When the Governor of Imo State, Owelle Rochas Okorocha commenced the Tour of the twenty seven Local Government Areas in the State with a visit to Ngor Okpala , nobody envisaged that the visits and town Hall meetings with the people would open a can of worm that will remain indelible in minds Imo populace.
Today, a harmless working tour by the Chief Executive of the state to rapour with the masses and also take a look at the projects his administration sited in such LGAs, has opened the underbelly of the present crop of politicians that populate the Imo legislature.
Rather than the Okorocha visits turn a celebration for the masses, it has become a journey of revelation and regrets on how the politicians the various constituencies sent to the Imo House of Assembly to fight for their political dividends have got to Owerri and turned to contractors, enmeshing themselves in easy lucre, leaving the men and women who stood in the sun for hours to vote for them, to remain in squalor in the villages.
I had reported the activities of Imo House of Assembly from 2000 to 2009 as a Journalist, but in the history of the state legislature, I have never seen such set of “Lawmakers”.
The current Imo Lawmakers lack maturity and conduct. They have no focus and vision. There is no comparism between them and their predecessors, right from 1999 till date.
The Okorocha LGA visit threw up in the open, what many people had known all these while, but were being whispered in their homes.
It was a shame that in each of the stops, Okorocha was able to confirm that the current Imo lawmakers are an extension of his Executive, who give and execute contracts. The Governor openly lampooned Lawmakers for dabbling into contract executions, and even ordered for the arrest of some Imo Lawmakers.
It was even more incredible that the Peoples Representatives, who ought to disturb the Executive arm of the Government to site projects that will improve the poor conditions of their constituents, were being accused by the Governor of pocketing money meant for the improvement of infrastructure in their LGAs nay constituencies.
From the revelations coming out from the Okorocha’s tour, this set of lawmakers cannot be trusted to deliver and cannot bite because they have compromised their offices by allowing the Executive, another arm of Government, to dictate its pace, when it should be the job of the Legislature to monitor the Executive.
No wonder, the present Imo state has turned to a private Estate of an individual, because checks and balances have fled through the window, because Imo lawmakers are now lame Ducks and cannot carry out over-sight factions.
Let me state here that even though the past legislators in the state may not pass a transparency test, over inducements from the Executive to dance to its tunes, but whatever transpired then between the Legislature and Executive was done in the dark, which left the populace guessing. But Okorocha has broken the “Nsukpe Coconut”, as it was never heard before where a contractor will in an open meeting point at a lawmaker, accuse him or her of asking for “kick-back’ before a contract was executed.
One contractor was bold enough to confess that he used part of contract fund given to him to roof a house belonging to an Imo lawmaker.
What these lawmakers forget is that the electorate have the right to recall any lawmaker who gets to Owerri and thinks he is there only for himself and family.
In the first place, lawmakers have their jobs out-lined for them; which is lawmaking. Therefore, in a right clime, it is a constitutional breach for any legislator to engage in contract Award or execution.
Instead, it is the duty of the Executive to budget funds, while the legislature appropriates the projects, which is then put across to the Executive again to sign into law, and execute.
This is the reason why the Federal Lawmakers usually hide behind contractors for the constituency projects, as they do not get involved in the “real” execution of the projects, even though the can pass the appropriation Act.
Governor Okorocha has succeeded in “demystifying” Imo Legislature after “devaluing” most of them in the presence of their constituents, which is the worse thing that can happen to a politician.
But how did Imo legislature arrive at this notorious ugly stead? From the beginning, the foundation of the present legislature in the state was built on treachery. Therefore the foundation will always be shallow.
At the inauguration of the present House headed by Rt Hon Benji Uwajumogu, political treachery was elevated to another level when five members of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, including the new Speaker, dumped their party and joined the All Progressives Grand Alliance, which led APGA to form the majority party in the House.
Today, Okorocha who lured them into APGA has abandoned the party and joined APC, leaving the treacherous lawmakers confused and lost.
Today, it is still a big question to many; which political party is in majority in the House of Assembly? Is it PDP, APC or APGA? This is the kind of House of Assembly Imo people are confronted with in this dispensation. Every thing happening in the present legislature have left many people confused, to the extent that the electorate can not even swear which party their representatives belong to.
However, the Imo electorate cannot exonerate itself from this ugly scenario playing out at the present Imo House of Assembly.
In 2011, out of anger, the Imo electorate threw away the baby with the birth water by voting in people they did not know too well into the legislature, and therefore that mistake is boomeranging on the masses now, with the strange stories pouring out from the House.
For instance, like the Lawmaker representing Ngor Okpala LGA. It is incredible that I never knew Hon Emeka Nwafor before until I heard he has won the Imo Assembly seat.
