There is a divide between the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-led executive arm, House of Assembly and Labour Party (LP) in Enugu State. This divide manifested on June 13, during the inauguration of the 8th House of Assembly of the state.

Although LP produced a majority of the 24 House of Assembly seats during the 2023 elections, the minority PDP, however, produced the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker.

LP, at the conclusion of the elections, won 14 seats against 10 by the PDP. But LP could not produce the Speaker or Deputy Speaker because there is a subsisting House rule that does not permit fresh members from being elected to such positions.

According to the Standing Orders of the Enugu Assembly, to become Speaker or Deputy Speaker, the candidate must be a ranking member of the Assembly.

“Any member nominated as Speaker or deputy shall be a ranking member who must have successfully completed four year tenure in a state House of Assembly,” the order had said.

It was this order that the Clerk of the House, Dr Emma Udaya, relied on to conduct the elections that produced Uche Ugwu (PDP, Udi North) as Speaker and Ezenta Ezeani (PDP, Igboetiti West) as Deputy Speaker. Other positions are still being awaited.

The suspense and suspicion imported into the 8th Assembly inauguration are signs that lent credence to the divide between the two political parties. Unlike in the past, where inauguration of Assembly members was conducted with minimal security checks; that of Tuesday, June 13 was a different ball game owing to tight security that made many supporters miss the exercise.

Aside from the armoured personnel carriers positioned at the main entrance into the premises of the State Assembly and other security vehicles that were stationed at strategic locations, the main entrance to the compound was heavily manned by security officials who turned supporters back at will.

These officials were also armed with a list of people allegedly to be allowed into the premises, ensuring that only identifiable state officials parked inside the massive compound, while other vehicle owners were asked to sort themselves out anywhere along the road.

Accessing the Assembly building was also an arduous task as another round of security checks was provided at the only entrance. Those who managed to scale the security at that point and climbed the gallery to access the Assembly chamber were made to face additional security checks.

It was the restriction into the Assembly chamber that resulted in the firing of the teargas by a security official that almost disrupted the inauguration proceedings.

Although the Speaker, Ugwu, later apologised profusely to the gathering for the “unprofessional behaviour”, those familiar with previous inaugurations agreed that the tight security was an indication of the different strokes that should be expected as the lawmakers go about their responsibilities. They alleged that the tight security checks were to see through the emergence of a PDP controlled Assembly and put the opposition to check.

Ugwu almost lent credence to this when he said that the state was witnessing “a different kind of Assembly for the first time,” adding, “dialogue rather than confrontation” would always be used to resolve differences.

Udaya, the Clerk of the House, had raised similar sentiment, when he appealed to the law makers to “see themselves as partners in progress,” stressing that the Enugu Assembly had remained “peaceful and is known for peace.”

Indeed, it is no longer a PDP dominated Assembly. Except in 1999, when a member of the defunct APP from Oji River Constituency, Uche Anya, won the election and occupied a seat there, subsequent elections have been won by the PDP; a development that gave the party the latitude to produce principal functionaries at the Assembly.

The surprising upset of the LP during the 2023 general elections, however, put the free reign of the PDP on hold. LP also won two of the three senatorial seats and seven of the eight House of Representative seats and is currently challenging the declaration of Peter Mbah of the PDP as the winner of the governorship election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) at the tribunal.

Of worry for the PDP is how Mbah can effectively discharge his duties with an Assembly that is dominated by an opposition political party desirous to implant their candidate as governor of the state. LP believes that its candidate, Chijioke Edeoga, and not Mbah won the governorship election and as such should produce the government of the state. It is therefore, throwing its all in the tribunal case as well as alive to other issues in the state.

Prior to the inauguration of the 8th Assembly, LP jolted the state when it raised the alarm of a secret plot to undertake the inauguration exercise without her elected members. State Chairman of the party, Casmire Agbo, who confirmed the suspicion, warned of any act that could derail the elected members from carrying out their responsibilities, insisting that the party “will resist it.”

