Ben Ezechime, Enugu
Hon. Ikechukwu Ezeugwu, Leader of the Enugu State House of Assembly, has said that power shift or power rotation, especially in the legislature, does not encourage quality representation.
Ezeugwu said this at the official launch of a book on the history of Nikeland in Enugu East Local Government Area of Enugu State written by a former member of the Assembly, Hon. Joseph Ugwumba, at Ugwogo-Nike.
Speaking before the launch of the book entitled, Invasion of Indigenous Nikeland by the Igala, Izzi-Okpoto and Aro: Ugwuogo Nike; Past, Present and Future, Ezeugwu lamented that Enugu Assembly lost a quality legislator to power shift on the basis of “it is my turn, it is our turn.”
According to him: “When Ugwumba who left the Assembly almost five years ago was in the House, he was a vibrant legislator that made meaningful contributions to debates and motions.”
He, however, said that with time, Nigeria democracy would mature and one can be at the legislature as many times and as long as possible.
“In Enugu State House of Assembly, we lost somebody by way of, it is our turn.
“One day, it will get to that time when people will be allowed to stay irrespective of how many tenures so long as he or she is performing his representation as it ought to be,” he said.
The book reviewer, Rev. Fr. Matthias Udeonu, commended the author for finding time to delve into the history of Nikeland and by extension, Ugwuogo, saying that, a people without a history has no meaningful future.
“I salute the courage of the author especially on the correctness and assertiveness of his writing,” he said.
The Author, Hon. Agbo Ugwumba, said he was motivated to write the book because there were misconceptions among other Nike people that Ugwuogo and some others are aliens and not full-fledged and bonafide indigenes of Nike.
He claimed that it was the aliens such as Izzi people from Ebonyi State, the Aro people from Abia State and the Igala people from Kogi State that came and took dominance of their land that are now claiming that it was they that migrated to Nike.
The book launch was attended by prominent personalities such as the Chairman of the occasion, Dr. Dan Shere, former SSG, Enugu State; former Minister of Power, Prof. Bartholomew Nnaji and royal fathers from Nike, Opi, Nkpologu in Enugu State and Ohaozara in Ebonyi.
