Chime’s handlers haven’t learnt from Yar’Adua — Opposition

Nigerian Political Parties, Mr. Osita
Okechukwu, speaks on the absence of the
Enugu State Governor, Sullivan Chime from
the state and its implications
Enugu State Governor, Sullivan Chime, has
been away for over four months, what’s
your take on this?
Let me start by saying that my sympathy
goes to Governor Chime because as human
beings we are all prone to be sick at one
point or the other. Just as we are born one
day, we shall all die one day. But one has
never believed the lies being dished out by
his supporters. In a country where power is
do-or-die, no one can imagine that
someone will deliberately embark on an
accumulated leave for months in this clime.
But the government has maintained that
the governor is on accumulated leave,
therefore anything to the contrary is the
figment of the imagination of the
detractors.
For some of us who have no foresight, we
normally rely on hindsight and in this
instance, one would have thought that the
governor’s handlers could have drawn
lessons from the late president Umaru
Yar’Adua’s experience.
What do you mean by the late president
Yar’Adua’s experience?
What I’m saying is that the controversy
generated by the late Yar’Adua sickness in
his last days could have been avoided if
lessons were drawn from it. Which means
that immediately the doctors recommended
Governor Chime for medical treatment
abroad, a public announcement could have
been made notifying the people of the state
that their beloved governor. This could
have saved the regime all the speculation
over whether he handed over or not. It still
baffles one that a lawyer of Chime’s
standing failed to avail himself of Section
190 of the 1999 Constitution.
It seems you are one of those who still
doubt the veracity of government’s position
that the Deputy Governor, Sunday
Onyebuchi, was handed over to and is truly
an acting governor?
Yes, I am one of those who doubt the
veracity of the statement. I challenge the
Enugu State government to publish the
written declaration from Governor Chime to
the Speaker of the House. And I’m not
aware that the House of Assembly has
passed a resolution mandating Onyebuchi
to act. And if he has been handed over to,
why can’t he perform the statutory
functions of an acting governor?
But he has presented the 2013 budget and
has been attending meetings in Abuja?
Has he been sworn in?
But Onyebuchi has been performing the
role of governor?
The governor is a father-figure and symbol
of the state, a governor determines the fate
of a man condemned by the court.
What do you mean by that?
I mean that Onyebuchi must first, by a
resolution of the House, be mandated to
act and consequently be sworn in as
stipulated in the 1999 Constitution of the
Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended,
before he can sign the scroll to confirm the
execution or save the life of a man
condemned to death by the court of law in
the state, for whatever offence. Has Deputy
Governor Onyebuchi carried out routine
functions like allocation of land or award of
new contracts? One doubts even if he has
conducted state executive council meetings.
What is the CNPP’s interest on Chime’s
absence from the state?
CNPP has no particular interest in the
matter, except that in the absence of an
independent parliament, CNPP steps in to
plot the democratic route. Therefore ours
is to join the league of patriots who want to
save our democracy by referring the
rubber-stamp House to the relevant
sections of the constitution, which the
members of the state House of Assembly
swore to protect and defend.
If the agitation of CNNP is genuine, why is
it that its national secretary, Willy Ezeugwu,
who is a member of the Save Enugu Group
is now more identified with the group than
he was with the CNPP?
Ezeugwu has every right under democracy
to join any group of his choice. CNPP did
not go into the arena for any pecuniary
interest. All we are saying is that since the
intendment of the constitution is to avoid
vacuum, we insist that as long as the House
has not mandated the deputy governor to
act by a resolution, and the Chief Judge of
the state has not sworn in Deputy Governor
Onyebuchi as acting Governor, he is not
acting. That’s the truth of the matter. He
has not signed the dotted lines of the
Enugu State Register.
Why do you think the deputy governor has
not been sworn in?
I’m neither a soothsayer nor a marabout.
However, I can say that nobody has shown
us the copy of the so called hand-over note
from Governor Chime to start with or the
mandatory resolution of the House. This is
the first hurdle in spite of all the state
government’s propaganda.
One might be tempted to say that you are
speaking as one who is in opposition, in
this instance as the governorship candidate
of the opposition – Congress for
Progressive Change in 2011 in Enugu State.
Far from it, recall that I didn’t go to the
Election Petition Tribunal to contest the
governorship result. I reasoned that one of
the primary functions of elections is to test
or assess the performance of an incumbent
and if that is the case, it means that the
Enugu State electorate is happy with his
performance. All I warned the good people
of the state of was that it will be difficult
for Chime to maintain the momentum he
had in the first term. For most people
reach their peak in terms of project
execution in the first term. Don’t forget
that without being immodest, I have not
embarked on baseless accusation of even
my even foes, let alone Chime who comes
from the same clan with me. All we are
saying is that his handlers failed to harvest
the salient sections of the constitution for
public good.
What are the relevant sections you are
referring to?
As I said before, one doubts if Governor
Chime ever transmitted a letter to the
House. Whether he did or not, Section 190
(2) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria as amended provides
that, “In the event that the governor is
unable or fails to transmit the written
declaration mentioned in subsection (1) of
this section within 21 days, the House of
Assembly shall, by a resolution made by a
simple majority of vote of the House,
mandate the deputy governor as acting
governor, until the governor transmits a
letter to the speaker that he is now
available to resume his functions as
governor.” Has the simple provision of the
constitution been adhered to?
Our position is that the constitution has
made the controversy over Chime’s
predicament avoidable, except for the
ineptitude and greed of his handlers.
Otherwise, the intendment of the
constitution is that a governor and his
deputy are the same coin, having come
from the same political party. Therefore,
the observance of the Section 190 could
have been in practice rather than in
breach. This is the practice, you cannot
probate and aprobate.
Would you agree that even in the absence
of Chime, the pace of work in the state has
not slowed down?
One has not carried out any survey to
determine the extent of work done and one
has no knowledge whether any group of
quantity surveyors has done that, so it
remains in the region of speculation, which
is the sordid outcome of a mismanaged
political project.
What if Chime returns this week, what
would be the reaction of the CNPP?
We shall thank God and celebrate with the
people of the state and Nigeria. As I said
earlier, Chime is beloved by our people, it
is only this unnecessary crisis that fouled
the atmosphere.