Perhaps it was meant to be a dramatic way to take a break and go on a four-week recess. But last Monday’s sitting proved to be the most rowdy session in the life of the Rivers State House of Assembly, since the advent of the Fourth Republic in 1999. For a certainty, it had never happened under Chief Rotimi Amaechi who incidentally has been speaker since 1999.
It was such that the House had passed a resolution to reaffirm its loyalty to government and people of Rivers State on Friday. Friday was also significant for the fact that the State Assembly suspended the acting chairman of Opobo/Nkoro local government, Mr. Adolphus Orutienimigha and approved an appropriation law (budget) of N183 billion in place of the N179.4 billion proposed by the Rivers State governor, Dr. Peter Odili.
Hon. Chidi Julius Lloyd (Emohua), who was at the centre of Monday’s rowdy session, in a motion claimed that reports of the incident in the House were a misinterpretation though he apologised to the state.
Lyody, in the motion reinforced by the Tolofari George (Bonny) maintained that it was a legislative matter without any political undertone. In fact to them it underscored the fact that the House was not a rubber stamp Assembly.
They said it was natural for them to seek clarifications about gray areas and between that Monday and Friday, they had gotten satisfactory clarifications to their questions.
The incident, they insisted, was without any intent to embarrass the state government as may have been portrayed and they restated their loyalty to the House.
Hon. Amaechi who did not preside last Monday, commended the lawmakers for their support all this while. Probably they were going on recess on a happy note. But it was not a happy one for the suspended acting chairman of Opobo/Nkoro who had to handover to his council leader, Henry Uranta, pending the period of investigation by a five-man ad hoc committee set up by the House. The chairman was suspended following allegations of corruption by his councillors.
For civil servants and the people of the state, the budget increase must have been a positive development as the hike was to accommodate increases requested by some committee chairmen on some budget subheads and the 15 per cent increase in wages approved by the federal government.
