Hon Chukwuemeka Osoagbaka 

Abia State Governor Alex Otti has been accused of gradually creating a militarised, dictatorial legislature by foisting his handpicked leadership on the Abia State House of Assembly, ABSHA


Speaking in a radio - Flo 94.9 FM - interview programme, a former member of the House, Hon Chukwuemeka Osoagbaka decried  the unfolding development maintaining that the legislature remains  the bastion of democracy.


Osoagbaka, the Chairman of Ahamefula Development Initiative Ikwuano, ADII, a non-partisan, community based non-governmental organisation urged the PDP to seek redress in the Court over the manner they were denied opportunity to produce the Majority leader position in the ABSHA.


Osoagbaka who pooh-poohed the suggestion that the LP entered a coalition with the YPP and APC to emerge the overall majority,  asked rhetorically, which party now produces the Minority Leader in the House?


"Under normal circumstances, PDP should produce the Majority Leader and they can still seek redress in the Court as nobody has any right to set aside any portion of the Constitution


The former lawmaker who argued that a legitimate situation cannot be factored from an illegitimate foundation further lamented the scenario where the PDP was not even allowed to make nominations during the selection for the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker. 


According to him,  lobbying would have been used by the powers that be to have their way, rather than resorting to strong arm tactics, and creating a monster which would return to haunt them.


Further analysing the development, Osoagbaka blamed what he described as the weak PDP leadership in the State which is yet to wake up to the realisation that it is now an  Opposition party. "Abia PDP needs a change of leadership, it's incompetent and too weak", he proffered. 


Dailyledger.com.ng reports that in the ABSHA comprising 11 PDP members; LP 10, YPP 2 and APC 1 in a  24-member legislature, the LP succeeded in cornering, the Speakership, Deputy Speaker and. Majority Leader. It also produced the Deputy Majority leader, Chief Whip and while yielding the Deputy Chief  Whip to the YPP



While announcing the names of the principal officers of the House, Speaker of the House, Hon Austin  Emeruwa explained that with the understanding reached between the LP, YPP and APC, it was pertinent for the LP to produce the  Principal officers of the House.


Addressing journalists over the issue,  Chief Solomon Akpulonu, (PDP/Obingwa East), said the PDP is the majority party in the Assembly and will not allow the Labour Party which is the minority party in the Assembly to produce the majority leader.


He said; “We raised this issue at the executive session and the Speaker was advised not to touch the positions of the Majority party which is the PDP. Our party had nominated principal officers and sent the names to the speaker. The rules of the House, order 8, subsection 42 , stipulates that the Majority leader will be appointed from amongst the members of the majority party in the House. We agreed that the speaker should read out the nominees of the Majority parry, but it is unfortunate that we came to the plenary, instead of reading the letter from the PDP; he turned  to give the majority positions that belongs to PDP to LP which is the minority party.


"The PDP has 11 members and should produce the Majority leader, Deputy Majority leader, Chief whip and Deputy Chief Whip. The LP should produce the Minority leader, Deputy Minority leader, Minority whip and deputy Minority whip. This goes to show the world of what happened when the House was inaugurated on 1th June when the rules of the House and the Constitution said there should be ranking, but what the LP did was thumb it's nose at the House rules. We will not allow the minority party to take the position of the majority party.” he affirmed