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By Efa Sunday
TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL- a global civil society organization aimed at putting up a fight against corruption, defined corruption as an abuse of entrusted power for private gain. Corruption erodes trust, weakens democracy, hampers economic development, and further exacerbates inequality, poverty, social division, and environmental crisis. This crisis is exactly what the State House of Assembly, through the ABI Local Government Council is sponsoring.
Recently, I woke up to what I term “political rascality”, “sponsored shenanigans”, absolute abuse of legislative processes, and an “illegal suspension” of the Councillor representing Imabana Ward 1, Hon. Aboli Enang.
Aboli, a dogged politician, highly respected and one who has registered his favored place in the hearts of not only Imabana people but the entire well-meaning ABI sons and daughter, was suspended because he refused to decamp to the All Progressives Congress (APC) from the PDP, as against the not-so-well brandished lies that he violated section 34 subsection 1&2 of the Local Government Law.
Now, before you begin to say I am being biased in my writing, here is what the portion of that section says:
(1) “The legislative council shall sit for a period of not less than 120 days in a year.
(2) “A Council shall vacate a seat if, without just cause, he absents himself from the meetings of the Legislative Council for a period amounting the aggregate to more than one half of the total number of days during which the legislative Council meets in any one year.”
From subsection 1 above, from my findings, it was discovered that for the whole 2021 legislative year, ABI Local Government Council only sat for nine (9) times. Out of the nine sittings held, Hon. Aboli Enang was present for five sittings, absented thrice, and took an excuse for one, and a message was passed across to the Leader of the House, Hon. Iteh John.
Again, Sub 2 from the above, the house is supposed to sit at least 2-3 times a week to complete the 120 times in a year. It, therefore, means the house and its leaders, i.e the speaker, deputy speaker, and the house leader should be questioned, and if possible queried. Constituents should also take note, and begin a recall process if possible to pull out those people who lack leadership capacity but are only interested in dancing to money and food on the table tunes.
From the number of times, the house sat, Hon. Aboli sat for an average of 55.6 percent, which is more than half. Therefore, on what basis was he suspended? Is it because he refused to decamp to APC? Or because the other 8 Councillors are too ashamed to see the conquering face of Hon. Aboli, who refused to betray his people over a morsel of food as they all did?
On behalf of the good people of Imabana 1, we are making this clear to you all, that we and Hon. Aboli Enang see the suspension as a wasted effort and an attempt to intimidate us, and we are neither ruffled nor shaken at all. You all will have to try harder to get to us.
We sent Hon. Aboli on this Councillorship mission, because we know He can deliver and that He has been doing, and at no time have we communicated to the council that we want him recalled. Therefore, any more spiteful move on the person of Hon. Aboli is a call to an all-out war from the good and peace-loving people of Igbo Imabana Ward 1.
We, therefore, call on the Speaker of the Cross River State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Eteng Jones William and the Executive Governor of our dear State, Senator Prof. Ben Ayade to look into this brewing trouble, before it goes out of hand. For now, Hon. Aboli will keep attending sittings because to us in Imabana 1, we have not yet replaced or removed him.
Long Live Imabana Ward 1!
Long Live ABI LGA!
Long Live Cross River State!
Long Live Nigeria!
EFA SUNDAY IS A JOURNALIST, A SOCIAL AFFAIRS ANALYST AND SHE WRITES IN FROM CALABAR
