- Says Legislators… During James Ibori Era Much Better
- Accuses Governor Of “Indifference To Plight Of Retirees”
By Gbenga Abulude(Politics and General Desk)
The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Delta State has accused the Delta State House of Assembly of engaging in unacceptable romance with the Executive arm of government in Delta state, thereby abdicating its roles and responsibilities as a supposed vibrant arm of government.
The APC said this situation has hampered the lawmakers from performing their constitutionally assigned role of oversight functions in the overall interest of the people of Delta state who elected them into office.
The party which alleged that the legislators have never taken Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta state to task lamented that the attitude of the state lawmakers was now a worrisome trend that has hampered separation of powers in the state. The APC urged the legislators to return to their traditional roles as enshrined in the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Citing the recent protest of retired civil servants who were allegedly being owed pension and gratuities arears said the legislators ought to take the state governor to task over that unresolved subject matter.
According to a statement signed by the Publicity Secretary of the Delta state chapter of the APC, Mr Sylvester Imonina Esq, the Delta State House of Assembly are bound by Section 4 (6) and (7) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which gives lawmakers powers to make laws for the good governance of the State and perform oversight functions as connected therewith.
The Publicity Secretary said: “Delta APC can authoritatively say that the present leadership of the House of Assembly and by extension, majority of the members do not have what it takes to be members of that supposed “hallowed chamber”! In fact, their “Oga I dey loyal mentality” has become an albatross to majority of them, particularly the leadership.
“The Governor of Delta State has so cowed them that they cannot look at him in the eyes and tell him where he is doing badly. It is so sad that Delta State House of Assembly is more or less an assembly of failed Representatives who see themselves as appointees and/or beneficiaries of the Governor.
“Few days ago, retired Senior Citizens of the State engaged in peaceful protest in regards to the nonchalance and heartlessness of Gov Okowa’s led Government concerning their gratuities and pensions. Painfully, the chicken hearted leadership of the House who were conspicuously within the precinct of the House of Assembly complex refused to address them.
“Reason being that they do not want to be in the black book of the Governor. What a leadership! Why would they not chicken out when they are Legislators cum Government contractors! Unlike Legislators of old, majority of them have different companies used to execute constituency projects and other projects. The clever ones amongst them use their cronies/bootlickers’ companies to execute projects with the understanding of “kickback and kickfront” accruing to them at the end of the day.”
Imonina who said he was lamenting the dearth of great leadership in the House of Assembly unlike the class of lawmakers who took charge during the eight year period of 1999 to 2007 appealed to the State legislators to change their perceived indifference to the plight of retirees.
He noted that most lawmakers then were seasoned technocrats and highly experienced professionals with diverse experiences who made the Governor to take his responsibility and task very seriously for the overall good of the state during the period.
He explained: “In the good old days, members of the Bendel State House of Assembly (Legislature) were seasoned technocrats and men of honour whose interest was the good of the constituents they represented. The quality of debates on the floor of the House was superb and laws passed were products of intellectual sagacity. On every sitting day, people looked forward to listening to their debates.
“Also, when there are constituency projects to be executed, meetings were called in most of the Members’ constituencies, wherein the constituents are briefed on such projects. Usually, the best contractors were chosen after an unbiased cross-fertilization of ideas, and contracts awarded without the Legislator having an overt interest in who gets the contract.
“Between 1999 and the year 2007, the law makers of that era did their best as representatives of the people. The Government of Chief James Ibori was always on his toes because of the quality of the representation during that era.
“There were several occasions where the then Hon. Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Prof. Amos Utuama represented the Governor at the floor of the House to defend Government’s positions on issues that affected Deltans. No wonder that era witnessed massive infrastructural development; though majority of the projects were substandard anyway.”