With all humility, I want to state here that there is no politician in Imo state that worths his salt that does not know me in first name terms. I have been a practicing Journalist here close to fifteen years now. So I know them, they know me. But I did not know my representative at the Assembly until the burial of Hon Dan Ikeazu’s mother at Agbala where I asked him to please show me the man they said is representing me. I had known Ikeazu when he was a Councilor in Owerri North LGA.
Nwafor has since three years now not called one constituency briefing. I have never heard his voice in moving or supporting any motion.
But he is cool with himself. He has used Ngor Okpala state constituency to find his “Level”. All of now are his mugu. But time will tell.
What is happening in Ngor Okpala is nearly the same scenario in other LGAs, where the constituents have not set eyes on their lawmakers, until Okorocha’s tour dragged them home. Some of them even absconded from the Town Hall meetings in order to avoid peoples anger.
How many Bills have this House passed? Even the focused ones among them have been cowed and muscled to the ground by Okorocha. There is the rumour that the Governor has resignation letters signed by some of them, which will be presented when any of them moves out of line. What a Legislature!
If things were moving fine in the House some of them would not have smuggled in a draconian and wicked law on ambition, yet the rest did not know, until Imo people shouted them selves hoarse before the law was repealed.
Much as the legislature cannot function well without the Executive that funds it, but the House can still retain its respect and dignity and yet make the executive meet its obligation on the legislature.
The present Imo House of Assembly need to realize that the legislature has enormous power and operates on the same level as the executive and can even put the Governor on the spot if they put their acts together.
I had worked under a Governor before, and aware that the legislature can tame a Governor to fear that arm of Government, and therefore give it the due respect. But Okorocha has decimated the present Imo Legislature into camps, which serves the Governor better, as they House cannot speak with one voice now. Okorocha has put them where he wants them
Any way, the present crop of Imo lawmakers lack men who can look a lion into the eyes and damn the consequences. Before, Imo House of Assembly was the potpourri of Imo politics, because of the level of vibrancy and robust discussions in the chamber.
As a cob reporter in this state those days, one will not be happy to miss the plenary of Imo Assembly. A visit to Imo Assembly then will make your day.
As usual, conspiracy, which is part and parcel of politics, was in existence then. Groups plot against each other for the betterment of the entire House, not to gain the leverage and become appendage of the Executive. The House then cherished its independence, which was why that era had a vibrant House that cannot be messed up by any Governor.
I am talking about the Imo Assembly with the likes of late Oliver Akpaka (Nwangele), Chief Onyeama (Nkwerre) CNC Onuoha (Isu), Gozie Nwachukwu (Ngor Okpala) Dan Nwagwu (Obowo) Stanford Onyirimba (Ehime Mbano) Jeff Ojinika (Orsu), Ethelbert Nnanna (Ohaji Egbema) Alex Emeziem (Aboh Mbaise) Prof Ezeadi O Ezeadi (Okigwe) Jasper Ndubuaku, (Isiala Mbano) Hon Goddy Dikeocha (Aboh Mbaise) Noel Agwuocha Chukwukadibia (Ezinihitte) Ken Obichere (Owerri North) Dr Ukaegbu (Ikeduru) Enerst Ibejiako (Owerri Municipal), Late Agaptus Egwueogu (Isu), Charles Uba (Ideato South) and others.
Then, Governors spoke to the legislators as men, not as kindergartens. They roar in the Assembly, and the Executive shivers. Each arm of the Government respected each other; Executive, Judiciary and Legislature.
No Governor can look these set of men in the face and command them to join his party or. Then the Lawmakers realized that it will benefit democracy and their constituents more for them to remain in their political parties and “control” the Executive and not only gain respect, but still “corner” other things, by mutual respect and understanding, which the present House lacks because it reduced itself before the Governor.
If not for Okorocha’s magnanimity to site roads in the constituencies and asked the lawmakers to “supervise” them, none of them can look Okorocha in the eyes and demand any thing for their people.
I sympathize with the likes of Hon Sam Daddy Anyanwu, (Ikeduru), Hon Simeon Iwunze (Isiala Mbano), Hon Kingsley Dimaku, (Ehime Mbano), Hon Dan Ikpeazu (Owerri North), Hon Eudora Igwe (Ideato South) Hon Ndunagu (Mbaitoli), Hon Okemili (Oru East) who have all lived up to expectation in such a hostile and treacherous atmosphere.
I sympathize with them because when the history of the present Imo House of Assembly will be recorded, there names will appear as being among this set of Legislators that went for “sight seeing” at the chamber for four years, and only executed contracts for Governor Okorocha’s cabinet which benefited them individually. The achievements of members who did well will not be noted, because as they will always say in the chamber, the majority poor performance has the “aye” vote in the Imo House of Assembly of today.
