…Stakeholders react
Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia
The Coalition of South-East Youths, COSEYL, has passed a vote of no confidence on the Abia State House of Assembly for passing only five bills in one year.
This is as stakeholders are divided in their opinion about the development.
Speaker, Rt. Hon. Emmanuel Emeruwa, had during a presentation, said that the House passed five bills into law out of a total of 15 bills it received for consideration in the period under review.
He identified the bills passed into law as the 2023 Appropriation bill, Greater Aba Development Authority (GADA) bill, 2024 Appropriation bill, the Governor and Deputy Governor Pension Review bill, and the Medicine and Health Commodities bill.
A review of the bills passed into law showed that four of them including the two annual Appropriation bills were executive bills while only one is said to be a private bill.
Reacting to the development, President General of COSEYL, Comrade Goodluck Ibem, expressed dissatisfaction over the performance of the eight Assembly.
He demanded an overhaul of the leadership of the House to give room for more proactive legislators to steer the affairs of the House.
He said: “If the House can only pass five bills in one year, it means they are unproductive. We are passing a vote of no confidence on the House. The House leadership should be overhauled so that more proactive legislators will take over the leadership of the House.”
The All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, said that the passage of only five bills in one year was not a commendable feat by the eight Assembly.
The State Publicity Secretary of APGA, Mr Chukwuemeka Nwokoro, expressed his displeasure with the scorecard of the Assembly, and scored it 30%.
He said that passing only five bills into law in one year was not justifiable by the lawmakers.
“Five bills in one whole year is not a good result by the legislative arm of Government. It’s not encouraging. They should go and have a rethink. They didn’t do much. They should do more. Passing five bills in one year means 20 bills in four years at average.
“In my own assessment and assessment by APGA as a political party, I cannot score them more than 30% because they have not really done much. Five bills in one year is not enough.
“They should do better in subsequent years by passing many bills that impact positively on the lives of Abians. I don’t know the impacts of the ones they passed on the general well-being of Abians.”
However, the Methodist Bishop of Umuahia Ecclesiastical Diocese, Archbishop Raphael Opoko, gave the lawmakers a pass mark, saying that most of them were new and needed some time to learn the ropes.
Archbishop Opoko commended the Assembly for working in harmony with the Executive arm which translated into the prevailing peace and visible developments across the state.
He, however, expected them to also improve on the number of bills they would pass into law in their second legislative year.
“The cooperation of the House in supporting positive and transformative change in Abia State is a major milestone that they have achieved. There is a great understanding between the House and the Governor.
“Let me give them a pass mark because a lot of them are new. One will use one year to learn, and one year to appreciate the art of legislation.
“When they started, some of them had court cases but now they would have learnt what they came to do.
“But I expect from them more bills that will impact positively on the lives of Abia people as they go into their second legislative year.”
In his reaction, the Traditional Ruler of Oriendu Autonomous Community, Umuahia North Local Government Area, HRH Eze Philp Ajomuiwe, scored the lawmakers low.
The monarch said that passing only five bills into law in one legislative year was not too impressive.
He called on the lawmakers to wake up and complement the efforts of Gov. Alex Otti, to set a new record in the state.
The eight Assembly inaugurated by Gov. Alex Otti on June 24, 2023, amid high hopes, is controlled by the ruling Labour Party although the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party, initially had a slight majority of 11 members leaving LP with 10 members, and Young Peoples Party, YPP; and the All Progressives Congress, APC, with two and one members respectively.
But the recent defection of the two YPP members to LP, and the non-inauguration of the PDP member-elect for Aba North State constituency, Hon. Aaron Uzodike, had put the ruling party in comfortable control of the House.
The Speaker, however, said that the outstanding bills had passed either first or second reading and would be passed in due course, adding that the House has within the period under review treated 46 petitions, raised 55 motions and passed 50 resolutions.
Emeruwa said that the bills passed into law were devoid of rancour as members of the House had already reached agreements before the bills were presented on the floor.
The Speaker, however, regretted that members of the House were yet to receive their official vehicles a year after inauguration, blaming the delay on the supplier, Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing(IVM) Company.
He said the House had decided to patronise IVM following Governor Otti’s policy of encouraging indigenous companies, adding that the company “has received all the money for the vehicles (but) has not been able to supply the vehicles after one year.”
The Speaker, therefore, issued a two week ultimatum to Innoson Motors to deliver the vehicles as agreed warning that “this House has been patient enough.”
“He has to produce the vehicles within the month or give us our money back.”
He also acknowledged that the House of Assembly had maintained a good working relationship with the executive arm in the overall interest of the state.
The Speaker commended Governor Otti for being supportive to the House
On the delayed inauguration of the member elect for Aba North State Constituency, Hon. Uzodike (PDP), the Speaker said that a political solution would soon be activated to resolve the issues delaying his swearing in.
Abia is the only Labour Party-controlled state in the country.
There have been public commendations of the developmental strides of Gov. Otti even by members of the opposition.
The Governor has embarked on massive infrastructural development across the state, and also prioritises payment of workers’ salaries as well as pensions.
