By Oscar Nwogu
In recent times, I have heard some people argue that it is the turn of Ndi Ahiazu Mbaise to produce the next representative for the Ahiazu Mbaise/Ezinihitte Federal Constituency. I have also heard some people argue that it is better for the incumbent, Rt Hon Emeka Chinedu, to continue in office for the third term, as that would put the constituency in pole position to attract the federal presence to Mbaise.
Truth is that Ahiazu has taken its turn, and Ezinihitte has taken its turn. The question now is who begins the next turn among the two local government areas that constitute the Federal Constituency, and what is in the interest of the people.
If we consider the comparative advantage therein, it will be to the benefit of the Constituency if the incumbent, Rt Hon Emeka Chinedu, is allowed to continue with his good works in the Green Chamber of the National Assembly.
Truth is, there has never been a time zoning arrangement in the House of Representatives in our Federal Constituency that has worked or been respected among the two local government areas. All the elections conducted so far from 2003 to date have had candidates from both local government areas contesting for such positions. And nobody has been man enough to condemn the activities of those who contested such elections, even when it is not zoned to their area.
I was a living witness during the time of the late Hon Independence Onukufo Ogunewe, my former boss. Though it is generally believed it was the turn of Ezinihitte, opposition candidates like Professor James Okoroma, Chief Chidi Ibe, Chief Steve Ahans, and others from Ahiazu contested against him. Even after Hon Ogunewe was declared the winner, some of the candidates, especially Chief Chidi Ibe challenged the result of the election in court. Nobody stopped them from contesting the election against the candidates from Ezinihitte, where the office was said to have been zoned. And nobody stopped them from challenging the result of the election at the Courts.
This same thing was repeated when Hon Igbokwe from Ahiazu Mbaise was elected member of the House in 2011. His election was challenged in Court by Chief Kenneth Nduka Agbakwuru, a candidate of the Labour Party from Ezinihitte. On November 25 2011, the court nullified his election and ordered a fresh election. Hon Igbokwe was lucky to win the fresh election. Between the time the court ordered a fresh election and the period the election was conducted, nobody told the Ezinihitte candidate that it was not their turn. If he had won the rerun election or the court ruled in his favour, could anybody have stopped him from being sworn in.
In 2019, there was a loud argument that it is the turn after Hon Nnanna Igbokwe completed his second term. But I was interested in running for a third term.
Against all odds, he lost to Hon Emeka Chinedu, then of PDP, in a keenly contested election. Even though people claimed that it was the turn of Ezinihitte, Hon Igbokwe challenged the result of that election in the Courts and lost.
In 2023, Hon Igbokwe and other candidates from Ahiazu were on the ballot to challenge Hon Emeka Chinedu, who was contesting for a second term in office. Though the result of the election was in favour of the incumbent, Hon Emeka Chinedu, his opponents from Ahiazu challenged the outcome of the election in court.
My question is this: if they had succeeded in stopping the winner, would anyone have prevented them from being sworn in? Would anyone have come up with these ‘my turn’, ‘our turn’ theories that had been with us without effect since 2003?
Let me take it a little bit higher. Since the 4th Republic, we have been clamouring for an Igbo presidency. We have been waiting for our neighbours, the Hausa/Fulani and the Yorubas to gift us the Igbo presidency. But have they done that? Each time, it is even our own people who tell them that we are not ripe for Igbo presidency yet.
So, the Nigerian Presidency has been elusive to the Igbos.
On a serious note. In choosing our representative for the House of Reps in 2027, a lot of factors must be considered. Chiefly among them is the power of incumbency. Those who are conversant with the impact personalities like former Speaker, Femi Gbajamiala, now Chief of Staff to the President, former Senate President David Mark, and others made in the life of their people would agree that continuity with the Obama-born legislator is our best bait.
I believe that Rt. Hon Emeka Chinedu is better placed to impact the lives of our constituents if returned to the Green Chamber than gamble with the future of our constituents in 2027. Hon Chinedu, gentle and unassuming, will definitely do better than any greenhorn or a retired member of the gang who may have lost grip of current happenings in the nation’s law-making process.
- Oscar Nwogu wrote in from Lagos
