Date Published: 09/03/09
IMO: A HOUSE AND ITS PROBE
By Maximus Uba
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the probe panel inaugurated on the 12th of August 2009 by the Speaker of Imo House of Assembly, Mr. Goodluck Oppiah and headed by Mr. Sam Daddy Anyanwu will this week flag off proceedings to investigate the State Governor Mr. Ikedi Ohakim on allegations of misapplication and misappropriation of funds. Already and according to informed sources, the process to get to the root of the allegation had began as the panel last week sent out letters of summons to Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu, the former Governor of Abia state who is expected to defend his write up where in he said that Mr. Ohakim acquired houses in United States of America, and United Kingdom whereas he never had them before 2007. Also insider information have it that Mr. Maximus Uba, Executive Secretary, Imo Democratic Congress an avowed critic of the governor has been invited to come forward and defend his over two hundred articles written against Mr. Ohakim since 2007 that he took power.
Even as the move by the House of Assembly should be applauded by all and sundry, observers have continued to fault the entire probe process stating that the probe is just all about handing out a clean bill of health to a Governor whose subjects including lunatics street know is on jamboree with public funds. For instance parliamentary procedure the world over especially on issue of constituting a probe panel say that to constitute a panel, there must be a petition to the said house but in the case of Sam Daddy Anyanwu’s panel, no petition was lodged before the house, what this implies is that the house has a hidden agenda either to get at perceived enemies of Ikedi Ohakim or to give the Governor a parliamentary clean bill of health which to them will stand the task of time. Secondly all and sundry in Imo including Imo people in diaspora know that the Imo House of Assembly is perhaps morally lacking to initiate any manner of investigation much less a probe against Mr. Ikedi Ohakim because the House of Assembly despite being PDP members have over time behaved like rubber stamp infact more or less like a parastatal under the Governors office in effect we ask, can this kind of house look Mr. Ohakim in the face and come out with the truth. Besides Imo House like other houses of assembly in Nigeria is fully dependent on the executive arm for its financial requirement, that is not all, members of the house are entitled to a security vote of over one million naira courtesy of Mr. Ohakim aside other goodies coming from the office of the Governor for their continued loyalty and this has been going on since May 2007. Also it is a notorious fact that Imo House of Assembly members and their principal Officers are the first to arrive Douglas House daily to show the Governor “their order paper” and get approval before sitting and are the last to leave Government House everyday prompting the wife of the Governor to ask them whether they don’t have families to return to. Besides Imo House of Assembly in terms of antecedents has proved that it cannot be trusted with a probe against the Governor. For instance when Imo people at home and diaspora stood against the bond deal between Ohakim and UBA plc, it was this same house that passed a motion approving the bond without seeing its terms and conditions and further tasked the Governor to go anywhere and take a loan as long as their cut is preserved, that’s not all, the house has not at any time got interested in the peoples cry over disappearing excess crude money and the local government allocation which has continually disappeared since 2007.
But a barefaced criticism trailing constitution of Mr. Sam Anyanwu led panel is that the profile of members of the panel is nothing to write home about. Mr. Sam Daddy Anyanwu the chairman of the panel is an errand boy of one big contractor in Imo State who is also the Chairman of Ohakim’s political contraption called New Face Organization. Mr. Simeon Iwunze aka Whiteman a former Arararume boy recently decamped to Ohakim’s side and is doing everything possible to gain the confidence of the Governor whom he chastised during his tenure as Chairman Isiala Mbano Local Government Area. This same Iwunze who cleaned Araraume shoes till he lost at the Appeal Court in March 2009 is not a man of character and has never earned the trust of anyone. The third member Mr. Declan Emelumba under strict parliamentary procedure as the mover of the controversial motion, should not have made the panel in the first place as his language, sentiment and words spoken while moving the motion is enough to disqualify his membership of the panel. Besides it is public knowledge that this same Mbadiwe Emelumba has over time not hidden his love for Ohakim as in 2007 even while Ohakim was still in PPA, Emelumba had moved a motion demanding that Ohakim be referred to as PDP leader in Imo States again, 24 hours after the judgment of Saka Ibeyeye, Mbadiwe moved another supurious motion congratulating Ohakim over his victory and urged him to immediately move to PDP. Interestingly many know that Emelumba has been a chief praise singer of the executive beginning with Achike Udenwa whom he later fell out with and can do anything even during his days as a journalist as long as money is guaranteed. The fourth member Ikenna Emeh has just come back from an unwarranted suspension and may not likely show disobedience while Mr. Bede Eke the fifth member is perhaps the only member of the panel who can be said to be independent minded with the above profile of members not a few are now convinced the exercise is meant to give Ohakim an underserved clean bill of health. Already insider information say members of the panel has been induced by Government House reason why the five panel members suddenly jetted out of the country to keep their loot while a Senior Advocate of Nigeria from Orlu Zone has already been contracted by the Governor to write the panel’s report and submit same to Mr. Emma Ohakim, the Governor’s brother who doubles as Chief of staff on or before 15 September 2009. But observers say looking at the above anomalies; this matter should have been handled by either by Independent Corrupt Practices Commission since EFCC is busy chasing bank Chiefs rather than a House of Assembly that daily sing Halleluya vibes to a Mobutu look alike. But in all these, pundits ask, what does the Sam Anyanwu Panel hope to achieve, shouldn’t an anti corruption agency rise up to the challenge and take over the probe and do a painstaking job especially considering the misappropriation and embezzlement of funds going on unabated since 2007 and who will save Imo from characters who are not done with converting public purse but who now want critics put behind bars, and will the police be a willing tool in the hands of an emerging despot and who is the vacation Magistrate already briefed by Mr. Ohakim to tackle both Mr. Kalu and Mr. Uba and whose interest is the probe meant to serve? Is it Ohakim, the House members or the Imo public who has been yoking under an impostor since 2007 that he was stamped into power illegally?
We say of here that the only panacea to such kangaroo probe panel as we have in Imo today is to pass the freedom of information bill which is lying waste in the National Assembly, that way assemblies like the one in Owerri will be cut in their trap as there wont be any opportunity to write frivolous clean bill of health to a fellow who should be cooling his feet in Kirikiri maximum prison but who rather is acting as if the treasury of Imo state belongs to the Ohakim dynasty.
- Maximus Uba lives in Mbaise
