for job again. I knew because of my age, God has excluded me from seeking for Job.

I have had lots of experience in Advertising, I have been into editing. I have been a consultant to Federal Internal Revenue Service in Lagos, Consultant to Ogun State Oyo State, before I found myself here. Every Man’s life has been designed by God. Rely on him, he would take you there. I don’t know what the future holds for me but I knew the one who holds the future, so I knew my future would be brighter than this.

What is the debt profile of Ondo State?

We have internal and external debt in the State but when you bring the total together, the conceptual debt amounts to N220bn when we took over. Right now, it has reduced to between N90bn to N92bn including multilateral debt. All the salaries we paid were part of the debt. The cumulative debt of pensioners was N35bn when we took over. Even if we deploy the resources of the State we cannot offset this, then we decided to give N200 million to them yearly to sort the pensioners debt. How they handled it is also another ball game but I have my reservations on it. We also allocate N300m million for their palliative. We have paid all leave bonuses, except for Level 9 to 15 in 2019. As of today, with all the work that has been done, I am not sure we are owing up to N10bn as conceptual debt.

How has it been since you came on board the administration of Akeredolu in 2017?

When we came on board, we engaged the citizens on budgeting. We believe the people should be part of decision process on how we deploy their resources and to engaging people on our budgeting process. Luckily, the governor gave us the go ahead, after doing this we received many global partnership. In the past few years We had uphold physical transparency, accountability, openness and citizens engagement. In 2019, when the European Union would do comparative analysis for physical transparency, Ondo State came first in terms of budget and physical transparency. The Budget and Economy Planing Ministry is the blood of the Government and the life wire of the administration. Nothing moves in the state with the knowledge of the ministry because extra budgeting spending is an offence punishable by impeachment. For us in Ondo State we occupied this critical function to ensure optimum allocation of resources. Apart from resource mobilization and optimum allocation for the betterment of our people, we liaise with all developmental partners across all sectors. Our ministry is the point contact of call for any national and international agencies before they do anything in Ondo State in any of the sector. We relate with development partners such as World Bank, WHO, European Union, African Union and many more. This is necessary. We should be able to guide them and direct them in line with the economy objectives of the Government. You cannot just come in and go into any area and begin to function without alignment with the objectives of the Government of the day, this is what we do.

Many Nigerians do not understand if your Ministry makes any impact on their lives

The impact of this ministry on the adminstration is very important. Sometimes you cannot see it physically unless if you take a deeper look or you are an expert in this area. It holds on us to know something about everything for us to function efficiently. Incidentally, the result has been showing through our resources management.

Looking at our IGR, we are the primary ministry that see with every revenue generating agencies and agree optimally what they should bring to the collective pool. We have the responsibility of resources mobilization. If there’s any leakages in the system, we ensure that it is being closed. We have the monetary department, they monitor our appropriations. We are ready to absorb constructive criticism and we would do what is necessary especially for our people.

How has your planning affected the ordinary citizens of the state?

For us to live a prosperous and sustainable manner, we should plan on how to unleash our potential in such a way that would benefit us that are alive and also benefits the generation coming. Looking at the statistics that we have out there, Wikipedia put Ondo State as number seven in size of our GDP, in the National Bureau of Statistics, we are number six. The National Promotion Council put Ondo State as number four. The World Bank made Ondo State number six in terms of the size of our GDP. Our GDP is at $8.4 million. We have to interrogate the system critically. Ondo State might not have industries, but God blessed everyone with a measure of gifts. We have up to five to six forest reserves. If we properly manage what God has given to us other state are not better than us.

You recently rolled out a 30-year development plan for the state which was tagged Ondo 2054

For a state to be able to meet it needs, there is critical need to access its asset, its potentials and its capabilities. As at 2006 census, Ondo State was 3.6 million in population and definitely we would have a growth rate of 2.8, by now we would have a population 6 million people. In 2054 which is 30 years from now, how many are we going to be? We have occupied everywhere. What does that potend for our Agricultural Sector. We have been known as largest cocoa producer, now cross River has overtaken us.

What has happened to Oda Cocoa reserve? Have we not bulldoze it off and begin to erect structures there? If we continue in this way how do we ensure food security for the growing population?

Many commentators have described the recently held Develop Ondo 2.0 as a jamboree

Develop Ondo 1.0 was organized in 2018 putting into consideration some of the background information given, looking at the great potentials of Ondo State, looking at the advantageous situation and location of the state. If you would go to Lagos from Ore it would take less than two hours. From the South East to Ore, it would take less than two hours to get to Asaba, we have close distance to the economy areas, looking at the Southern zone we are opened into the Atlantic, which gives us natural advantage to use. That was what necessitated develop Ondo 1.0 to showcase the potentials and the benefits of partnering with Ondo State. One of the benefits is the development of the Air route in Akure Airport. You are aware that it is not a state owned but for us to bring investors, transportation is key and now we have three flights almost on daily basis. We can see that number of people that have residential houses and businesses in Ondo State has increased because they no longer need to travel through the den of kidnappers before they get to Ondo State. Another benefits of 1.0 is security, and that was when Mr Governor championed Southwest Nigeria Security Network known as Amotekun. Today we are all benefits of the peace in the community and Safety of life’s and properties. This administration brought UNDP back during develop Ondo 1.0. They are now profitable partners of Ondo State. There’s no ammout of money you spend on your State that is a waste, the benefits might not materialize directly but somehow, you would get the indirect benefits, those ones that manifested directly would attract world investors. At Ore we have partners on Our Farms there that have engaged nothing less than 4,000 thousand workers.

Coming to Ondo 2.0, it is too early to say that there’s nothing to do, you would see that we do engaged the NDDC on the project we wanted to execute at the moment, we engaged them on our objectives, they can’t just throw projects at us, we have to develop Ondo together. Chevron has also partner with us. The benefits have started coming in even before it ended, it is not just a jamboree.

When will Port Ondo kicks off?

In the whole of Africa, the only place to find a deep sea port is in Ondo State. Other ports like badagri port, Apapa, Onne, are all River port. Ours is deep sea port. To bring more economical advantage to Ondo, we decided to develop our Deep port, it supposed to be projected by the Nigeria port development but Ondo did it.

What is the plan to curb Ayetoro sea incursion?

It is a problematic and pathetic one for us as a state. If you look at the historical heritage of that place and their enterprises, it is not a place that should go into extinction. There are so many theories because for me, before I profer solution, I want to dig deep into the root of the problem so that I won’t be dealing with the symptoms. I told Mr Governor that before we can give solutions to the problem in Ayetoro, we need to know the cause.There’s no vacum in nature. If you look at the proximity of Ondo State to Lagos and the buttom of sand that was pull from the sea to create a city where they drove the sea, several miles away, there’s possibility the sand was gotten from Ondo State. Some states erected sea breakers at the buttom of the sea which would change the natural cause of flow of the sea water, that might have been the repercussions that we are facing here. Another perspective is the activities of the Oil company. While I was doing my research, I stumbled on an information as far back as 1958, and it has been predicted that something like this would happen.

The rise in climate change and the erosion level can be the cause too in Ayetoro. They have awarded numerous project to salvage the issues in Ayetoro, one of them brought in sand to fill the place but within few days they ran out of sand.

Many of the perspective put there is not true, we need to conduct critical survey on the solution to that place. Mr Governor, before he went on vacation, has put up a committee on Ayetoro problem. They are to look for fund to tackle the situation. The Governor was emotional and he said this would be one of the bad thing he will leaving behind that he left Ayetoro worse than he met it. (The Nation)

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