7th Abia State House of Assembly: An Assembly of Several Firsts – Jude Ndukwe

• First State House of Assembly in the entire federation to pass the Diaspora Commission Law
• First State House of Assembly in the entire federation to complete the 5th Alteration of the 1999 Constitution leading to full financial and administrative autonomy for:

i. State Legislature
ii. Judiciary
iii. Local Government

The 7th Abia State House of Assembly ably led by Rt Hon Chinedum Enyinnaya Orji is and will remain committed throughout its lifespan to the deepening of democracy through the sustenance and strengthening of the principle of Separation of Powers and other principles which guarantee the independence of the three arms and the different tiers of government in the nation. This takes not only Abia State but other states as well closer to political sophistication and the desired advancement in governance as far as other state Assemblies toe the line of their Abia counterparts and do their own part expeditiously.

In achieving this feat, Rt Hon Chinedum Enyinnaya Orji and his colleagues at the Abia State House of Assembly have demonstrated enormous courage to do the right thing and goodwill to the cause of the people as this will halt the undue interference of one arm/tier of government in the functions of the other as it often happens in other parts of the country. What the Assembly has done proactively is to respond plexpeditiously to the yearnings of the people in safeguarding these institutions from such interferences that have become notorious as a cog in the wheel of the nation’s democratic practice.

More instructive is the fact that completion of the 5th Alteration of the 1999 Constitution by the Abia State House of Assembly is part of the fulfilment of the long-term desire and clamour of Nigerians for a constitution that guarantees the practice of true federalism both at the federal and state levels. To become the first State House of Assembly to do this in the entire federation, and without any pressure of any kind, is an incontestable indicator of the Lawmakers’ willingness to continue to ensure the responsible and responsive deployment of legislative instruments for good governance. They have therefore fulfilled their own part in the long but heartwarming process of giving Nigerians a truly people’s Constitution since the 5th Alteration of the Constitution as passed by the National Assembly in March requires the concurrence of, at least, two third of the 36 State Houses of Assembly to take effect nationwide after receiving Presidential assent.

While Abians have continued to hail the Rt Hon Chinedum Orji-led Assembly for their people-oriented approach to legislation, they have also expressed confidence that the Lawmakers will not rest on their laurels.