The task of marketing Hon. Emeka Ihedioha to the Imo State electorate is very easy because it is a classic case of the maxim “A good wine needs no bush”. Ihedioha has a powerful and unique selling appeal (USA) or niche which makes him eligible to grab a giant portion of votes in the 2015 governorship poll . In choosing the best candidate for the PDP governorship ticket, I worked with a marking scheme which makes it possible for every aspirant to be given a free and fair chance in the race. Some of the factors used in picking the best candidate include academic qualification, top positions held in the political arena, party loyalty, consistency, financial contribution to the party, integrity and dependability, interpersonal relationship, rule of law, due process and criminal record. Others include constituency and empowerment projects, records of performance and contributions in the legislature. The green-capped legislator has an impressive academic background as an alumnus of the prestigious University of Lagos where he bagged a degree in Food Technology. In the area of party loyalty and dependability, Hon. Ihedioha emerged tops. Since the PDP lost the governorship slot in 2007 election, he’s been one of the few PDP members who have provided much needed funds and logistics to keep the party alive today. Even as we speak, he remains one of the biggest financiers of the party. In the just concluded fund raising of the PDP in Imo State, he was the highest donor with a whopping N22million donation. He must have spent more than this amount in financing the PDP since 2007. In the course of this analysis, a cross section of the PDP members I interviewed was unanimous that Hon. Emeka Ihedioha has been providing financial assistance to bail out the party from financial distress since the last eight years. At a time when some of the governorship aspirants abandoned the party and defected to other political parties in search of greener pasture, the likes of Hon. Ihedioha remained loyal to the PDP. In keeping with the maxim, “a patient dog eats the fattest bone” those who remained loyal to the party in times of distress must be allowed to eat the good of the party. In normal and saner societies, the likes of Emeka Ihedioha who have remained faithful to PDP would simply be given the governorship ticket by acclamation or the right of first choice. It’s only in the PDP that prodigal sons who return to the family after a riotous and profligate living insist that the loyal siblings must bow to them. This contrasts sharply with what happened in the Bible where the prodigal son remained remorseful and penitent. He just asked his father for a roof over his head, provided he would eat the crumbs from the table. The biblical prodigal son was neither proud nor arrogant, he was remorseful , humble and penitent and did not ask for privileges of his seniority in his father’s family. In terms of lawmaking, space wouldn’t suffice to discuss Hon Emeka Ihedioha’s superlative performance, but I will try to scratch the surface. He was first elected to the House of Representatives in 2003 to represent Aboh Mbaise/ Ngor-Okpala Federal Constituency. In spite of the fact that he was not a ranking member, he served as the Chairman, House Committee on Marine Transport (2003-2007) and in 2007, served as Chairman, House Committee on Cooperation and Integration in Africa. He was elected Chief Whip of the House in November 2007 where he served till June 2011. On June 6th, 2011, he was unanimously elected Deputy Speaker by his colleagues in the House of Representatives. That was the first time members of the House of Representatives elected their own principal officers without any external manipulations. It was a paradigm shift from the past when principal officers of the House were appointed. The courage of members of the Green Chamber to elect their principal officers without any external intervention was applauded by right thinking members of the society. It would have been foolhardy or naive for Hon. Ihedioha to reject such a high office which was given to him on a platter of gold. If he had chickened-out, right thinking members of Imo State would have denounced him as a saboteur, a fifth columnist in the family. However, any of us who does not understand what happened then should be given a small lecture so that he can be carried along. His chairmanship of the prestigious House Committee on Marine Transport, even when he was a green horn in the House is traceable to the fact that long before he was elected in 2003, he was already versed in the business of politics and legislative tutelage. He started his political career from the grass roots when he served as media aide to top politicians like Senate President,Dr. Iyorchia Ayu(1992- 1993), late Senate President Dr. Chuba Okadigbo(1999-2000), former vice president, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar (1999-2007) and others. Unlike most politicians who did not start their political careers from little beginnings, Hon. Ihedioha spent over twelve years learning the ropes as lawmaker as aide to top politicians before he was elected into the House of Representatives. After serving twelve years in the Green Chamber and rising to the position of Deputy Speaker and No 6 person in the Order of Protocol in Nigeria, I doubt if there can be a better choice for Imo State governor in the next political dis pensation. Having acquitted himself creditably in the Green Chamber, the next place for him to go is the Red Chamber which is composed of the Presidency, the Senate and the Governorship. But he desires to start from the governorship race in his journey to the Red Chamber. After all, it’s often said that the reward for good work is more work. A good study of Emeka Ihedioha’s political career reveals that he is a man that has a date with history in the political ambience in Nigeria. Hon Emeka Ihedioha’s feat in the area of constituency projects is commendable. Unfortunately, some of his constituents in Aboh Mbaise/ Ngor- Okpala Federal Constituency are oblivious to what they have in Hon Ihedioha. I come from a senatorial zone where a particular senator served for over 12 years, but, today, there is no modicum of constituency project (not even a one-room project) that stands as a testimony to his stewardship. This contrasts sharply with Hon Ihedioha’s whose constituency projects are observable. He has severally explained that constituency projects of National Assembly (NASS) members are federal projects attracted by legislators but funded by the federal government; they are not funded with the indi vidual legislator’s money. A person with such a strong background in political engineering should have a head start in the titanic battle for Imo State governorship in 2015.arrenged by ofoegbu obumneme chijioke
Posted on: Sun, 06 Jul 2014 01:01:03 +0000
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