Reuben Onyishi(Ugoachataberu)

The 8th Enugu State House of Assembly was inaugurated yesterday, 13th June, 2023, after the governor, Barr. Peter Ndubuisi Mbah, had issued a letter of proclamation of the assembly through the Clerk of the House, Barr. Emmanuel Uduaya. After the inauguration of the 24 members of the assembly, two principal officers of the House were elected: the Speaker and Deputy Speaker. Rt. Hon. Uche Ugwu( the Deputy Speaker of the 7th Assembly) emerged the Speaker, while Rt. Hon. Ezenta Ezeani, himself a third-term ranking legislator, became the Deputy Speaker.

The structure of the 8th Assembly is peculiar, given that the party with majority seats has no ranking member amongst the members. Labour Party has 14 members while the PDP has 10 members. The PDP produced the Speaker and the Deputy in line with the provision of the 1999 Constitution as amended which states that the preceding House's rules shall determine the qualification for the principal officers. The House's standing rules have it inter alia that "the Speaker and Deputy Speaker must be chosen from among ranking members of the House." By implication, the House rules drive from the constitution. Hence the emergence of two ranking members as the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker.

The way and manner the honourable members conducted themselves during the inauguration and the election of the Speaker and the Deputy was quite commendable. The two officers were nominated and unanimously voted without any opposition. It follows that the members understand the rules of engagement irrespective of party affiliations. This is a step in the right direction as it would make for a united Enugu State House of Assembly that would harmoniously work with the executive to ensure Ndi Enugu earn the deliverables in line with Gov. Mbah's propositions.

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The Speaker of Enugu State House of Assembly, Hon. Uche Ugwu, and his Deputy, Hon. Ezenta Ezeani, have the capacity and experience to effectively man this important arm of the government. They have what it takes to weld the House together in order to achieve effectively the House's legislative and oversight functions. They have the needed emotional intelligence and skills required to forster unity and progress in the House without unnecessary bickering. The Speaker already had called for a sense of oneness and synergy among the members in the delivery of the duties of the House. It is, therefore, expected of the Honourable members of the House to work together.

Every member should address themselves to the business of legislation and oversight. They should not be taken in my the erroneous impressions that since they belong to two divides and one has the majority, the time to fight and frustrate each other or the executive has come. The fact is that Gov. Mbah understands the importance of a harmonious working relationship with the various arms of the government, and so has the competence to weave a cordial working relationship with the House of Assembly, if the members are willing to corporate with him. His programmes and roadmaps to their implementation and the financial models are clear. The House has got to internalize them and brace up to the challenges of business unusual as Gov. Mbah is quick to, by means of disruptive innovation, bring to bear on the Enugu economy exponential growth to the humongous tune of $30 billion from the present GDP of $4.4 billion. Gov. Mbah is poised to make Enugu State the number one choice of investment destination by means of infrastructure creation, fiscal measures, security and ambient environment. The Enugu State House of Assembly has got to catch up with Gov. Mbah's pace and immerse itself in the same spirit. There is no time for destructive opposition. The people of Enugu are looking forward to the deliverables, and every members is expected to bear in mind the fact that their constituencies are only interested in development of their places rather than politics of vile opposition and altercation. Their constituencies shall not ask them how much of controversy and bickering they caused in the House as they would want to know what development projects they attracted to them.

The administration is one. Gov. Mbah is the head of the administration. The House of Assembly is part of the Mbah Administration. Whatever achievement the government makes is collective to all the players. So, this should inform the understanding of the members. Party allegiance may be there, but destructive opposition should be eschewed by all means.