Tag: Okadigbo

Senator Margery Chuba-Okadigbo is the Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health. In this interview with Assistant Editor, Onyedi Ojiabor, Margery, wife of flamboyant former Senate President, the late Dr Chuba-Okadigbo, spoke about the exclusion of National Assembly members in the affairs of Anambra State by Governor Peter Obi, the inauguration of the Second Niger Bridge and the need to tighten adoption law in Nigeria. Excerpts

At last the ground-breaking ceremony for the construction of the Second Niger Bridge has been done by President Goodluck Jonathan. How do you feel as the senator representing Anambra North Senatorial District, the location of the bridge?

I feel very excited, very fulfilled. I’m fulfilled in the sense that the construction of the bridge comes at a time when I represent Anambra North. My tenure as a senator has been a destiny call. We have also witnessed the election of Chief Willy Obiano from Anambra North as the first person to be so elected from my Senatorial District of Anambra North after so many years of Anambra State’s existence.

The case of the Second Niger Bridge, without gain saying, is going to open up covers in the area. It is going to release the pressure on the existing Niger Bridge which every day becomes worrisome because one doesn’t know the effect of the massive pressure on the bridge and how long all those weights can be carried on the bridge.

So, the construction of the Second Niger Bridge is a very welcome development. In times past, I had said that the Second Niger Bridge has become some kind of a political slogan. Today, I say that it is no longer a slogan but a reality. So we’re all grateful about that.

On my part, it is quite good that I sit on the Senate ad-hoc committee on Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P) where the counterpart funding meant for the Second Niger Bridge will be sourced.

At the last budget defence where we had the Ministry of Works defending their budget, the issue of Second Niger Bridge came up because that is where the funding will come from. I am to make sure that this fund, as far as government makes it available, is fully utilised. Sitting on the Senate SURE-P committee also affords me the opportunity to oversee the progress of Second Niger Bridge.

So, I can say that this journey of the Senate for me is a destiny call. Before I started this journey, I asked myself and asked God “what exactly is my mission?” But with every passing day I begin to see that there is a mission for me, a destiny call, maybe a call that my late husband could not fulfil because death took him away and then it fell on me to be on the same position to make this milestone in the history of Anambra North Senatorial district. I give God the glory for making me that point of contact for all these major things that happened in the senatorial zone.

This is not the first time Nigerians hear about ground-breaking for the Second Niger Bridge. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo did some ground-breaking for the bridge when he was in office. What is the guarantee that the situation will be different this time around?

I, for one, I’m privy to the fact that the funds are available in terms of the counterpart funding. Government will provide for the private public partnership arrangement for the project. Julius Berger we know is not the sit-around kind of company. So, they have the other side of the arrangement to complete. When we had the SURE-P meeting with the Minister of Works, we were informed that they have started moving materials and equipment to the site and actually that is what they have been waiting to do. Mr. President himself did say when a delegation from Anambra went to say thank you and also raised the issue of the Second Niger Bridge, Mr President said he wanted a situation where he would do the ground breaking and there would be no stop. I don’t see any reason why there should be a stop if all the enabling are on the ground. So I believe that this will not be a lip service where we talk about ground breaking and before you know it the ground is already rejuvenating. I believe the project is for real this time around.

As the Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, how did the interface to ensure the passage of the National Health Bill go?

It was quite immense. Apart from long hours of writing, meetings and the retreat we had, we didn’t do it alone. We needed to have input from the ministry itself, the Minister of Health, the various groups in the ministry, we had a public hearing so that we could have input from Nigerians because the Health Bill is for all. So, it took long hours. It was a good team in the sense that in our committee we have doctors who have personal experience from working in the private and working in government hospitals and health-related agencies. For me, it was equally interesting because with my own background of law I was able to give some framework to the bill itself. So, it was a team work that turned out very well.

How will the bill, if signed into law, impact on the lives of Nigerians?

It is going to impact on the lives of Nigerians. I must bring to your attention the fact that in the constitution as we have it today, there is no schedule on health. It is unbelievable, but that is the way it is, it is not in the Exclusive, it is not in the Concurrent List. There is nothing on health in our constitution, there is a major amendment that we need to do in the constitution. In the constitution you talk about aviation, you talk about every other thing but there is nothing on health. The National Health Bill took care of many things and I think you could probably ask me why in the previous assemblies we have not been able to pass the health bill. I think the fundamental would be the source of the funding; where are we going to get funding from? That was a thorny issue in the past assembly. With this current one, we were able to get around that by saying that one percent of the Consolidated Fund will be applied to health issues.

We also talked about regulation because quite a lot of health practices are not regulated because there is really no law for them. But now we’re going to be able to regulate so that the health practitioner or the health outfit or establishment is regulated. So that you as a Nigerian, if there is an issue you want to talk about, you have a guideline.

You have sponsored a couple of bills in the senate, what are the stages of the bills?

