Enugu State Assembly set for another legislative experience

By MAURICE OKAFOR, Enugu.

The Enugu State House of Assembly will effectively commence legislative duties on Thursday, June 25, 2015 as the House reconvenes to elect other principal officers of the Assembly. Though, the House had its initial sitting on June 6, but only the positions of Speaker and Deputy Speaker, which went to Hon Edward Ubosi representing Enugu East constituency and Hon Don Okey Uzogbado representing Oji River constituency were conducted. The state’s lawmakers thereafter decided to embark on a three weeks recess.

Positions expected to be filled includes the House Majority Leader, Deputy Majority Leader, Minority Leader and Chief Whip of the House etc will be chosen based on the principle of zoning, among the three senatorial districts of the state.

The Hallmark checks in the state revealed that the ruling party in the state since the inception of the 4th republic politics in 1999 has maintained the culture of zoning political positions, to enshrine peace within the party. The arrangement is what brought Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi to office as the new chief executive of the state. It was predicated on the fact that Dr Chimaroke Nnamani from Agbani in Nkanu West council area, under Enugu East Senatorial district governed the state from 1999 to 2007, while his successor, Mr. Sullivan Chime who equally completed his two terms in office hails from Udi in Enugu West senatorial district.

Within the state legislative arm, the new Speaker of the House, Hon Ubosi hails from Nike community in Enugu East council area of Enugu East senatorial district, while his Deputy, Uzogbado is from Oji River in Enugu West senatorial district. To this end, the Majority Leader of the House to be elected would come from Enugu North Senatorial district. The Hallmark gathered that the arrangement concurs with the internal arrangement of the state chapter of PDP, to which Governor Ugwuanyi, who also doubles as the new leader of PDP in Enugu state accepted.

During the first sitting of the Assembly, Governor Ugwuanyi in his address read by the Clerk of the House pledged to a harmonious working relationship between the executive arm and the legislative arm, for them to jointly deliver on his vision and goals to drive democracy dividends and good governance across all the nooks and crannies of the state.

The Hallmark checks into the composition of the leadership of the present Enugu State House of Assembly revealed that Ugwuanyi is likely to gain all the working relationship he deserves from the Enugu state legislators, because the two principal actors, Speaker Ubosi and the Deputy Speaker Uzogbado were strong members of the faction that obeyed the advice of Ugwuanyi, in his position as the state governor-elect, to halt the impeachment process on Chime. Ugwuanyi sued for peace but the peace process broke down.

Fortunate enough, the immediate past speaker of the House, Hon Eugene Odoh, who spearheaded the impeachment move against ex-governor Nnamani did not come back for another term. Odoh who represented Igbo Etiti constituency, was among those who aspired to context the state 2015 governorship election under PDP but lost in the primaries to Ugwuanyi, who received massive endorsement of the PDP chieftains in the state and ex-governor Chime.

However, Odoh who was received home by the people of Igbo Etiti council area over the weekend as a pride son of the area, for his magnificent performance as a two term speaker of Enugu State House of Assembly, told news men who covered his reception that his greatest regret was that he failed to impeach Chime, over his alleged unconstitutional and financial misconduct while he served as governor of Enugu state.

The Hallmark recalls that Odoh’s second tenure as speaker of the state House of Assembly ended abruptly and sources disclosed that he was denied his severance and parting allowances aftermath of his failed bid to impeach Chime, barely three weeks to the end of the last dispensation. Before that time, a harmonious working relationship existed between the state legislators led by Odoh and the state executive under Chime.

In the current dispensation, the Journey has started smoothly between Governor Ugwuanyi and the state House of Assembly led by Speaker Ubosi. However, it is just the beginning of a journey of first four years of Ugwaunyi’s tenure. If he performs he might go for another term of four years which will bring it to 2023.