Imo State is one state in the country now reputed for Legislative abracadabra. Traced from the dispensation of the maverick Imo Rescue mission Czar the former Governor Owelle Rochas Okorocha ORO to this Hope rising era of the Shared prosperity government,the state legislative arm of the government took on a rubber stamp disposition towards the real businesses of legislation, especially the very fundamental duty of the oversight function with particular reference to the annual state fiscal budget planning.
It will be recalled that the term ‘four years rolling budget’,was the absurd legislative coinnages utilized by the late Benjamin Uwajumogu led Imo State House of Assembly IMHA to legitimize the approval of the whole budget meant for four years for the ORO Executive to administer in just one year .And that legislature jingoism gave that Byzantine Rochanomics philosophy the rare latitude to embark upon a utopian massive physical infrastructure facilities development projects of both buildings block works and roads layout openings across the length and breadth of the state without qualms. That same abaration chiefly accounted for the humongous economic waste uncured by the state and the embarrassing high infrastructure decay witnessed across the state today .It was indeed very catastrophic.
The fiscal planning of Imo State is still bedeviled by the lacardesical vetting process of the weak wobbly Legislature bequeathed by wrong choices of the yet sleeping slumbering Imo electorates. This insinuates that Imo electorates are not guided at all, by past and previous mistakes in voting into power credible representatives to the IMHA . This is curious and rightly so, because, only the right representatives with capacities can muster the necessary courage and acumen needed for such a high premium role of oversight function meant basically to checkmate executive excesses.And there lies the wisdom of the doctrine of the separation of powers as the Taproot of representative democracy .To say the least, you can appreciate that Nigeria is practicing a parody of both federal and demographic systems. A topic for another day, anyway.
Conversely, where this vital legislative instrument is either docile, abused or manipulable by the executive, democracy itself becomes doomed to such paralysis where only the executive calls the shots in almost all the acts governance having lullied the legislature to sleep and slumber.That is exactly where we arrived in Imo State–the bitter price of ineptitude. Our wrong choices are to blame.
Without equivocations, the IMHA are chiefly culpable for the several woes of the state both administratively and economically. For their inefficiencies, the state suffers untold setbacks, and myriads of other embarrasments due to improprieties unchecked.
Unfortunately, the lapses had been consistently capitalized on by the executive to wreck blunders out of power drunkenness ,and executive recklessness. They do everything or anything any how and get away with it. This is the worrisome disconnect. And the bane of our stunted nay nascent democracy in Nigeria generally and Imo State particularly.
A lot of funny things are happening in the country nowadays because of the weakness and subordinated legislative instruments at both federal and state levels. At the national level, the Presidency gets away with the negation of some perculiar conventions like the Federal character concept and tenets of the rule of laws, because of the weakness of the National Assembly NASS . The same anormies play out at the States in most cases. And that’s why the democracy retrogressed profoundly from its nascent stages to the stunt stage of the moment. We are not making any progress at all. Put me right,if I am wrong.
The promised change, eventually took place, albeit negatively and retrogressively. For this reason and subtle others many anti-people legislations were made possible. It is at its worst in Imo State where the legislature has nearly diminished in value , and stooped low to such a manipulable aspect of government to mere offshoot of the executive. They are now down played as mere salaried employees . Sadly enough, the present IMHA is almost vitiated and hacked to the pitiable Ievel of crumbs eaters, almost in near utter disarray and often beggarly, beckoning with plates in hands at the Imo State government house Owerri for daily pittance.
They are almost wrecked with gossips and internal bickering which ended in distortion of routine activities and inordinate litigations and protracted imbroglio .In fact,many of them are as disenchanted, traumatized and confused as the watching Imo public over their fates today and tomorrow. Even as this essay is in the progress, one wonders what next for the IMHA members generally, both those under the contentious suspension and unscoutted ones. The permanent structure hosting the IMHA remains in wreckages, whereas the general administration is a pitiable debility. Which way the Imo State legislative arm of government and the annual fiscal planning?