Tuesday 24 June 2014

AKHA: A house of feeble legislators

AKHA: A house of feeble legislators
It is no longer news that the controversial Ex-governors and Deputy Governors’Pension Bill sent to the State House of Assembly by the state Governor has been passed into law. The bill which was an amendment to the already existing law regarding previous Governors and their Deputies, attracted a massive public outcry within and outside the state. The controversial law states that 100 million would be allotted yearly to former Governors as medical allowance while 50 million would go to their Deputies for the same purpose.

The Bill, being an executive Bill, went through first and second reading the same day it was received by the Legislators. This points to an observation that the House passes any Bill coming to it within one or two sittings when it has something ambiguous to it. Though the brunt of theBill was on the Governor who sponsored it,four things can be deduced from the arguments and deliberations accompanying the Bill which has obviously revealed the feeble-mindedness of the Lawmakers before the Governor order for repeal.

First is that as a Governor, Chief Godswill Akpabio has the right to propose a Bill which will favour him when he exits office.The House would have critically examined the Bill in the interest of the people they represent and called for an adjustment where necessary before acting on it. But they rather passed the Bill into law against the massive outcry which greeted the Bill from the inception.

The feeble House of Sam Ikon must take the greatest blame in the number of laws that has amounted to a public rape on the Akwa Ibom economy. In a typical democratic system of government like ours, there are three recognised arms of government put in place for the effective running and administration of governance to the people.They are the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary. While the Executive is saddled with the responsibility of implementing laws and administering governance on the people, the Legislature is responsible for making laws and the Judiciary interprets the laws made by the legislature.

These organs of government have their various roles to play in the effective administration of government which of course, must be devoid of manipulations and interferences from other organs of government. I will never agree with the House of Assembly that their actions was not for selfish reasons.If the very people you representare saying “No” to aBill you are about to pass into law which will have a negative effect on themand you adamantly go ahead to pass such into law for your selfish monetary gains, are you then speaking for the people or yourself? And can one still call such House “the people’s assembly”?

It can be concluded that Akwa Ibom Legislators have indeed failed the people of this state and should not be trusted in any other representative capacity. They conspired to bring shame to the state, but ended up exposing themselves as rubberstamp Legislators.

This has further shown the level of the Speaker’s desperation for his Etinan Federal Constituency ambition.He is ready to do anything the governor will ask him to do so that he will be given the ticket through his influence. These men no longer believe in the people but godfathers, they are doing all they can to please their godfathers to get support. Little wonder they abuse and abandoned the people they claim to represent immediately they get into office because they know the people cannot recall them since power did not come from them but their godfathers.

It is very sad that Sam Ikon has chosen this time to demonstrate his incompetency now that he is the political Chairman,Conference of Speakers.It is very clear that this position was not by merit but byhow much he could pay. This is a clear case of a blind man leading the blinds and the gutter is always their final destinations. Ikon and the other 25 members of the House are failures. I agree totally with Kufre Etuk that they were not elected by the people, rather they are products of political manipulations.

Secondly, the Commissioner for Information, Mr Aniekan Umanah, the Anthony General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Ekpenyong Ntekim, and all Media Aids to the Governor have failed in their responsibilities.People never knew that the Bill was an amendment to the already existing lawbecause most people do not have access to the laws of the state.The bill lacked enough public awareness which would have been done by the media and image managers of the governor.The general perception was that Akpabio is proposing a fresh Bill to the House.

Until the issue attracted negative comments from outside the state, none of them came out to speak and the Governor had to put up a defence of the Bill on Channels Television. Most of theAids now use ambiguous names to attack the Billon Facebook and other social media after it has been signed as a Law. It is true that Governor Akpabio does not have image makers or media managers but businessmen and aspirants whose concentration now is on how to win the forth coming election in 2015. They have in a haste, abandoned the service of the state for their personal and selfish ambitions, shame on them.

Thirdly, it is true that whoever goes for equity must be of a clean hand. Even Bible saysthat we should do to others what we would want them do to us. If Akpabio, by Attah’s claims has not been paying Attah’s medical bills and other entitlements, why does he want to be paid? Let us not be sentimental about it, what you sow is what you reap and there is no logic in that. Attah has challenged Akpabio to publish what he (Akpabio) has been paying him (Attah) for the whole world to see. If Akpabio is sincere enough, he should take the challenge and publish it for people to see, otherwise he should know that one day, he will be in a condition where he cannot help himself and will need somebodyto depend on. He was not born as he is today and he will never remain as he is now forever.

If he was not doing it before, it is high time he started taking care of the Elders because one day he will certainly be in that position.

Lastly, like it was in the removal of fuel subsidy, our empty politicians who have eaten the state for many years without anything to show and are now governorship aspirants see the controversial law as a veritable platform to launch their 2015 campaign of deceit.

They lack the much needed leadership quality which is the ability to absorb pressure and remain focused with unshaken faith and commitment to the vision. The Law suddenly became their campaign slogans that they begin to sing”immediately I enter office, I will repeal the law”.Who is fooling who? To their greatest shock, the Governor declared that the House should return the law to what it was and reduce the amount initially stated. He has now proposed “health insurance” for all former Governors and their Deputies instead of the controversial money. They should all shut down their ambitions and stop causing confusion in this state. Afterall,the Governor has done what they had in mind to do.

Thanks to the listening Governor Godswill Akpabio who has demonstrated good leadership by listening to the voice of the people and immediately repealing the law to the shame of his enemies. A deed the State House of “chop my money” could not do. Leadership is not without mistakes but the ability to see one’s mistakes and correct them without the interference of ego and pride, makes a good leader. Indeed Governor Akpabio is a true leader of the people; many who use that Law to score cheap political points would not have had the mind to correct themselves if notified as the Governor did because of their pride and self-justifications.

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