The 27 members of the Imo State House of Assembly shall today hold their valedictory session, marking the end of the 8th Assembly of the House.
This house, originally led by the deputy governorship candidate of the Action Alliance, Rt. Hon. Acho Ihim is about the most misunderstood set of legislators in the State since 1999. While some people have dismissed them as rubber-stamps of the past administration, there are others who believe that they were the most productive till the ousting of Acho Ihim, when they suddenly turned to hungry dogs, barking carelessly in order to impress the man with some food at the moment.
Except for few of them who resigned before the silly show of comedy began and a very few who refused to join the circus of shame, the Chinedu Offor led 8th Assembly is the biggest embarrassment to the concept of legislative politics in a democracy. They have become so base in the last two weeks that if they think the new governor would be pleased with a recommendation asking all politicians in the State to surrender their spouses for vaginal fitness test by the governor, they would be most willing to do that.
Someone told me that instead of the usual practice of recounting their individual and collective experiences of the expiring session and thanking God and their constituents for the opportunity to represent them, the outgoing lawmakers will be spending a good bunch of their valedictory session taking motions and repealing laws and House rules and introducing new set of rules. Even school boys won’t want their last day in school to be tainted with such infamies of vendetta, servitude and shamelessness.
One wonders what could have turned a group of grown up and supposedly honorable men and the women among them into barking dogs, overnight. For a group that has less than two weeks before their terms come to an end, it is surprising that these lawmakers could not hold their peace and at least pretend to be honorable by minding their businesses. Even the man they are desperate to please, is obviously amused at their daft comedies. For instance, the new governor has refused to uphold their recommendation to suspend elected local government chairmen and councillors, and some other recommendations passed by them. But, what could have been responsible for this descent into this ignominy by these lawmakers?
A source believes that the reason for this legislative comedy is not far from the desperation of the outgoing lawmakers to get their severance package from the new governor. It is either the new governor has made them understand, in words or through body language, that their severance package will be determined by their willingness or otherwise to play his script. If this is the case, then, it becomes more surprising how such lawmakers found their ways into the legislative chamber, and managed to stay there for four years. Shouldn’t they know that severance package is a legal entitlement, which no one has a right to tamper with?
MAY IMO MOVE FORWARD!
By ONWUASOANYA FCC JONES
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