Everybody in Imo State and beyond knows that Owelle, as the Governor of Imo State has demonstrated unsurpassable wit and smartness. No matter how one may like or dislike him, one must credit him of how he has survived and outwitted all his opponents in his two and half years of administration. Not that he is smarter than every other person in the entire political equation. No, rather, he has known how to get around so many that would have seemed to be a problem which could have threatened his administration. We need not go too far to identify most of these circumstances. However, one or two may suffice here.
Before the inauguration of Imo House of Assembly, sensing how difficult it could be handling a House that is in a minority, he quickly used his Political Adviser, a wizard in political maneuvering who probably designed the strategy to buy off four members of the House with heavy resources and offer of juicy promises. These four fell so cheaply. Uwajumogu became the Speaker; Adaku became Majority Leader; Ihim became the Deputy Majority Leader while Ozuruigbo became Chief Whip.
Ordinarily, PDP would have mobilized to come on a counter offensive. The party fell virtually inactive because, the Governor was alleged, pierced through the leadership to overwhelm it with constant rubbing the palms or so to speak, so alleged. To the greatest of Imo people, until this day, those four members of PDP except Hon. Ozuruigbo who defected to APGA still remained untouched inspite of the smoke-screen court processes which many alleged had been neutralized by the Governor. Consequently, that case has witnessed the most unpopular and scandalous adjournments. Did Owelle not outwit PDP in this regard? Many suspect that between Okorocha and PDP leadership in Imo State, something very sinister and fishy has been going on. Who is fooling who?
What of the case between the Governor and sacked Chairmen and their Councilors? In fact, both Barrister Onuegbu and Lady Ruby Emele led a very good fight to get the judgement in their favour. Yet, something very mysterious went on thereby rendering the legal gain to seem ineffectual. The case is still at the Appeal Court or even at the Supreme Court. And since Owelle virtually lives in Abuja, he has become master of Abuja judicial process, forestalling every case against him with inconclusive adjournments; at least many alleged this to be the case. So far, has he not won?
There is the case of dismissing and dissolving all the four Commissions Imo State Electoral Commission, Civil Service Commission, Judicial Service Commission and LG Service Commission. These cases were made legal tussles even when it was clear that he skillfully got off the hook. Today, the four cases are still at various stages of legal determination. Of course, Owelle is winning because it has been alleged that his most effective escape is to get court officials to be giving him prolonged adjournment with or without compromising the sitting Judges, who knows? Is he not winning since he is gaining time?
Take the case of the supplementary election of April 14, 2011, after all the jingoistic legal tussles, the case finally went to the Supreme Court the seeming Owelle’s zone of comfort. If we recall, the type of adjournments which that case suffered could be seen by every discerning mind that that, too, is being internally controlled following some of the most scandalous adjournments, sometimes three months or even four months. It is now scheduled to come on the 31st October. Who is sure, it could be postponed until March next year, until when if judgement even if it comes the way of Araraume and Ohakim, it will be rendered timely useless. Is he not winning in that one?
Then there came the scandal surrounding the abandoning of a road contract by a Lebanese after collecting huge sums of money. The House of Assembly welded into the controversy. Consequent upon this, there arose the issue of the MD of the company alleging that he gave to the Deputy Governor a large chunk of money as a kick-back. This issue generated a lot of public interest. In the process due to some unexplainable reasons, the Deputy Governor was impeached and removed, according to the House after he was found impeachable and removable.
Some interest groups, including one led by one Barrister Kissinger Ikokwu who raised a lot of dust. The group raised the hope of many Imo people in the hope that more and real facts must be found. Suddenly, after the group has done some radio and television postering, nothing was heard of them again. And until today, nothing more has been heard of it. Even the long expected statement from the Governor to clear the air never ever came.
There are well known series of issues which involved the governor and which called to question his respect for the rule of law. In each case, he would wittingly pass them over.
Now for some reason, he is having a running battle of a kind with his strongest ally the Speaker of Imo House of Assembly and the House itself. This concerns the screening of the list of prospective Commissioners. Since the list was submitted a lot of things have been heard of it. These include; the allegation that the Governor planned to inject into the list non-Imo citizens; the throwing out of the list by the House; the withdrawal of the list; amendment on the list; re-submission and alteration of the list. The latest is that according to the Governor, Traditional Rulers to participate in the screening.
In the course of the mellow drama, Five Former Commissioners were said to have been screened out. These are Okoli, Okorafor, Nnanna Ugochi, Opara Ndudu and Mbanaso. The public knows why these five old Commissioners were originally screened out. It is a simple reason for them not coming up with the demands of House Members whom many members of the public have come to see as a bunch of carry and go legislators as alleged in view of their behaviours since taking office under Uwajumogu. It is on record that many issues of public interests have been compromised or even cheapened into law due to the issue of “ if you rub my back I rub yours” between the House Leadership and the Governor.
The current rejection of some Commissioner nominees is just a mere smoke-screen to give the impression that the House is serious and in an attempt to divorce itself the toga of a rubber-stamp legislature. Who is deceiving who? Once the expected comes in through the usual source of the Majority Leader, certainly from the Governor, the Five Commissioners would be cleared in a swoop.
The recently over publicized disagreements between the Speaker and the Governor are just a zero game tactics. There is no disagreement between the Governor and the Speaker. Everybody knows that this particular House of Assembly will go down in history as the most ineffective and the most compromised legislators who went on escapade of lying up their pockets at the expense of the public and public good. They should know that the people are waiting for them at the poll in the next one year and half. They would have nothing to report back to their people.
As for the hide and sick game between the Governor and the Speaker, there is nothing like that. They cannot deceive the public. They are simply playing a game of two tortoises in a bargain deal, in which none would like to be cheated. Afterall, both are deep in their cunning game. The public may be deceived and cheated today, but tomorrow, each of the tortoises is likely to run out of cunning wisdom and tactics. And it will become a matter of he who laughs last laughs best. On this tortoise versus tortoise game, the public will laugh last, loudest and the best. Just a matter of time as Nigeria turns
