BEFORE WE CRUCIFY THE TEN AKWA IBOM LEGISLATORS

By Ofonime Honesty 

Dear reader, the polity is saturated with arguments and counter-arguments. The proposed autonomy for State Legislatures and Local Government Councils in Nigeria is currently on the front-burner. Interestingly, any keen observer of goings-on can easily deduce that the soul of the debates tilts towards the school of thought that autonomy (independence) of State Legislatures and the 774 Local Government Areas is sine qua non (absolutely indispensable, necessary or essential).

The 1999 Constitution (as amended) recognizes the Legislature as an arm of government. It also recognizes Local Governments as the third tier of government in the executive setup - the other two being the Federal Government and State Governments.

However, courtesy of the decentralized form of government whereby power is devolved from the center (federal) to governments at the state levels, the impediment of operating a state/local government joint account where monthly allocations accrued from the federation account are deposited invariably translates into a situation where Governors remote-control the finances of State Legislatures and Local Government Areas. This, many say, constitutes a major setback in the quest of achieving an independent legislature as well as running an effective/ impactful administration at the grassroots.

In a bid to break free from the suffocating grip of the executive arm, Nigeria’s bicameral legislature (Senate and House of Representatives) is attempting to amend relevant sections of the 1999 Constitution. To achieve this, the approval of a minimum of 24 Houses of Assembly is required before the Bill can metamorphose into Law.

The 1999 Constitution (as amended) spells out that two-thirds of the Houses of Assembly (24 State Assemblies) must grant assent to the constitutional amendment proposal before it becomes law.

As the theatre shifts to State Assemblies, intrigues, suspense and full-blown brouhaha are being witnessed. Some Assemblies have okayed the autonomy straightaway, while others, for fears of the unknown, have ferociously delivered a knock-out punch to it.

The Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly recently granted approval for Legislative Autonomy, but suspiciously suspended deliberation and voting on Local Government Autonomy. Speaker Onofiok Luke had attributed his decision to shelf voting on LG Autonomy to the state chapters of the Nigeria Labour Congress and Nigeria Union of Teachers’ decision to oppose the proposal. Both bodies had hinged their stance on the possible abuse of the autonomy, if granted.
Methinks having brazenly declared that the Assembly under his stewardship is an ‘Iron Seal’ of the executive arm, it could have been a political miracle for Luke to okay Local Government Autonomy, given the fact that Governor Udom Emmanuel; Attorney General of Akwa Ibom, Barr. Uwemedimo Nwoko, and a litany of other state functionaries, had openly kicked against it.

Well, Speaker Luke’s decision to yank off voting on LG Autonomy has not made headlines because, same day, ten of his colleagues had voted against Legislative Autonomy. Aniefiok Dennis, Etinan; Aniekan Uko, Ibesikpo Asutan; Mark Esset, Nsit Atai; Asuquo Archibong, Urue Offong/ Oruko; Glory Ekong, Nsit Ibom; Aniekan Bassey, Uruan; Effiong Bassey, Oron/Udung Uko; Monday Eyo Okon, Uyo; Uduak Odudo, Ikot Abasi/Eastern Obolo;  and David Lawrence, Eket, have been understandably tongue-lashed by the masses for infamously voting on the contrary.

However, common sense recommends that the same stick used in beating the ten lawmakers should also be used on the leadership of the Assembly. The phrase, ‘fish rots from the head’ aptly summarizes the problems plaguing the Assembly, and by extension, Akwa Ibom State. 

An Assembly which refuses to play its constitutional role of performing checks and balances on the executive arm should not cry foul when things go wrong. The NLC and NUT’s decision to oppose the proposed autonomy is anchored on fears that Local Government Chairmen will abuse it by starving workers of funds. Both unions had learnt bitter lessons in the past when the council bosses absconded with monthly revenues.   

Local Government is the third tier of the executive arm hence it falls under the Legislature’s jurisdiction to monitor it to curb perceived excesses. The state legislature has a duty to liaise with councilors at the local government levels to enhance effectiveness. However, in a state like Akwa Ibom, where Councillors were handpicked by God-knows-who, how can checks and balances be achieved? Even the House of Assembly members were also selected, not elected.
The Executive Director of the African Centre for Leadership, Strategy and Development (Centre LSD), Otive Igbuzor said the proposed amendment in respect of local government autonomy must also address the issue of leadership selection processes at that level of government. He said while the proposed autonomy is highly desirable, such development would be meaningless, unless a system is put in place to throw up credible leadership selection processes that ensures only quality people are elected to preside over affairs of the councils.

The absence of a strong legislative arm at the state and local government level is why autonomy will be surely abused if approved. The House of Assembly knows this fact, and shifting the blame to NLC and NUT, is an act of hypocrisy.  Members of both unions felt the brunt of the issue in the past, and they don’t a repeat!

Also, for some of the ten state legislatures who opposed legislative autonomy, coming out to allege that their action was a protest against the Assembly for suspending voting on local government autonomy, holds no water. Put such argument on the scale of critical examination, it falls short of being credible and valid.

I need not flog the dead horse any further, but I wish to conclude this brief piece by pointing out that the impotent legislature in Akwa Ibom is maintaining her gory status quo because we are not a civilized society. The infamous decision of the ten lawmakers is condemnable but the Assembly, generally, does not pass an integrity test. Like the proverbial rotten fish, the rot started from the head. To stop further rot, cutting the tail fins isn’t a wise decision.