Cross Road again (2). In the concluding paragraph of of the part one of this essay, I promised to take a look at the qualities that a representative must possess to give good representation to his or her constituents. And also to take a look at the antecedents or pedigree of the two major candidates for the EDHA, our illustrious sons Festus Edughele of APC & Festus Ebea of PDP. Without taking into sincere consideration of the above, any prospective voter is bound to end up with the wrong choice of candidates. However, we also need to firstly, have a first hand knowledge of the constitutional function of a legislator in order to set our expectations right. If I may quote our distinguished Elder statesman & senator Ugbesia, before I commence the business of the day, permit me to make certain clarifications as to the constitutional role of the legislator in order not to be entrapped in the current Web of misconceptions ............ According to him, the constitutionally defined roles of the legislator include: 1. To make laws for the promotion of good governance in the country (state) 2. To exercise the power of appropriation during budgeting & 3. To carry out oversight functions. This clarification is very necessary for folks to know what to expect from the candidates vying for the various legislative houses. They need to understand & differentiate executive powers from those of the legislative. The power to award & execute contracts rest on the executive. However, during budgeting & appropriation, the influence & ability of a legislator to trade horses, come to play. Therefore, a vibrant influential legislature can easily influence the insertion of projects or dividends of democracy into budget during appropriation. Sometimes, most legislators who are not vibrant, but count on loyalty to the Governor to get things done, often go back to their constituency almost empty handed. On the other hand, vibrant & vociferous representative, even as opposition party members, often get more from the executive or Governor, better than the humble party loyalist legislators. Back then in the second republic when representation was more of peoples interests, if I can remember correctly, Hon Isaac Okonjo an opposition member of the Bendel House of Assembly, the Aniocha cowboy as he was known then because of his dressing style & his overwhelming filibustering rascality, was almost a household name. He fought prof Ambrose Alli to a near halt, over where AAU must be sited; though he couldnt succeed to get the university located at Abraka or Asaba, he was compensated with a polytechnic in his Oguashi-uku home town by the Governor. He was a great political warrior! From the above understanding, we thoroughly need to look at the demeanor, charisma, will & vibrancy of our candidates. Whoever the cap fits must then wear it. This isnt the time for primordial sentiments or misguided overriding party loyalty. The strategic future interest of Ubiaja should be our rallying point. Being armed with the foreknowledge of functions & limitations of a legislator & the ability to navigate safely a balance that can satisfy the constituents, the next stage is to take look at the antecedents of our two sons vying to represent us in the EDHA, who have both tasted the pudding under the Oshiomholes administration. I had initially thought that this part of my desire to make the right voting decision would be an easy one, but the way things are now, Edugheles camp are making things difficult. Am no longer a stranger to Ebeas modest score card, but knows little to nothing about Edugheles. I have tried Google, waited for his campaign team or loyalist supporters, nothing is forthcoming other than praises that are not backed up with any information. If I may ask, is Edugheles camp not trendy? Are they no Internet freaks? Why is Google not revealing much? They should please do the needful. This is Internet age; they should emulate the Henry Agbeso, Sergius Ogun, Ordia & Inegbeniki, etc, online campaign warriors. Once again, am appealing for info on antecedents, pedigree, manifesto & campaign promises. We must move past, Ugbesia did not perform, replace him with anybody; Ebea did not perform, replace him with anybody type of Politics. Only the executive office deserve such gamble, certainly not legislative representation. Its more complicated. Executive arm is usually a team with a retinue of professionals & technocrats that can shape any deficiency, if the will is there. Am desperately willing to give all candidates my fair assessment. Please no delay, help me; time is running out. Until I have more info from Edugheles campaign team or foot soldiers, Ebeas amazing new fighting spirit, ruggedness or doggedness which was lacking in his first tenure, coupled with his experience as Ds, though with inexplicably complicated motivation/s, is beginning to make sense to me. As delicate as the present cross road is, one can only hope & pray that God helps Ubiaja in making the right choice, but the real aces rest on votes from other major players like Ewohimi, Ugboha, etc. That isnt to say that any other vote/s can undermine the power of my one vote. Like I said before, the excitement of having to vote again after three decades, will not just be wished away. Folks, vote wisely. Your single vote hold the keys to the development of Ubiaja. Watch out for who the cap fits, perhaps in the final of this essay. Bha obulu obulu!
Posted on: Sun, 25 Jan 2015 22:36:49 +0000
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