The trio of the Speaker of the
State’s House of Assembly, the Accountant General and the Chief of Staff to
Chime are heading for a collision course over authentic information on the
state of health of the governor.
Sunday Independent gathered that trouble started brewing shortly after the Acting
Governor, Sunday Onyebuchi, presented the state’s 2013 budget proposal to the
House of Assembly on Friday.
Worried about the prolonged absence
of the governor, especially his inability to present the budget himself, the
Speaker Eugene Odo, called his Chief of Staff, Mrs. Ifeoma Nwobodo and demanded
that he should be allowed to speak with her boss on phone. Mrs. Nwobodo who
many people see as the “de facto” governor, reportedly turned down the request
and banged her phone on the Speaker.
Undaunted by the action of the Chief
of Staff, the Speaker contacted the Accountant General, Mrs. Eunice Ugwu and
instructed her to release money so that he could lead a delegation to go and
see the governor. The Accountant General bluntly told the Speaker that she was
not under any obligation to take instructions from him.
Although the Speaker was said to be
shielding the House of Assembly from discussing the governor’s absence before
now, he became apprehensive about the entire saga after the Acting Governor
presented the budget to the House.
An attempt by the Speaker to summon
a meeting of leaders of thought in the state at the House of Assembly complex
to discuss the latest development in the state was also reportedly scuttled by
the Chief of Staff.
When our correspondent visited the
complex around 10a.m., the scheduled time for the meeting, the entrance
gate was under lock and key.
Efforts by this newspaper to Speak
with the Speaker yielded no fruits at press time.
Our investigations revealed that the
governor had transmitted a letter to the Speaker that he was travelling out of
the country for vacation, but did not state the duration of his vacation, which
would cover his accumulated leave for five years.
One of our sources fingered the
Chief of Staff as being the “mastermind” of propaganda that the governor would
return to the country early in December, which eventually turned out to be a
hoax.
Governor Chime was rumoured dead
last weekend, but the state government debunked the rumour that was widely
circulated on internet, especially on Facebook.
The Enugu governor had duly handed
over power to his deputy, Sunday Onyebuchi as Acting Governor before leaving
the country for United States on September 19 for an accumulated vacation,
which according to some of his aides, would last for six seeks.
Since then, nobody has set eyes on
the governor while the state government has not been forthcoming with any
explanation on his whereabouts.
Even as the entire state remains in
the dark about Chime’s whereabouts, rumours about his alleged illness continue
to cause anxiety in the state, although state government officials have
consistently allayed fears about his health.
Unofficial sources however told Sunday
Independent at the weekend that the governor was
under intensive care in an Indian Hospital, receiving treatment for an ailment
associated with the kidney.
Last week, Patriotic Alliance of
Nigeria (PAN), an alliance of some political parties and Civil Society
Organisations warned that if by December 31, Governor Chime was unable to
return to the country, it would be left with no option than to forward a letter
to the State Executive Council to take necessary steps towards his removal. The
group described the situation in Enugu as “very untidy” and “unfortunate”.
Chairman of PAN, Maxi Okwu who is an
indigene of Enugu State, said the governor’s media team and political advisers
share the blame for the dilemma in the state and mismanagement of the entire
situation.
“Hugo Chafez has been sick and
before he left for Cuba for treatment, he announced his sickness to
Venezuelans. Why would people of Enugu suffer anxiety because the Governor’s
aides are hiding his sickness if he is sick. The situation is having adverse
effects on governance.
“We, the people of Enugu, do
not have any information. I will say that 90 days is too long for a Chief
Executive to disappear. It is bothering on the inability of a Chief
Executive to discharge his functions. Section 189 of the constitution tells the
State Executive Council what to do in such a situation.”
Source: Daily Independent
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