Disquiet in Enugu as Chime and G-15 Lawmakers Feud
The bitter disagreement between Governor Sullivan Chime and the House of Assembly has continued to deteriorate, as the legislators seem determined not to change their decision to impeach the governor. Christopher Isiguzo, in Enugu, writes
This is certainly not the best of times for the outgoing political office holders in Enugu State. With barely two weeks to the May 29 handover date, Governor Sullivan Chime is presently embroiled in a major political disagreement with members of the House of Assembly who only recently took their differences with the executive to another level with a threat to ensure that the governor did not have a peaceful exit from Government House.
Cordiality
In the last eight years the governor had enjoyed a harmonious working relationship with the lawmakers, to the extent that some people in the state even accused the legislators of being an extension of the Lion Building in view of the level of their support for the governor.
Even when their relationship was put to test between September 2012 and February 2013, when the governor was away to United Kingdom on the grounds of ill-health, the House of Assembly refused all pressures from different quarters to impeach the governor. The legislators later also presided over the removal of Mr. Sunday Onyebuchi, the then deputy governor, for alleged gross misconduct, an action that received mixed reactions from a cross-section of the populace.
Strained Relationship
However, all that cordiality gave way to a strained relationship on May 4, when residents of the state woke up to hear stories about moves by the lawmakers to commence impeachment of the governor. Initially, it was taken with a pinch of salt, as they were seen as merely looking for ways to possibly arm twist the governor into ensuring that their severance packages were delivered without delay. But unfolding events seem to confirm that the lawmakers mean business.
Signs of the stormy relationship between Chime and the Assembly began to show by late March, when the lawmakers, in a surprise move, commenced investigation into some of the actions of the governor, particularly, the allocation of reserved government lands to some individuals for erection of private houses within the three-arm zone. The lawmakers strongly condemned the allocations.
They also deliberated on a petition about an alleged contract scam at the Enugu State Universal Basic Education Board (ENSUBEB) and asked the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to probe the activities of the board.
Summon
The Accountant General of the state, Paschal Okorie, was also summoned to explain why the state government refused to release monthly subventions to the Assembly and other ministries since March. After his appearance, he was asked to submit to the Assembly records of funds received and disbursed from January to April this year. The lawmakers also expressed reservation at the purported concession of water supply in the state to a private company, AG Gold Trust. They asked some officials of government, including commissioners, heads of departments and parastatals to appear before them to explain their activities in office. This move clearly did not go down well with the executive.
Fractional Rivalries
On March 4, the state literally went up in flames as the 24-member House of Assembly became a theatre where different forms of drama played out. The Assembly first got divided into two factions of 15 against nine. While the embattled Speaker, Eugene Odoh, led the group of 15 that took up arms against the governor, his deputy and a House of Representatives memberelect, Chime Oji, led the other nine members who stood firmly behind Chime.
The group of 15 lawmakers accused the governor of wrongdoings, saying he should be removed from office, irrespective of the fact that he had barely three weeks to serve out his second term in office. However, the action of the group of 15 was equally countered by the group of nine lawmakers, who not only announced the impeachment of the speaker, Odoh, and sack of the Majority Leader, S.K.E. Ude-Okoye, but also suspended them along with seven other members.
Apart from electing a new speaker, Hon. Chinedu Nwamba, who represents Nsukka East constituency, the group of nine lawmakers also appointed, Hon. Donatus Uzoagbado, who represents Oji-River state constituency, and Hon. Emeka Ogbuabo, the representative of Isiuzo, as the new majority leader and chief whip, respectively.
The nine legislators recalled Hon. Johnbul Nwagu, who was suspended by the Assembly about two weeks ago and reversed the freezing of the accounts of ENSUBEB, which had been frozen by the Assembly two weeks before.
Impeachment Notice
But, in an earlier action, the group of 15 lawmakers, who had a tough time trying to gain entry to the Assembly complex, having been stopped at the gate by a team of policemen, directed the Clerk of the House, Christopher Chukwurah, to serve the governor a notice of impeachment. They accused the governor of forging the 2012 Supplementary Budget to the tune of N12 billion. Other impeachable offences listed against the governor included alleged inflation of the contract sum for the construction of the new state secretariat complex from N13 billion to N21 billion without recourse to the House of Assembly, award of the contract to Arab Contractors Limited even when another contractor had submitted a lower bid, as well as using the police to deny the lawmakers access to the Assembly for their sitting.
The 15 legislators suspended three members, including the deputy speaker, Chime Oji, who was recently elected to represent Enugu North/ South Federal Constituency, Hon. Emeka Ogbuabor, and Deputy House Leader John Ukuta for alleged anti-house activities.
