ENOUGH IS ENOUGH, Swear-In Uzodike Or Be Removed From Office, Barrister James Okpara Cautions Abia Speaker Rt. Hon Emeruwa.
In a message written by Barrister James Okpara, a frontline aspirant for the chairmanship seat of the PDP in Abia state, the Legal luminary has cautioned the Speaker of the Abia State House of Assembly Rt. Hon. Emmanuel Emeruwa to immediately swear in Hon. Aaron Uzodike whom the courts declared as the rightful winner of the Aba North state constituency election.
He described the speaker’s refusal to swear in Uzodike as part of the despotic, authoritarian, and undemocratic governance that Labour Party has come to be identified with, he stated that the speaker is exhibiting brazen lawlessness, gross dereliction of his duties and unbridled arrogance, and declared that Abians will no longer tolerate such undemocratic tendencies.
Full Text……..
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH……
Speaker of ABHA must swear in Hon Aaron Uzodike immediately or be removed from Office.
The unlawful and unjustified refusal of the Speaker of Abia State House of Assembly to swear in Hon Aaron Uzodike the duly elected member representing Aba North State Constituency is mind-boggling and befuddling.
Hon Uzodike went through the whole process of litigation after the election and finally, the Court of Appeal which is the apex court in election matters for the NASS elections declared him the WINNER and INEC gave him the Certificate of Return.
In any decent and lawful society,the next action would have been his swearing in. For the past seven months,the Speaker of Abia State House of Assembly has bluntly refused to do his job by swearing in Hon Aaron Uzodike who is the duly elected member of Abia State House of Assembly for Aba North State Constituency.
There is no litigation, lawful or constitutional impediment stopping the swearing-in of Hon Aaron Uzodike by the Speaker. What the Speaker is doing in refusing to swear in Aaron Uzodike is brazen lawlessness,gross dereliction of his duties and unbridled arrogance. The contempt that the Speaker has for all norms of decency and legislative behaviour is unparalleled in the comity of states. The Speaker by his actions has denied the people of Aba North State Constituency representation in the Abia State House of Assembly which is their undeniable constitutional right.
Emeruwa’s actions in refusing to swear in Aaron Uzodike is part of the despotic, authoritarian, and undemocratic governance that Labour Party has inflicted on Abia State and ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.
This is the same modus of lawlessness, disdain and contempt for due process,fairness and disregard for parliamentary rules and procedures that Labour Party which is one of the minority parties in Abia House of Assembly applied to manufacture the Speaker and other principal members of the Abia State House of Assembly despite and in spite of the fact that PDP is the majority Party in Abia State House of Assembly.
There was nothing democratic about how Emeruwa became the Speaker of Abia House of Assembly and since then he has been enmeshed in Leadership crisis and beholden to those who imposed and forced him on the members of the Abia State House of Assembly.
In the same vein, duly accredited journalists to the Abia State House of Assembly were ordered out of a press conference to be addressed by the Speaker without any reason or explanation. The reason for this draconian and autocratic action can not be divorced from the fact that the said journalists and their employer have been engaging in fair and objective comments and questioning of both the Executive and Legislative arms of the Labour party Abia State Government.
Democracy requires accountability and if you do not like the heat,do not enter the kitchen. We have not forgotten how this same Labour Party for years did nothing else but engage in unjustified criticisms and vilification of the PDP government of Abia State and nothing was done to them.
It is now clear to Abians and Nigerians that Labour Party is an undemocratic party and a personality cult.
Emeruwa must swear in Aaron Uzodike or be removed from office. It is crystal clear now why Abia State House of Assembly cannot act as a check and balance to the Executive.
The Speaker is not worthy to occupy this exalted office and should resign.
Barr James Kwubiri Okpara Media Team
