Penultimate week precisely on 28th November
2017, the Imo House of Assembly was in what could be described as a rowdy and
confused mood. The unforeseen quagmire was not unconnected with the setback
suffered by the proposed presentation of the state’s 2018 Appropriation Bill by
Governor Rochas Okorocha.
The governor had on Monday, November 27, 2017
rightly informed the public – particularly the Imo people – that he would be
presenting the said bill the following day being Tuesday at ten O’clock in the
morning before the state’s legislators, at the Hallowed Chambers to be
precise.
After absorbing the announcement, I
made up my mind that I wouldn’t miss the occasion; the first time I told myself
that I needed to observe the governor’s appropriation bill presentation. In
view of this, as a man who does not joke with time management, at exactly 9:30
am on the stipulated day, I found myself on the premises of the revered Imo
House of Assembly. In the same vein, other well-meaning Imolites from all walks
of life sacrificed their respective engagements scheduled for that day for the
proposed presentation.
Hours later, embracing the governor’s presence
remained far-fetched. Nevertheless, I and my likes waited patiently since the
outing in question was a remarkable one, yet to no avail. The patient wait
lingered till a point when an information filtered in, stating the proposed
Appropriation Bill submission had been postponed indefinitely.
Therein, I hurriedly looked at myself
and saw a bitter being standing right inside the Assembly building complex. I was
left with no choice than to gather my shattered self and return to where I was
earlier meant to be. On the way to my office, I kept pondering over what could
have prompted such embarrassing scene which I personally referred to as an
eyesore and earsore too.
It’s noteworthy that the Imo government
has blamed the terrible setback on ‘large discrepancies discovered in the proposed
budget speech’. That is to say; anomalies noticed in the speech that was
required to be presented by the governor before the lawmakers and other
concerned Imolites. Having gotten the excuse, I laughed in Latin and began to
ask myself which devil was really behind the uncalled melodrama.
The excuse was truly laughable and
ridiculous, to assert the least. How could a state’s event scheduled to take
place at a given time on a certain date be marred by discrepancies discovered
in the speech intended to be delivered by the special guest as being claimed?
Does it imply that the said discrepancies weren’t discovered many weeks or
months ago before the stipulated date of the supposed epochal outing? Or, are
they trying to tell us that the awaited event wasn’t a planned one? These and
many more questions or verifications need to be attended to for the sake of
way-forward.
Such an excuse, rather than helping to
address the situation at hand, would only end up questioning the government’s
competence as well as sincerity. In other words, in subsequent times, I advise
that before they come up with any excuse to cushion the excruciating effects of
an inconvenience caused by the government, there’s need to adequately consult a
strategist for proper counselling. Such a measure is for the interest of the
government, the governed and the state at large.
However,
it’s worth noting that on that fateful, some of the Imo legislators had alleged
non-payment of salaries cum sitting allowances accruable to them, thus were not
prepared to receive the 2018 Appropriation Bill from the Executive Arm ably led
by Gov. Okorocha until the alleged debts are cleared. Hence, they boycotted the
sitting. Suffice it to say that the setback witnessed by the proposed
presentation was reportedly informed by the allegation levelled by the
lawmakers.
I equally learned that on that very day,
within the period meant for the presentation, the legislators were at the Imo
Government House otherwise known as the Douglas House upon the governor’s
request. One may then ask; what could have necessitated such invitation by the
number-one citizen?
At this point, any rational and sane
individual would want to reconcile between the excuse tendered by the Executive
Arm and the allegation of non-payment of salaries and allowances levelled by
the Legislative Arm. If your thought is as good as mine, then it’s needless to
insinuate that there’s something fishy we are yet to know.
Funnily enough, still on that fateful
day, I even heard from a lawmaker that he wasn’t aware the Appropriation bill
was scheduled to be presented on that very day by the governor, claiming he
only got the information from the electronic media, precisely the state’s radio
station. Similarly, I put a call across to another legislator and he
unequivocally told me he was in Abuja, equally claiming he wasn’t informed of
any ‘budget presentation’. Their claims signify that the required notice was
not duly conveyed to the concerned legislators officially as courtesy demanded.
Though the governor has via his media
aide regretted the inconveniences caused by the setback, it’s worthy to note
that that isn’t enough and my concern. My concern is simply to make the Rescue
Mission government acknowledge that such a lapse was a colossal error and
blunder, thus ought not to repeat itself again for its interest and that of the
state in general; and also to ensure that the new date for the awaited exercise
does not linger till next year for time’s sake.
Above all, we must continue to take
into cognizance that misinformation has the tendency of causing mistrust. Think
about it!
Comrade FDN Nwaozor
Executive Director, Docfred Resource Hub - Owerri________________________________
frednwaozor@gmail.com
Twitter: @mediambassador
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