How I overcame PDP to become Abia Assembly Speaker — Emeruwa

The Speaker, Abia State House of Assembly, Emmanuel Emeruwa, in this interview with SUNDAY NWAKANMA, insists that the Assembly is united, irrespective of party affiliations

Was it an easy task to become the Speaker of the Abia State House of Assembly?

I thank God for the opportunity, even though when I was running, or contesting, I focused on just winning my election. It never came to my mind that I could become the Speaker, but as God would want it, at the end of the day, I was elected the Speaker. First-time member of the House, first-time Speaker. So, it was just a kind of miracle. Since then, I think I have been doing my best to hold the post.

What are the challenges you face, first as a lawmaker, and then as the Speaker?

Every job has its challenges and most particularly any new job. Nobody was born a legislator, every legislator learns on the job. This is because, from the first day you are elected, you start to learn. So, it is also what I am experiencing. I have been going through some coaching, and some seminars to learn how to be a legislator from the Nigerian perspective. I have had the experience as an executive, I have been a local government chairman, but that is different from being a legislator. Even though I worked with the task force, this is entirely a new experience, because you are working with your equals. So, you can’t just control them anyhow, you have to dialogue and reach an agreement on certain issues. You also quarrel with them, even when necessary, and then, at the end of the day, everybody comes together to pass a bill or even to disagree with it.

How have you been you been relating with your colleagues, both from within your party and the opposition?

On a normal note, you wouldn’t know who is who. We relate like friends and brothers, except when we get to the floor we know that we have opposition because they also want to oppose whatever thing we bring to the House. Ordinarily, we eat together, drink together and go out together. You wouldn’t know the difference. Once we come to the House of Assembly, party affiliation goes away, unless for some of them who want to be publicly noticed. Other than that, we are the same.

How has the Speakership shaped your leadership acumen?

One learns every day. I met stiff opposition from day one. This was because the Labour Party was down by one person. The PDP had 11 lawmakers while LP had 10. APC had one and YPP had two. That makes the total number 24. So, it was difficult to manage all these people, especially the PDP group. This was because they were agitating that they should produce the Speaker, having had one number above us. But I quickly built a coalition with the other minority members to agree on certain things. So, I was able to emerge with the support of the other two parties. That gave us an edge. It didn’t go down well with them, so initially, they were opposing everything and walking out until finally, I tried to bring in some tranquility in the House. The excesses of the PDP members were quickly curtailed when one of their members was suspended.

What is the relationship between you and your co-contestants for the Speakership?

We are all one now and they will have to wait for another opportunity, but I’ve not tried to boss anybody since I was favoured or opportune to be the Speaker. If the PDP had won the governorship election, probably, one of the contestants would have been (the Speaker), and I wouldn’t have even tried contesting. But because the Labour Party won and my members saw me as more mature and calmer in doing things, that I have that disposition of looking at things dispassionately before I come to a conclusion, they supported me. I also have had that training as a former chairman of a local council, I tend to understand people’s points of view before acting.

What lessons have you learnt in the last one year as the Speaker of the Abia House of Assembly?

With most of these things that have happened, God has led me to be calm listen to all arguments, and not be quick to respond to issues. If not, probably, I would have lost my job as a Speaker, but so far, so good. Like I said earlier, I tend to control the youthful exuberance because I am a little bit past that stage. So, it has helped me a lot.

How would you describe your relationship with the other arms of government – the executive and the judiciary?

So far, so good. I haven’t had any brush with either the executive or the judiciary. So far, we haven’t had any course to have any litigation or whatever for me to judge the judiciary as being hostile or friendly, but we have a cordial relationship now. My executive is where we always rapport with. In order to get things done, you must have to relate very well with the executive because we are still not independent.  So, we have to relate with the executive very well.

How many laws and motions has the Assembly passed since its inauguration in 2023?

So far, before we had our one-year celebration, we conveniently passed six bills that were signed into law. And since we came back, we have been able to do two more. I am someone who believes that bills are not something you rush into. This is because, you have to weigh the pros and cons, and how it affects the people before you just go ahead and snap it on. I believe that there are enough bills in Abia State and even in the country at large. The problem is implementation. You can be passing bills every day but how can it be implemented?

Which of these bills excite you the most?

We did the Great Aba Development Bill which tends to stem or develop the area which is our own region. It is an important bill because it will enhance the development of Aba area. It expands the metropolis into five local governments: Osisioma, Aba North, Aba South, Ugwunagbo and Obingwa. Before now, it was just Aba North and South and part of Osisioma that was regarded as the metropolis, but now, it is five full local governments and it was passed under my own watch. So, it excites me and by the time these things are implemented, development will now go to the rural areas. People will now move from the town, and some infrastructure will be moved down to those areas that will drive people into those areas. I think that is for me, a big achievement. The other one that people clapped for was the amendment of the pension of former governors and former deputy governors. I think people across the nation hailed it. It was also something I am excited about. It is not that it will take much out of the system, but they don’t need it. Some are also earning elsewhere.

What are the challenges facing the 8th Abia State House of Assembly and how have you been able to confront these challenges?

One of the major challenges we had was just glaring. When this administration took off, the governor made it public that he would want to patronise local content, hence in the choice of vehicles, he chose Innoson to be supplying vehicles to the government: the commissioners, myself, myself, and everybody will have Innoson vehicles. So, he also extended it to the House members because, since we are not independent yet, we still get our vehicles from the executive. We did the budget and presented it to them, but the governor made us to understand that he was going to present us with Innoson vehicles. So, he had a deal with Innoson to produce those vehicles, but for a year now, Innoson has not been able to fulfill his own part of the bargain and most of the time, the House will agitate to do something extraordinary in order to make the government know that they really want their vehicles. But I have tried to persuade them not to make any trouble. We will continue to dialogue and see what will happen. I believe that the governor was not deceiving us, but Innoson had bitten more than he could chew by contracting these new vehicles that has never been produced and the dollar rate has changed with the naira. So, I know that as a businessman, he would still need to make some profit but he had a hitch. That has been where he is running around making all sorts of excuses. But I wouldn’t blame anybody now that causes trouble because of his vehicle. The only way is that I will continue to persuade them not to go that route. I also had to negotiate with the governor to do something to cushion their anger or their agitation.

What would you describe as the major achievements of the House under your leadership in the last one year?

What does a legislature do apart from passing bills? We have been able to pass bills, do up to 40 motions, about 57 resolutions and so far now, we have done seven bills. So, that is just what it is and I know that more will come, more swift and clear than it was because we had only four experienced lawmakers, the rest were first-timers. So, we learnt the art of legislation. I think we are getting smoother now than before.

Are there anything you wished you had done differently in the course of carrying out your duties in the last one year?

So far, I haven’t found any. Maybe I will in the near future, but so far, I am satisfied with what we have done. The only thing is that there is always room for improvement. The only thing I will improve on is the speed at which we handle things in the House. Sometimes, it is not all about the Speaker, but when you are dealing with adults, you also give them their own time to handle things.