Dr. Ezeh Emmanuel Ezeh, the Chairman of Immaculate Group, a business conglomerate that cut across various states in Nigeria has decried that lack of capacity and performance on members of the National Assembly from Ebonyi State.
Dr. Ezeh, an Oxford trained entrepreneur and the current President of Ebonyi Chamber of Commerce Industry, Mines and Agriculture (EBCCIMA) in a chat with journalists in Abakaliki said that being a member of the National Assembly is an opportunity for quality minds to articulate and support the execution of sustainable and life changing policies and projects for the constituents and shouldn’t be viewed as an avenue to scavenge for wealth.
Ascribing the lackluster performance of members of the National Assembly from Ebonyi State to lack of capacity and ideas, Ezeh who contested to represent the Abakaliki/ Izzi Federal Constituency on the platform of the Labour Party (LP) contends that until people who are prepared are send to the national parliament, the situation may never change.
He said, “Frankly, we are yet to see the quality of representation we can point to and say yes, we have a representative. My election was stolen and handed to a man who may be following an unfortunate tradition of underperformance. Preparations is everything. While I had a robust well thought-out manifestos, some simply rode on the back of the establishment. Historically, when people are not prepared for the position they are forced into, effective representation suffers, they naturally join seat warmers at the hallowed chambers in Abuja. Give it to some, they attend social events in Ebonyi State regularly and for them, as long as they show up in birthdays, weddings and funerals, they have done the job. That to me is no representation. Election has consequences. We may have sacrificed competence, capacity, capability and character on the alter of prebendal politics. This is our reality. Every now and then, our people are lined up like beggars in the name of palliatives. Paliatives is a creation of APC’s failed economic dislocations. In a competitive democracy like ours, we ought to send people who can help the sitting governor”.
Speaking on the plight of Abakaliki people and especially, people affected by the ongoing road infrastructure development in Abakaliki urban, Dr. Ezeh expressed dissatisfaction with the aloofness of the lawmaker representing the constituency in the National Assembly.
According to him, “You cannot stand something on nothing. Granted that development comes with some discomforts, but the people’s representatives owe the people the duty of care. A show of empathy on the economic and social impacts of the Vanco flyer over project is necessary. Did you see any whimper or show of empathy from representatives? One must be prepared for the difficult but interesting work of a legislature.
“What is the one single thing we expect from the man that claims to have won an election? Maybe he has very little ideas on how to proceed. Frankly I will be happy to help him. For starters, can he partner closely with the government to ensure those whose business are affected are helped to restart? In our communities, he can work to eliminate incidence of malaria in the constituency?
“He can pursue legislation to ensure we have 100% child enrollment in school; he can raise legislative action around improved literacy and numeracy, etc.
“In my Constituency, most of our rural dwellers are still drinking from dirty ponds and streams, can he pursue his constituency project to set up community level water and sanitation resources? These lines of thinking require serious intentionality and capacity to network amongst colleagues. They require system thinkers and builders. I have raised the bar of discussion on federal representation and so do not want to be dragged into prebendal issues of over-priced china street lights and untreated water in the name of boreholes. How can we talk about security, jobs and wealth creation in a situation where those who stole our elections appear focused on benefits they can get to themselves. For them, this is their emilokan opportunity.
On the attitude of lawmakers who routinely abandon their official committee and oversight duties in Abuja to accompany the governor while he is performing his own duties, Dr. Ezeh contends that some of the lawmakers are not capable of making meaningful contributions in their committee assignments, hence they hide under the wings of the governor to evade their statutory duties in the National Assembly.
“People can only give what they have. For some, part of their self-chosen assignment is to follow the governor around, attend ceremonies and go back to Abuja on weekly basis. The reality staring us in our faces is that only few of our representatives know their job descriptions, for others, its all about hero-worshipping the governor or anyone they think can sustain their access to power. What exactly do some of them bring to the table in their various committees. A man who knows he has nothing to offer will conscientiously use the governor as a shield. Many know they did not win their elections and so, they have to stick close to the sit of power. Unlike before, the people are watching them keenly,” he submitted.
While answering questions of the gale of defections that saw lawmakers elected on the platform of the LP defect to the ruling party in their states, especially in Enugu and Ebonyi states, dr. Ezeh said that those who defected were opportunists who may have unwittingly dug their own political graves as they have no ideological foundation as politicians. He maintained that the Labour Party was waxing stronger as more Nigerians, especially the youth who are primarily driven by the need to enthrone a decent and functional governance system have continued to flock into the LP to restore the hopes of a better Nigeria.
“Those who moved are the politicians that saw LP as a special purpose vehicle to actualize ambitions. If you look at those moving out of LP in Ebonyi state, you will notice they are perennial movers and some are known leaders of AGIP (any government in power).
“Let’s not forget that what happened in 2023 was a revolution of ideas birthed by the youths of Nigeria. A peoples’ movement called the Obi-dients. These people are young, urbane, middle class, educated, youthful and entrepreneurial but, largely unemployed and frustrated. They are ideologically connected to an ideal world view that many of the political class do not have the competence to understand nor aspire to.
“These young Nigerians have seen comrades die crossing the Atlantic Oceans in search of better opportunities, seen many die in the deserts of Ethiopia. They have seen in their travels, the power of innovation, creativity, entrepreneurship and a future that is Nigeria’s. These are not people ready to jump from party to party. They are the real followers of Mr. Obi. Like Kenya, the bubble may yet burst if we continue to be tone deaf to their legimitate demands for the rebirth of a New Nigeria,” he concluded.
