The month of November appears to be remarkable day for members of the 9th House of the Imo State House of Assembly as another impeachment occurred again a year after the former Speaker, Rt Hon Chiji Collins was removed.
Recall that in November, 2020 after a year and half leadership, Chiji Collins representing Isiala Mbano State Constituency was removed and Rt Paul Emeziem came on board.
A year after, the member representing Nwangele State Constituency Rt Hon Amara Iwuanyanwu was impeached by his colleagues on the 2nd day of November, 2021.
According to our reporter in the Imo State House of Assembly, after pardoning the suspended six lawmakers to rejoin the state legislature for legislative business, an upheaval occured when member for Orsu, Nnodimele submitted a demand signed by 18 lawmakers for the impeachment of the Deputy Speaker, Iwuanyanwu. The Speaker consequently acted in respect to the demand thereby making Iwuanyanwu to cease becoming the number two lawmaker in the House.
Trumpeta learnt that Amara Iwuanyanwu, whose father, Chyna Iwuanyanwu was a household name in the politics of the state and beyond before death had carved a niche for himself in the present dispensation as a reputable power broker in the Senator Hope Uzodinmma administration.
It was believed that a strong affinity existed between Uzodinmma and the lawmaker prompting his emergence as the Deputy Speaker against other preferable choices and ranking members in the House.
Iwuanyanwu who came into the House through APGA ticket and later moved to PDP when Ihedioha was elected governor and later joined APC at the emergence of Uzodinmma was alleged to be the governor’s eye in the House.
Before now, it was said that Iwuanyanwu was the middleman between the state government and the lawmakers which this newspaper was informed made him more powerful and relevant than other principal officers of the House.
Apart from his second in command position in the House, Trumpeta learnt that major activities of the Imo Assembly revolved around him in the past to the extent he was accused of showcasing a larger than life status among his colleagues.
But the bubble burst on Tuesday when his colleagues who were said to be fed up of him jointly arranged for his removal.
From what this newspaper learnt, a section of the lawmakers have been uncomfortable with him over several issues related to the operations of the House.
Among his sins was the accusations leveled against him how he allegedly worked against the interest of his colleagues before the state executive arm of the government by making them become losers in the scheme of things. He was accused of alleged unwholesome acts against his colleagues before the state governor.
The complaints against him which the other lawmakers brought against him before Uzodinmma was said to have made the governor t turn a blind eye to his predicament leading to the strike for his removal. And to avoid building a disturbing relationship with the greater members of the House of Assembly, the governor kept away from the matter.
Trumpeta was further notified by inside sources in the House of Assembly that Rt Hon Paul Emeziem, despite sharing rosy affair with Iwuanyanwu since he was made Speaker in November 2020, not only feels unsafe but also uncomfortable with his relationship. It was learnt that the Speaker hasn’t been independent and allegedly owes allegiance to the removed Deputy Speaker.
A highly placed source in the House who craved for anonymity while speaking to Trumpeta on Monday’s impeachment has this to say “Speaker Emeziem will be happy that his Deputy was removed. He owed Amara allegiance and there were reports that he also made a available monthly pay to him to keep the relationship”
How true these allegations are could not be confirmed by Iwuanyanwu who was unavailable when Trumpeta sought his own side of the story on these allegations.
But the straw that broke the camel’s back which led to Iwuanyanwu’s impeachment, according to another reliable source in the House was another yet to confirmed allegations bothering on what was due to the suspended lawmakers since four months they were barred from the House. An indication that this allegation is germane emanates from the discovery that the recalled suspended members appended their signatures in the demand for his impeachment.
Another angle to the fall of Iwuanyanwu was that his political godfather, governor Uzodinmma and ally in the office, Speaker Emeziem may have abandoned him to his fate when his colleagues came up with the impeachment push.
Unlike in the past where Iwuanyanwu enjoyed a working synergy with the Speaker, Emeziem’s body language showed he has no sympathy with the plight of his former number two. Trumpeta however learnt that Emeziem may have been privy to the impeachment plot as the executioners were reported to have also had previous meetings before the D- day on Tuesday.
Our reporter further revealed that when the letter for the impeachment was submitted by Nnodimele on the floor of the House during the Tuesday plenary, Iwuanyanwu attempted to climb to the Speaker’s position for a possible tete-a-tete but was rebuffed. The Speaker was reported to have asked him to get back to his seat before acknowledging the Impeachment notice.
Iwuanyanwu may have also gotten the notice that his days were numbered as Deputy Speaker judging from his appearance and conduct in the House on Tuesday. He arrived the complex in company of the Majority Leader, Hon Kanayo Dele Onyemaechi and instead of moving direct to the office of the Speaker as he used to, moved to the offices of other members before entering the Chamber to earn the impeachment.
Meanwhile, the whirlwind blowing across the House of Assembly may sweep off the Majority Leader, Hon Onyemaechi.
Trumpeta learnt that part of the strategy was to take a systematic sweep off of the Deputy Speaker and the Majority Leader.
With the successful removal of Iwuanyanwu, that of Onyemaechi will now follow as the lawmakers shop for replacement for the marked officials.
