Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola has made it clear that the misunderstanding between him and National Assembly is not a bitter one but a sign of healthy democracy in action.
The minister, who fielded questions from reporters at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, said that there is no problem between him as an individual and the National Assembly.
“And let me make that very clear: many of the senators and honourable members are my personal friends, and so you don’t fight your friends.
“But, we have a disagreement. And the context of that disagreement: you will remember when President Muhammadu Buhari launched the economic recovery and growth plan, he had enormous support from the leadership of the National Assembly. So it means that we all agree there is a problem. There is also disagreement which I don’t think should make us disagreeable about the best way to implement that plan and I think that is all there is to it.
“It is perhaps possible that in the heat of the moment while trying to canvass different positions we are misconstrued as fighting but I am not fighting anybody. We have a disagreement it shouldn’t make us disagreeable.
“So, my responsibility is to continue to engage. Also even if I wasn’t a minister, I am a citizen also so the parliamentarians are also representing me. So these are the issues and if I have been misunderstood, my intention was not to quarrel with anybody but to see a better Nigerian which I believe they also want to see.”
Fashola, who described the disagreement as being very healthy, said that such disagreement is not on who should head what, but on who should take what share of the National came, but that they are disagreeing only on how to develop Nigeria.
“And for me that is a very healthy development of our democracy.
“I’m sure with the leadership of the National Assembly- Senate President, speaker of the House of Representatives, the principal officers and the Acting President, we will resolve this in the ultimate interest of the Nigerian people.”
On how much will the private sector deliver given the myriad of challenges, the minister said that the private sector has always been in any economy with a capital disposition, the driver of growth, adding that the driver of development and ultimately government must interface with the private sector.
He said that the present presidential quarterly business forum has been established to hear from the private sector where the shoes pinches most and where the government can make it easier and better.
“And it is only by understanding problems that we can then offer quality solutions which will include executive actions, sometimes legislative actions, sometimes judicial interventions as I have announced today as a mixture of government’s policy options to help private sector do its best. Our focus has been on ease of doing business.” [myad]
