The last time I checked, the members of the
Imo House of Assembly were showcasing a parade I could best describe as Makosa
dance. Such an intriguing action, which is ostensibly not unconnected with
politics, has been trending in the public domain for some weeks now.
It would be recalled that the state’s
Governor, Chief Rochas Okorocha initially proposed to present the 2018
Appropriation bill of the state to the lawmakers on Tuesday 28th
November 2017 but the outing could not unfortunately hold as scheduled, perhaps
owing to contingencies, though the said bill was eventually tendered two weeks
after – precisely on Wednesday December 13, 2017.
We were rightly notified that why the governor
couldn’t present the bill as planned was owing to the gross discrepancies
noticed in the speech meant to be read by the number one citizen, although on
that fateful day some lawmakers alleged that they were being owed some arrears
of salaries cum sitting allowances.
Just two days after the failed outing
being Thursday 30th November 2017, the then Majority Leader of the
House Lugard Osuji moved a motion for outright suspension of the Assembly’s
Clerk, Chris Duru over alleged misconduct which was tagged ‘gross
under-performance’. Therein, his motion scaled through, thus the accused
official was suspended with immediate effect by the plenary presided over by
the Deputy Speaker, Ugonna Ozuruigbo via the support of other 21 out of the 27
lawmakers of the Assembly.
It
was rumoured in some quarters that the suspension of the clerk was not
unconnected with the belief of the lawmakers that the affected officer was
working for the state’s governor and the Assembly’s Speaker Acho Ihim.
Meanwhile, some of the lawmakers who spoke after the sitting on strict
condition of anonymity opined that the suspended clerk ‘was growing wings’,
hence saw himself as a more important official than the legislators.
The lawmakers further alleged that the
suspended clerk usually opposed their directives and thought he was
‘untouchable’. One of them who described the clerk simply as a ‘liaison officer
to the governor, said the embattled officer was of the view he could work
against the interest of the lawmakers and get away with it.
Intriguingly, in the subsequent sitting
of the House just a few days after the melodrama, the Speaker Acho Ihim read a
memo from the state’s chapter of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
According to the communiqué, the member representing Owerri Mucipal, Lugard
Osuji who then doubled as the Majority Leader was accused by the party of
gross-misconduct, thus directed the Assembly to outrightly suspend the said
lawmaker.
The speaker who read the August memo
immediately set up an ad-hoc committee to aptly investigate the allegations
leveled against the principal officer by the APC having suspended him for two
legislative weeks. More fascinatingly, thereof, the embattled legislator Chief
Osuji hurriedly before his colleagues announced his outright resignation as the
Majority Leader of the House. As if that wasn’t enough, the resignation of two other
principal officers – the Deputy Majority Leader and the Chief Whip – was also
announced.
In order to fill the gaps created
without much ado, as if it was an acted movie, three other legislators – namely
Uche Oguwike of Ikeduru, Chinedu Offor of Onuimo and Arthur Egwim of Ideato
North – were pronounced at the plenary as the new Majority Leader, Deputy
Majority Leader and Chief Whip of the Assembly, respectively. After the show,
some of the legislators I interacted with attributed the entire brouhahas to
‘executive interference’ in the Assembly’s activities.
Furthermore, away from suspension,
resignation, counter-allegations, or what have you, barely a week on, the
legislator representing Oguta State Constituency, Henry Ezediaro publicly threw
his weight behind the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Uche Nwosu, stating the
said young man was the only suitable person that could succeed Gov. Okorocha
come 2019. He didn’t stop there; he equally claimed that the overall 27
lawmakers in the Imo Assembly, including himself, were all behind the chief of
staff.
Chief Ezediaro further disclosed that
the recent disagreement or uproar in the House was as a result of the
legislators’ eager quest to see the governor declaring Chief Nwosu as the
person he would love to hand over to at the expiration of his tenure. Please,
how do we reconcile this? Going by his claim; if the lawmakers were divided, as
we witnessed recently, owing to who succeeds the sitting governor, it simply
signifies that they are not in support of a particular guber aspirant. Hence,
it’s worth noting that the aforementioned lawmaker ended up contradicting the
scenario.
However, consequently, the Speaker of
the House, Chief Ihim debunked the claim, saying the Assembly members as a
people or group had never supported any governorship faithful thus asked
Imoltes to overlook such an ‘unfounded’ statement.
It’s even amusing that someone would
publicly throw his weight behind a politician who has never told his people
that he would be running for the Imo guber seat come 2019. To the best of my
knowledge, Chief Nwosu had never announced to anyone, not even his ward
members, that he is eyeing the governorship seat. So, I wonder why his
so-called allies are raising all these dusts. Those ‘supporters’ ought to note
that they are on the contrary causing problem for the gentleman.
Notwithstanding, it’s noteworthy that I’m not
here to analyze or narrate the story of what had transpired in the House in the
recent times; rather, to enjoin our revered legislators to desist from this
makosa dance which is seriously over-heating the polity and not wholesome to
the anticipated governance.
Our revered lawmakers are expected to
be more concerned in passing motions and bills as well as carrying out their
oversight functions diligently. And, it’s noteworthy that such obligatory
duties are required to be done independently at all times no matter whose ox is
gored. We must not wash our dirty lilies in the public. Let’s not overlook the
needful for the sake of frivolities.
I’ve for the umpteenth time
conscientized our politicians to always consult a strategist before taking any
action, so that, their initiatives or pronouncements wouldn’t be dead on
arrival. Don’t forget that your respective constituents are watching you;
needless to state that you need to endeavour to consider your dignity whenever
you think or act.
There’s time for every dance, hence the
need to suspend this very one. Think about it!
Comrade FDN Nwaozor
Executive Director, Docfred Resource Hub - Owerri
________________________________
Twitter: @mediambassador
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