The lawmakers had alleged that the governor was using some legislators to disrupt the activities of the legislature and undermine their interest following their refusal to approve an N11 billion loan requested by the governor.
The G-15 lawmakers who signed the impeachment notice included Hon. Eugene Odo, Sunday Udeokoye, Okechukwu Nwoke, Ikechukwu Ezeugwu, Elochuchukwu Ugwueze, Iloabuchi Aniagu, Nze Michael Onyeze, Anichukwu John Nwankwo, Theresa Egbo, Dame Nkechi Omeje Ogbu, Chika Eneh, who represents Chime’s Udi South, Mathias Ekweremadu Jnr, Paul Okechukwu Ogbe, Anthony Ogidi, and Nelson Uduji.
The group of nine lawmakers comprise Chime Oji, John Ukuta, Chinedu Nwamba, Donatus Uzogbado, Edward Mbosi, Joseph Agbo Ugwumba, Emeka Ogbuabor, Cecilia Ezeilo, and Johnbull Nwagu.
The governor has since denied the allegations contained in the impeachment notice. This is as facts emerged that the lawmakers were yet to serve any impeachment notice on the governor. The governor alleged that the impeachment move was due to his refusal to give in to some financial demands of the lawmakers, which they made a condition for approving his request for N11 billion loan.
Denial
But some legislators are reported to have denied signing any impeachment notice against Chime. The lawmakers, reportedly, made the denial at a peace meeting brokered by the governor-elect, Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi. The meeting was said to have agreed on a two-week ceasefire between the warring factions.
A member of the Assembly, who preferred anonymity for fear of hostilities from his colleagues, said, “During our meeting with the governor-elect, he asked for a copy of the notice of impeachment against the governor and everyone denied having signed any such document.”
Reponse
Chime has dismissed the allegations made against him by the lawmakers “as baseless, barefaced lies and borne out of malice and mischief.” The governor noted that contrary to the claims, which he said was orchestrated by the Speaker, Eugene Odoh, the Assembly had approved the N11 billion loan request by the government last November and conveyed the approval to him in a letter. He said the members started demanding gratification afterwards when the participating bank required further assurances on the mode of repayment as agreed with the government.
Chime said he had promptly turned down the request of the lawmakers, telling them, “As an old lawyer and after eight years as governor without blemish, I could not turn around and engage in an illegality just a few months before the end of my tenure and that was where the problem started.”
He said the government later resolved the issue with the bank and went ahead to access part of the loan while the members of the Assembly were “busy telling people that they had rejected the loan.”
Chime also dismissed as “utterly ridiculous and malicious” the allegation that he had forged a N12 billion supplementary budget in 2012, saying the government merely reallocated funds to specific areas within that year’s budget through the process of virement and “never removed or added a kobo,” as the overall figure remained the same.
He noted that the adjustments were reflected in the 2013 budget, which was passed without opposition by the Assembly, wondering how it amounts to “forging a supplementary budget” and also became an issue in 2015.
The governor also faulted the procedure adopted by the lawmakers in purporting to have commenced an impeachment process against him, saying being only 14, they did not meet the constitutional requirement for initiating an investigation into the actions of a governor, when their overall number is 24.
He, however, stated that the impeachment of Odoh was in order as the number of members that carried it out met the constitutional requirement. The governor disclosed that the Clerk of the House had already forwarded to him a letter conveying the decisions of the members on the removal of Odoh and the emergence of a new speaker.
Twist
But the whole scenario assumed yet another dimension last Monday, when Odoh approached a Federal High Court sitting in Enugu and obtained an order barring the police from further occupation of the House of Assembly Complex. The order subsists pending the determination of a suit brought by the Speaker, Eugene Odo, on behalf of 15 members of the Assembly who are spearheading the impeachment move. The court presided over by Justice D.V. Agishi also restrained the police from curtailing the personal liberty of the speaker. It ordered that policemen should not be seen around the House of Assembly complex except at points determined by the speaker. The court, however, did not bar Nwamba from parading himself as speaker but rather ordered that Odoh and the other 14 members of the Assembly should be allowed to have access to the legislative complex, particularly the chambers. The orders were made in an interim injunction granted in favour of the Speaker who filed a suit before the court on behalf of 15 members of the Assembly. The respondents in the suit are the nine members of the Assembly loyal to Chime and the Nigeria Police. Agishi adjourned the matter to May 19 for further hearing.
With the order in his hands, Odoh has already given an indication that his group would be reconvening the Assembly by Tuesday, exactly two weeks after they met at the behest of the Ugwuanyi.
Lull
For now nothing much has been heard regarding the impeachment notice to the governor, which Chime, however, claims does not exist. Many feel the G-15 lawmakers may not be able to achieve Chime’s impeachment within the few days left for his tenure to expire.