From George Onyejiuwa, Owerri
The 8th Imo State House of Assembly led by Hon. Acho Ihim was anything but honourable as the legislstors had handed a blank cheque to the then governor now Senator Elthelbert Anayo Okorocha to do as he pleases with the commonwealth of the state. Then the leadership and members of the Assembly rubber stamped whatever request Okorocha made, including the adoption of the governor’s son-in-law, Uche Nwosu as the sole governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of the 2019 general polls. Some of the legislators who had dissented the move were summarily suspended for “unparliamentry” conduct.
At the tail end of the 8th Assembly immediately after the 2019 general election, members of the House of Assembly impeached Speaker Ihim (who represented Okigwe and member of AA) and was a running mate to Mr Uche Nwosu in that election. The lawmakers proceded to elect Lawman Duruji (Ehime Mbano and member of AA) new Speaker, but he was forced to resign within 72 hours which led to the emergence of Hon.Chinedu Offor (Onu-Imo, AA). Offor became the last Speaker, holding sway for two weeks,in that inglorious 8th Assembly.
The Imo people had heaved a sigh of relief at the end of the 8th Assembly and looked forward to the 9th Assembly with new members, especially when the majority of the legislators of the 8th Assembly lost their re-election bids.
In 2019, Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) had won the governorship polls, with the PDP also winning 14 majority seats of the state Assembly. The Action Alliance won eight seats and the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) five seats while All Progressives Congress (APC) won no seat.
In keeping with the zoning arrangement, the position of the Speaker of the state Assembly remained in Okigwe zone (Imo North), and apparently to brighten his chances of becoming the Speaker, Chiji Collins (Isiala Mbano) who had won his re-election on the the platform of the APGA after he was denied return ticket by the Action Alliance crossed over to the People’s Democratic Party before the official inauguration of the House by the then Governor Ihedioha administration. Ditto for other lawmakers elected on the platform of the APGA. This was, however, with the exception of the Action Alliance members of the House.
POLITICS OF PERSONAL SURVIVAL
But following the unexepected removal of Ihedioha as governor of the state via the Supreme Court judgment of January 14, 2020 and replacing him with Senator Hope Uzodimma of the All Progressives Congress, Hon. Chiji Collins in a desperate bid to retain his seat as the Speaker and other members of the House, including the PDP and now the AA legislators cross-carpeted to the APC and pledged their loyalty even before Senator Uzodimma was sworn in as governor.
Those who had crossed over with the Speaker were Arthur Egwim (Ideato North, AA), Amara Iwuanyanwu ( Nwangele) and the current Deputy Speaker, who was originally elected under the APGA but moved to the PDP and later to APC and Chidiebere Ogbunikpa (Okigwe).
Others who jumped ship immediately after the removal of Ihedioha as governor also included Obinna Okwara ( Nkwerre) from AA to APC; Paul Emeziem (Okigwe) from APGA to APC; Uche Ogbuagu (Ikeduru) from PDP to APC ( and was made the Majority Leader); Johnson Duru (Ideato South) from AA to APC; Ngozi Obiefule (Ideato North) AA to APC; and Sycruse Okoro (Ohaji /Egbema) from AA to APC.
But six members of the House of Assembly elected on the platform of the PDP refused to abandon the party. They are Nwosu Anyadike (Ezinihitte Mbaise) who became the Minority Leader, Okey Onyekanma (Mbaitoli) who resigned as the Desputy Speaker, Frank Ugboma (Oguta), Philip Ejiogu (Owerri North) and Solomon Anukam (Owerri Municipal).
Unfortunately, the expectations by the Imo people of having real representatives have been dashed as the present 9th State Assembly has also exhibited the same traits of both the 7th and 8th Assemblies whose main objective remained gratuitously subservience to the governor of the day and self-aggrandizement, leaving their constituents high and dry.
For instance, on October 28, 2021, nine members of the Imo State House of Assembly held a meeting at the private residence of the ex-Speaker, Paul Emeziem where they approved the request of Governor Uzodimma to re-order/supplemented the 2021 budget with the sum of N31,909,038,590 for the year ending December 31, 2021.
In that same meeting, the Assembly had also gone ahead to approve Governor Uzodimma’s request to secure a grant from the Central Bank of Nigeria of N18, 746, 589,992.70 through the United Bank for Africa (UBA) to finance infrastructural development, as well as to cushion the effect of the Federal Government deductions on loans of the state.
Also last year, the state 9th Assembly broke all known legislative feats when it passed the 2021 budget within 24 hours of receiving the same from the governor.
Also, nominees of the governor for offices were cleared pronto without any screening just as the legislators also abandoned their oversight functions on the activities of ministries, agencies and parastatals of state government.
Currently, as at the time of filing this report all the standing committees of the House have been dissolved by the former Speaker, Hon. Emeziem.
