Sen. Nworgu Tasks NASS On Edo Assembly Crisis

Chairman of the Sen
ate Committee on Gas, Nkechi Nworgu, has expressed dismay at the on-going crisis rocking the Edo State House of Assembly, which has resulted in the polarisation of the state legislature along party lines.
The lawmakers on both the All Progressive Congress (APC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) platforms, led by Uyi Igbe, the speaker, and his estranged deputy, Festus Ebea, currently make independent laws for the state.
The Edo State governor, Adams Oshiomole, only last week presented his 2015 Appropriation Bill before the Igbe faction of the assembly, which many insist remains the authentic legislative chamber, rather than the faction provided police protection, and allegedly backed by godfathers based in Abuja.
The lawmaker advised the National Assembly not to turn a blind eye to the crisis tearing the Edo Assembly apart, stating that it has grave implications on the nation’s democracy. Her words: “l think the whole development is very unfortunate if what l am hearing about that Assembly is true. I am yet to get the full details of what is really going on there because of my hectic schedule in recent times.
Stakeholders, however, blamed the crisis in the Edo Assembly on the lack of focus by the lawmakers, even as they warned against anything that could truncate the democratic process in the state.
Prof Aloysius Okolie of Department of Political Science, University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), who linked the crises in the Edo Assembly to leadership problems, reminded all that “democracy is a game of number. The faction with the majority of legislators ought to be given access to the legislative chamber.”
Continuing, he said: “I hope Edo and Ebonyi are aware that the whole world is watching the unhealthy developments in their states,” noting that the happenings in Edo and Ebonyi have shown that in Nigeria, the executive arm of government viewed itself as the custodian of the country’s democracy.