By Onyekachi Eze
The suspension of the Honorable Member representing Oru East State Constituency in the Imo State legislature, Hon Nkenna John Nzeruo has continued to draw the ire of Imolites, Nigerians and other International Bodies.
Hon Nzeruo was at late June, 2018 suspended from the Assembly, alongside his Isiala Mbano, Mbaitoli, Oru West and Ikeduru colleagues, over what they termed “unparliamentary conduct”.
Against this backdrop, while majority, including the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, Imo State chapter have described the suspension as a “Legislative Rascality, undemocratic and demeaning” others have considered it a laughable act.
Further condemning the act, a non political organization under the aegis of Awo Omamma Patriotic Union, APU, in conjunction with Awo Omamma Development Forum have raised eyebrows, asking for the immediate recall of their representative, Nzeruo.
Addressing the issue yesterday, August 20, 2018 in a press conference held at Lutonvilla Hotel, Awo Omamma, the President General of APU, Chief Barr Nicholas Daru Nkemdeme (CP Rtd), frowned on how supposed lawmakers should as well wear the garment meant for ’Law Breakers’.
Asking why an elected lawmaker should be suspended on no ‘well defined’ offense, Nkemdeme retorted that all efforts to reach the leadership of the House have continued to go down the drains.
They extolled Hon Nkenna Nzeruo for not either taking part in the alleged oath taking at Elele, castigating the Senator representing Orlu zone in the Senate, Hope Uzodinma, or taking part in acts inimical to humanity and one’s conscience, as being compelled to do by the powers that be ahead the 2019 elections.
According to the press release, “All these reasons are just flimsy and do not constitute unparliamentary conducts as far as we are concerned, and he, Hon Nkenna Nzeruo who passed through an ordeal and Odyssey to get to the House of Assembly after being subjected to supplementary/re-run elections, long drawn tribunal litigations, nullification and re-conduct of the election that finally brought him into the House does not have our mandate for oath taking nor our support or encouragement to go to the press to castigate our distinguished Senator who is an illustrious son of this constituency. That would not have stood Hon Nkenna on a good stead”.
It further reads, “we, the Oru East constituents, fronted by Awo Omamma Patriotic Union, and the Awo Omamma Development Forum hereby unequivocally demand that our son who has the mandate of Oru East constituents be recalled to the House of Assembly to continue in his legislative functions. We have so far restrained our youths from taking the laws into their hands because of the symbolic integrity of our son Nkenna.
In the same vein, they enjoined the State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, the National and State Leadership of APC to quickly intervene, as they said the singular act might hoodwink the electoral fortunes of the party in the area.
“We make bold to say that we shall draw all strings to seek the reversal of this injustice. We have cried out. We will not look on or be bamboozled into abdicating our rights as a people who are law abiding and are compliant with the Rescue Mission concept of the present administration. We expect positive and urgent actions to redress this anomaly that is capable of spelling unsavoury consequences”. They asserted.