Evidently, the legislators are mostly concerned with their welfare and, therefore, are willing to do whatever the governor wanted. Thus most of the bills passsed into law by the 9th State Assembly were executive bills.
Astonishingly, the 9th State Assembly has produced three Speakers in less than two years. The first was Chiji Collins (Isiala Mbano) who was elected on June 13, 2020 and sacked on November 13, 2020 under cloud of allegations of missappropriation of funds and certificate forgery. It was gathered that the root of his impeachment allegedly spearheaded by the Deputy Speaker, Amara Iwuanyanwu who had established himself as the major power broker because of his closeness to Governor Uzodimma, bordered on welfare and alleged non-compliance with their “secret gentleman” agreement.
In fact, Chiji Collins was allegedly accused of not spreading the largesse from the Government House to member just as he was accused of building three houses simultaneously in Owerri . In fact, Collins was said to be at the site of one of his buildings when he learnt of his removal as the Speaker.
IMPEACHMENT AND COUNTER IMPEACHMENT
Then came Paul Emeziem who was appointed Speaker on November 22, 2020 with the approval of Governor Uzodimma. Under the Speakership of Emeziem the state Assembly totally lost modicum of independence.
The Deputy Speaker, Amara Iwuanyanwu, took full charge of the House and those members who failed to conform to the agenda of the House which is to rubber stamp every request of the governor, which the leadership views as unparliamentry conduct if refused, risked indefinte suspension.
And some of the members who allegedly stepped out of line were promptly suspended on July 8, 2021 by Speaker Emeziem. They are Kennedy Ibeh (Obowo, APC ), Anyadike Nwosu (Ezinihitte Mbano, PDP), Philip Ejiogu (Owerri North, PDP), Uche Ogbuagu (Ikeduru, APC ), Dominic Ezerioha (APC, Oru West) and Michael Onyemaechi Njoku( Ihitte Uboma, APC).
However, on November 2, 2021 at the plenary of the House, the six members who have been on suspension since July 8 for alleged unparliamentry conduct were recalled.
But 18 members had already signed a secret resolution for the removal of the Deputy Speaker, Amara Iwuanyanwu, which the Speaker had accepted.
However, Iwuanyanwu, who is the defacto leader of the House was removed. Ex-Speaker Emeziem, it was learnt, had left the position vacant waiting for the governor who was away in Abuja to replace him with his choice.
But that was not to be as Amara Iwuanyanwu who was desperate to retain his lofty position allegedly informed Governor Uzodimma of subterranean plot by the opposition PDP, using ex-Speaker to impeach him from office. Part of the allegations was that the ex-Speaker had dished out N10 million each to members of the Assembly.
However, six days later, precisely on November 8, there were realignment of forces as the governor was said to have sanctioned the immediate impeachment of Emeziem as the Speaker.
Thus, on the Monday morning of November 8, nine members of the House led by the “impeached” Deputy Speaker, Amara Iwuanyanwu moved into the Ojukwu Centre which has been serving as the temporary House of Assembly to meet.
The Monday meeting which lasted for less than 30 minutes was led by Amara Iwuanyanwu who presided over the session and thereafter they procceded to elect Kennedy Ibeh (APC) from Obowo State Constituency as the third Speaker of the 9th State House of Assembly under two years.
The impeached Speaker Emeziem who rushed to the Ojukwu Centre when he got wind of the meeting was locked out as he was denied entry to the complex, which served as the temporary state House of Assembly complex.
It was gathered that the state government had ordered the impeached Speaker Emeziem to vacate his official residence as well as hand over his official vehicle, a PRADO SUV, as Governor Uzodimma moved to make “peace” among the warring members of the Assembly.
Meanwhile, most observers have described the 9th State House of Assembly as a House of straw which has handed its independence to the executive arm of the government to the extent that supposed lawmakers are afraid to even demand for their constitutional rights.
Chief Soronnadi Njoku, former Majority Leader in the 4th State House of Assembly and Emeritus Attorney General of Imo State in a recent interview with this reporter pointedly said: “I lost my respect for this current Assembly the moment they passed into law the Appropriation Bill of 2021 within 24 hours. No serious Assembly does that.”
Equally, Dr. Harold Wilson Onumo, chairman of the Board of Trustees of Imo Youth Assembly, described the current State House Assembly as an embarrassment to the people of Imo.
Curiously, members of the State Assembly seemed to be under a code of silence as they did not reply to inquires of journalists wishing to get clarifications on the activities and state of the Assembly.
When our reporter contacted the Minority Leader, Anyadike Nwosu ( PDP, Ezinihitte Mbaise) to inquire from him whether the issue of allowances of members which has been at the centre of the crisis has been resolved following the election of a new Speaker, he simply declined, saying that he was not the spokesman of the House.
Also, Johnson Duru, who is the chairman of the House Committee on Information, refused to pick calls placed on his cell phone neither did he return the calls.