LAGOS – A Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), Eck Foundation has appealed to Mr. Alex Otti, the Governor of Abia State to intervene in the ongoing crisis in the State House of Assembly.
The group also said that the government should allow the standing order of the assembly to prevail in the election or appointment of principal officers.
He explained that since the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) has 11 members out of 24, the assembly’s standing order should prevail.
A statement by Dr. Emeka Kalu, the President, of Eck Foundation, said that the crisis was affecting the smooth running of the state.
Kalu stated that following the election of Otti under the umbrella of the Labour Party (LP), there was a seniority and personality crisis in the assembly, especially on the election of principal officers, regretting that the crisis had remained unresolved to date.
Kalu warned that a divided assembly may not allow Otti to achieve his aim for the state and urged the present leadership in the state to quickly delve into the situation for settlement and harmonization of the crisis.
The group lamented that the state had suffered infrastructure decay over the years and presently required the support of all to move it away from the dungeon.
Kalu warned that a divided assembly may not allow Otti to achieve his aim for the state and urged the present leadership in the state to quickly delve into the situation for settlement and harmonisation of the crisis.
The group lamented that the stated had suffered infrastructure decay over the years and presently required the support of all to move it away from the dungeon.
He feared that if the current situation remained unresolved, the business of appropriations of funds, approvals and oversight as core legislative duties of the elected parliamentarians may be grossly jeopardised.
“Without the entire governmental structures working under one umbrella, the idea of moving Abia State forward as our collective visions would be a mirage. I see no reason the house should be polarised with resultant effects of causing frictions in handling the business of governance in the state. The level of infrastructural havocs the state had undergone is enough to tell us that it is time to unite, revamp, revitalise and explore the more for a better and transformed system.
The statement added: “Abia State has suffered protracted years of bad governance and here that redemption, transformation and turn around are being seen taking effect under the hands of the present government, it would be decent to have all the arms of the government working in one accord despite party lines.
“Without the entire governmental structures working under one umbrella, the idea of moving Abia State forward as our collective visions would be a mirage. I see no reason the house should be polarised with resultant effects of causing frictions in handling the business of governance in the state. The level of infrastructural havocs the state had undergone is enough to tell us that it is time to unite, revamp, revitalise and explore the more for a better and transformed system.”
The smooth operations of the legislative arm of a government, Kalu explained would ensure growth for the executive and other arms of government, recalling the recent fight in Rivers State, which pitched the executive against the legislature.
He explained that since the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) has 11 members out of 24, the assembly’s standing order should prevail.
He added: “To move forward, we need a harmonised and strongly built legislative organ of the government and this expected unity is realistic only when there is cordial relationship amongst the three arms of the government.
“We cannot afford to continue reading through another line of ugly pages in our state considering what in the past retarded the state’s economic growth. The coming of Mr. Alex Otti to govern the state is valued as an emancipation time for the people, but having a polarised legislative structure may tempt the entire system that if care is not taken, could impede the accelerated consciousness with which this government started.”