He also ruled out anything that could make the lawmakers produced by the party to compromise their responsibilities, stressing that the desired democracy by the people was in the divergent views that could create a healthy debate for the development and progress of the society.

One of the chieftains of the party, Comrade Ibuchukwu Ezike, amplified the belief of the party when he told The Guardian that it would be incorrect for anyone to assume that it would be business as usual at the Chamber of the State Assembly.

He said: “From the beginning, especially after the emergence of Edeoga as the flag bearer of the party, these honourable members have remained eternally faithful to the party and doing anything within their capacity and to support our party.

“Then, some of them didn’t have strong financial bases. Is it now that they are going to have good, strong economic bases that they can’t support the party? LP members are known for their loyalty and whether they lead the House or not, and whether our party leads the executive arm or not. But it is just a temporary matter because I know that soon we will reclaim our legitimate mandate as expressed by Enugu people on March 18, 2023, from the PDP.

“I was the Director General (DG) of one of the members, Hon. Tobechukwu Williams Amuka, representing Igbo Etiti West Constituency during the electioneering campaigns. I saw how robust and strategic his campaign strategies were. I saw the absolute commitment he demonstrated to the party and still does; same with other members.

They are still very loyal to Edeoga and the party. They see and respect Edeoga as their leader. The LP lawmakers are together. They are united and they take instructions from their leader. What again does anyone need from them other than this? I do not envisage that LP-elected members can ever turn their backs against the party and our objectives. We have come with a message that things should be done differently. We are on a mission and that is to deepen the hold of the party by delivering good governance to our people.

“The celebrations we had on Tuesday, June 13, when they were inaugurated, especially how party members from the wards to the state were carried along, were very strong indications that these men and women cannot disappoint our party. Enugu should expect a robust state Assembly. It should be one that should serve the yearnings of our people,” he added.

A Chieftain of the PDP, Okechukwu Chukwuemeka, however told The Guardian moments after the inauguration that there was nothing to worry in the present composition of the state Assembly. He insisted that as much as the party was hopeful with cases filed by its members that contested in the House of Assembly election, there was absolute confidence in the manifesto of the governor, which he added, touched the nucleus of development of the state.

“Politics is over. I do not think that any member has come here to derail progress or derail his promises to his people while campaigning. The lawmakers are here for good governance. What I expect is robust debates. It is not going to be easy but I am sure that as long as the state government is on the right path, they will give their support. The only area that may face a serious challenge is securing approval for loans but with the right politics, you can get whatever you want to get,” he stated.

Chukwuemeka further stated that Governor Mbah “is not a politician but a businessman who is passionate about the development of Enugu State,” stressing, “as much as he delivers on his promises and run an open and transparent government, he will not have issues and difficulties with the elected members.

One of the things that the governor promised is that every month, he shall publish an account of revenues that accrue to the state and how the money was used. I believe it is a way forward and the lawmakers will also be delighted that he is thinking about their constituents. He stated the governor was winning confidence daily by his approach to governance and was bound to continue.”

To Mbah, however, the opposition LP dominating the State House of Assembly would not impede the goals of his administration since there is a common objective to work for the interest of the state.

He stated in an interview recently: “This is all happening at a time when our people are becoming conscious of good governance and people are getting interested in leadership. I think that was why in the first place, we emerged as the candidate of our party in Enugu State.  We are going to have, in my opinion, massive support from the political class who believe that the current system is no longer able to serve our people optimally.

“Although you will not have 100 per cent, the pushback will not be at a scale that we cannot absorb. I think we would have the support of the majority of the Enugu people who are yearning for change. For the State House of Assembly, it is a question of what are our common objectives. Frankly, our objective is on the growth and development of Enugu.

“We may have sought positions through different platforms but the goal remains the same. To that end, as long as we are pursuing common objectives, I have no doubt in my mind that we would be able to work together.”