By Emeka Amaefula
REAL REASONS LABOUR PARTY CAN’T PRODUCE SPEAKER DESPITE BEING IN MAJORITY IN ENUGU STATE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY
The much talked about Enugu State House of assembly Election conducted on March 18th 2023 which produced 14 Member Elect under the platform of Labour Party LP is currently testing the veracity of the Electoral Act 2022 as Amended. Here out of the 24 members in the House of Assembly, 14-Members of LP are in Majority and all are new members of Enugu House of Assembly whereas Peoples Democratic Party PDP has 10 elected members with 4 of them as ranking returning members of the Assembly. Following the tradition in the nomination and election of Principal officers of the House of the Assembly where PDP is the political party that produced the Governor Dr. Peter Mba but with Minority members in the House of Assembly, therefore the Speaker and Deputy speaker ought to emerge from the political party that is in control of the Government in the state being PDP which has minority members in the Enugu State House of Assembly.
Going by the political horse-trading going on in Enugu State the 8th Enugu State House of Assembly will be one of the states in Nigeria where this type of scenario is playing itself out that will after all bring out the other side of democracy having a minority political party controlling the affairs of the Majority in the House of Assembly.
The 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as Amended Section 105(1) stipulates that Each House of Assembly will have a tenure of 4-years and the 7th Assembly of Enugu state from the date of inauguration on 10th of June, 2019 will terminate on 10th of June, 2023. Hence the Governor Dr. Peter Mba will Inaugurate the 8th Enugu State House of Assembly like every other Governor in Nigeria that won election in the 18th of March, 2023 Governorship election held in Nigeria.
The Labour Party governorship candidate in Enugu state Honourable Barrister Chijioke Edeoga is currently challenging the declaration of PDP governorship candidate now incumbent Governor of Enugu state Dr. Peter Mba in the Election Petition Tribunal where he has accused the incumbent Governor of stealing his electoral mandate which the Independent National Electoral Commission-INEC awarded Dr. Mba of PDP victory as the duly elected Executive Governor of Enugu state. As part of the Standing Order of Enugu state House of Assembly stipulates that “Any Member nominated as Speaker or Deputy Speaker shall be a ranking member who must have successfully completed a four-year tenure in a state House of Assembly.” Given the above standing Order in the House of assembly irrespective of the majority number of Labour Party newly elected lawmakers, it is incumbent on the minority members from peoples democratic Party to produce Speaker and Deputy speaker while the position of Leader of the House of Assembly may not go to Labour Party as well…but Minority Leader position is surely that of PDP. But will the Labour Party members defect to PDP with a juicy monetary offer by the Governor as leader of PDP in the state? Will this affect the ongoing Enugu State election Petition Tribunal should Labour Party Governorship Candidate Honourable Barrister Chijioke Edeoga emerge victorious at the end?
The ranking 4-members of PDP returning to Enugu state House of Assembly who may pick the Speakership position include Ezenta Ezeani from Igbo-Etiti East Constituency, Callistus Uche Ugwu from Udi North Constituency, Illoabuchi Aniagu from Nkanu West Constituency, and the only female Jane Chinwe Eneh from Awgu North Constituency as they have been lawmakers in the past 7th Enugu State House of Assembly and re-elected during the 18th of March 2023 election conducted in Enugu state. The standing Order cannot be changed in the first instance at the inauguration of a new session of the House of Assembly but with time things may take a new shape by way of impeachment of the speaker “The Standing Orders of a Legislative House before its dissolution under section 64 or 105 of this constitution may be modified within such reasonable time after the inauguration and first session with the proceedings of the newly inaugurated legislative House” thus stated a subsection 4 & 5 of the reversed Section 105 which National Assembly did. In a few days’ time Enugu State House of Assembly will become a cynosure of political activities given the peculiar Constitutional provisions concerning the nomination and election of Principal officers of the House of Assembly.
————————Emeka Amaefula———+234(0)8111813069