10th HoR : Activist galvanises support for Rep Chinda, wants him elected as Minority Leader

24hrs after the House of Representatives successfully conducted its election of Speaker and Deputy Speaker, respectively, a human rights and democracy activist, Comrade Igbini Odafe Emmanuel, has appealed to opposition members of the legislature to look in the direction of Hon. Kinsley Chinda, as their Minority Leader.

He said the antecedents of Chinda,who represents Obio/Akpor Constituency of Rivers State in the House ,put him ahead of all aspirants for the position.

The Warri,Delta State based activist, addressing the media in Abuja, following the election of presiding officers of the National Assembly,tasked members of the House of Representatives in opposition political parties to go for Rep Chinda, who,he noted, would effectively checkmate the executive arm of government.

According to him,as Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee of the House of Representatives in the past,the lawmaker performed the duty of investigating and checking corruption in the executive arm of government effectively to the delight of Nigerians and the outside world

Emmanuel,who is also the National President of Vanguard for Transparent Leadership and Democracy,VATLAD, a human rights, good governance and environmental campaign NGO based in the Niger Delta, insisted that while holding sway as Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Public Account,Chinda “carried out serious revolution in the way and manner that critical committee carries out its investigation and checks on the executive arm of government.”

“It’s also in record that Chinda as PAC chairman broke all barriers as he a made the committee e-compliant, the first ever in the history of National Assembly and by extension in Nigeria.

Another feat he achieved, he said,was the constitution or introduction of technology into the way and manners that audit queries are carried out.”

He said:”Few hours ago,Nigeria scaled a major political hurdle in the constitution of the 10th National Assembly by way of electing presiding officers.

“Nigeria now has a new President and Deputy President of the Senate as well as new Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives. But permit me to remind Nigerians that there is still much more to be done.

“Recall that the constitutional duty of conceiving the National Assembly vis-a-vis the legislative arm of government is to act as check and balance to the executive arm of government. And by virtue of sections 88 and 89 of the Nigerian Constitution (As amended), it is the responsibility of the legislative arm of government to investigate,expose corruption in the executive arm of government.

“In democracy all over the world, presiding officers,being members of the ruling council often find it difficult to effectively play this role. Except we want to think that miracle happens, there is no way the present presiding officers will carry out that duty effectively to expose whatever corruption that may exist in the executive arm of government because of the simple fact that they belong to the same political party. And then where lies the hope for sections 88 and 89 of the Nigerian Constitution to be realized? This is where the position of Minority Leader of both arms of the National Assembly comes to mine.

“The Minority Leaders,being the opposition in the National Assembly are effectively to ensure that this check and balance in the executive arm of government is achieved.

“We have scaled, like I said earlier,the hurdle of having presiding officers. What is remaining is the Minority Leader and that is my major concern. I am concerned about who emerges as Minority Leader and Deputy Minority Leader of the Senate as well as that of the House of Representatives. I do not know those aspiring in the Senate but without fear or favour,I also do know, clearly know one of those aspiring to be the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives in the 10th National Assembly. I am talking about no other person but somebody that I have known very closely for many years,in his days as a student union leader,his activism before he came to the National Assembly in 2011. I’m talking about Hon. Kingsley Chinda.

“Recall that this gentleman was the chairman of Public Account Committee of the House of Representatives in the 8th House of Representatives. While he was there,it was clear to everybody and his colleagues in the House of Representatives and the Senate that it was no longer going to be business as usual. He wasted no time in carrying out serious revolution in the way and manner that critical committee carries out its investigations and checks on the executive arm of government and that led him to the constitution or introduction of technology into the way and manners that audit queries are carried out.. In fact,it was so appreciated and it’s on record that that made Nigerian National Assembly the only parliamentary house in the sub-Saharan Africa to carry out such progressive innovation in the work of that commitment-Public Accounts Committee.

“We hope and we are not quite sure that after his exit in 2015,successive members of that committee followed through. With such a person with such transparent disposition in carrying out conventional duty,I have no doubt whatsoever in my mine that given this opportunity at this critical time to lead the minority of the House of Representatives,our desire for a renewed Nigeria and a renewed hope will be achieved.

In summary,I,in my personal capacity,not sponsored by anybody,I came in from Warri,Delta State where I base,draw my support for Hon. Kingley Chinda as the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, and appeal to his colleagues in what we call the opposition political parties,to rally round and give him the support to emerge as their Minority Leader in the House of Representatives come few days from now.”