Fresh Crisis Rocks Abia

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  • As Lawmakers Move Against Gov. Orji


WITH the kidnapping and armed robbery gale that brought socio-economic activities in Abia State, one of the oil-producing states in Eastern Nigeria, effectively contained by the armed security forces, the volatile state appears to be cycling back to a renewed wave of unease.
This time, the crisis is at the political front. Members of the state House of Assembly are flexing a potentially dangerous muscle with Governor Theodore Orji, on the screening of 23 commissioner nominees. 

 


Before their plenary, the legislators held executive session in the office of the House Speaker, Ude Oko Chukwu, on how to effectively draw their message home to Orji. Relations between the two arms of government have not been quite rosy due to alleged lack of uninterrupted cash flow from the executive to the lawmakers.

The screening exercise is therefore providing them an edge to rattle the governor. A reporter of AkanimoReports who was in Umuahia, the state capital to cover the exercise said the first nominee, Mrs Nne Nwejike, had a smooth sail because she was a pioneer member of the House (1991-1993).

The sail however, took a twist for the worse when Kingsley Mgbahuru, another old lawmaker and immediate past Commissioner for Works was invited for the screening exercise. In stead of their usual practice of ‘take a bow and go’, he was drilled for almost an hour, before the speaker intervened, “it was because you were once a member that we want you to take a bow’’.
But that was flatly rejected by Mgbahuru, who expected the House to clear him with ease.  
However, the missile for the governor came through Agwu U. Agwu, a member representing Arochukwu State Constituency, who refused to introduce Mr Sampson Orji another former lawmaker and a commissioner nominee from his constituency.  
Agwu, a former Speaker of the House claimed that he does not have the mandate of his constituents to present Sampson,  again. The nominee is the immediate past Commissioner for Commerce and Industry.
Another nominee who received similar harsh treatment was Dr Eze Chikamnanyo, the immediate past Commissioner for Information and Strategies who state Assembly man, Ikedi Ezekwesiri, representing Umunneochi Constituency, equally claimed that he does not have the mandate of his people to present the ex-commissioner for re-screening.
The climax of this strange Abia political drama came during the screening of Solomon Adaelu, an engineer, and also a former commissioner in Governor Orji’s cabinet. Though he was introduced by Assembly man, Emeka Alozie, representing Osisioma South Constituency.
The lawmaker appealed to his colleagues to allow Adaelu take a bow as the same set of lawmaker had screened the nominee twice as a commissioner. But Speaker Chukwu literally shut his ear to the appeal and opened the door for the obviously aggrieved lawmakers to launch missiles on the nominee.
House Leader, Chidiebere Nwoke,  fired the first salvo, pointing out differences in the nominee’s birth dates in his curriculum vitae and National Youths Service Corps exemption certificate. On these, the nominee explained with an attached affidavit.
Four other lawmakers questioned Adaelu on other issues, before the speaker paved the way for Ikechukwu Nwabeke, representing Osisioma North, to have a field day questioning the nominee questions on national and international affairs.
Nwabeke was married to Chidimma, the younger sister of Solomon Adaelu before the marriage failed about three months ago when he (Nwabeke) insisted that his wife with three children must return to her people.  
A source in the legislative arm of government said what played out during the September 17 and 18 screening exercise was a clear sign of the kind of cold shoulder Governor Orji will be facing in his quest for the Abia Central senatorial seat in 2015.
It is being alleged that each of the commissioner nominee gave out some cash to the lawmakers before they appeared for the screening. The chastised nominees were later cleared by the same set of lawmakers. The question begging for answer in Abia is, what really went wrong between the two arms of government.
The speaker is claiming that the House resolved to be hard on the nominees in order to ensure that only qualified nominees make the list of new commissioners.
Some of the questions making the round in the state are: If the House wanted qualified persons as commissioners, why did each nominee pay N2.1 million before being cleared? Why were they selective on nominees for hard tackling while some took a bow?
In the case of Adaelu, it is being argued that Nwabeke, lacks the moral high ground to drill him due to the recent marriage problem he (Nwabeke) had with Adaelu’s daughter, the younger sister to Solomon.      
Assembly man, Johnson Igbokwe, claims that Agwu’s decision to turn Sampson Orji back was to avenge the disappointment he faced in his bid to re-occupy the speakership of the House, which he believed was denied him in 2011 by Governor Orji.
Igbokwe a grassroots politician in the state has advised the governor to seriously look into the activities of  the lawmakers if he intends to hold the  crisis-ravaged ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) firmly.
According to him, ”with the type of actions of some of the lawmakers, 2015 might not be a smooth sail if the governor fails to check some of their clandestine activities which manifested during the screening exercise for commissioner nominees in the state. The way I see it, all is not politically well with Abia State”.

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