I have since found out that in the senate, the important thing is to go as far as having a second reading of your bill. There are 109 senators and everybody has more than a bill. When you put in your bill, it is easy to get it done on the first reading. The second reading takes time, time because there are other issues that come up on the order paper for the day. So you may find that your bill is published on the order paper, something of national importance comes up and your bill drops and we have to address the issue of the day. So when you consider that that goes on and on, it takes a little bit longer. For me, I have three main bills in the kitty right now. The first one on the Kidney Dialysis Centre, I deliberately stepped down on that because I wanted the National Health Bill to scale through first. This is because the health bill will be the stepping stone and give the guideline to prepare the framework on which I can go forward on the bill on the Kidney Dialysis Centre. The whole idea of the Kidney Dialysis Centre is to at least have a standard dialysis centre one in each state. That is the very least the government can do, a standard dialysis centre in every zone of the country with the hope that it will grow. That state governments will even find it necessary to fund such centres. We hear on radio and see on the television Nigerian citizens pleading for assistance in getting kidney transfer. They are travelling abroad and then we have had Nigerians, be it in sports, in your own profession, journalism, we have people who have passed on while waiting for kidney transfer. From what I understand, this is what is easy to pick up at the early stage.

The second bill is on the Child Rights Act. The Child Rights Act comes in different sections but the section I’m zeroing on is the section on adoption. We have the Anti Gay Right Act. The Child Rights Act I’m seeking to amend the section on adoption to clearly state that it takes a man and a woman to adopt a child. That we as Nigerians do not want any interference from out of our shores on the pretence of coming to adopt only for the child probably to end up in a home that is against our culture. So, my bill is seeking to tighten those areas that will allow for such. Because, for me, if you forfeit your right of reproduction because you want to be in a union of your own choice as an adult and I think that child should be allowed to grow up in a normal environment.

As the nation awaits the ruling of the Supreme Court on the rightful occupant of Anambra North Senatorial seat, Assistant Editor, Dare Odufowokan, recalls the intrigues that have trailed the election.

 

The Supreme Court has fixed May 31, 2013, for its judgment in an appeal filed by Alphonsus Igbeke, seeking to reclaim the Anambra North Senatorial seat from Margery Okadigbo.

With that announcement, the apex court has given an indication that the legal tussle over the Anambra North senatorial seat, which started even before a winner was declared by the Independent National Electoral Committee (INEC) in May 2011, may soon be over.

Although Mrs. Margery Okadigbo currently occupies the position, political observers argue that the lingering legal tussle has robbed the people of the district of good representation.

The court fixed the date after both parties had adopted their briefs of arguments in the appeal, in which Igbeke is seeking to set-aside the verdict of the Court of Appeal, which unseated him and declared Lady Okadigbo as the rightful occupant of the seat.

The Appeal Court had declared Okadigbo the lawful nominee of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)’s primaries held on January 8, 2011. Consequently, Igbeke approached the Supreme Court, seeking some reprieve.

The legal tussle didn’t start with the Appeal Court judgement, rather it started in 2011, when Igbeke contested and was declared winner of the PDP senatorial primaries for Anambra North district.

However, his victory in the primary was challenged in court by two other contestants; Prince John Emeka and Mrs. Margery Okadigbo. In spite of several efforts by the PDP in Anambra State to resolve the matter amicably, the battle raged on in court until reprieve came the way of Igbeke through a Federal High Court judgement on March 17, 2011.

Justice Kafarati of the Federal High Court confirmed Igbeke the authentic candidate of PDP for the election, having won the highest number of votes. With this judgment, Igbeke contested the senatorial election, won and was issued a Certificate of Return by the INEC as the PDP senator-elect for Anambra North zone.

But Igbeke’s return to the Senate was once again stalled as the Senate leadership said it was in receipt of a letter from INEC saying that Igbeke was issued Certificate of Return without consideration of a notice of appeal and stay of execution.

This was the situation until Friday, 16th December 2011, when the matter became more complicated with the Court of Appeal in Abuja and Enugu divisions reportedly delivering conflicting judgments on the matter.

The Abuja division of the court declared Lady Margery Okadigbo as the authentic candidate, while the Enugu division dismissed her appeal seeking to be declared as the party’s candidate for the April election into the Senate.

While a three-man panel, headed by Justice Samuel Oseji, alongside Justices Amina Augie and Abdu Aboki of the Enugu division of the court, dismissed the case brought by Okadigbo, the Abuja division of the court, headed by Justice M. U Mukhtar, held that Okadigbo was the candidate of the party.

The court’s judgments emanated from appeals against the judgment of a Federal High Court which declared Senator Alphonsus Igbeke as the winner of the election into the senatorial district.

Okadigbo and another claimant, Prince John Emeka, had challenged the high court judgment at the Court of Appeal in Abuja and Enugu respectively. It was in the midst of this judicial confusion that all the claimants, Igbeke inclusive, approached the Supreme Court for reprieves.

In July 2012, the Supreme Court declared Okadigbo, who is the wife of the former senate president, the late Chuba Okadigbo, the duly nominated candidate of the PDP and the winner of the April 16, 2011 senatorial election for Anambra North zone. Consequently, on July 16, 2012 she was sworn in as the senator representing Anambra North senatorial district.

But her stay in the upper chamber is far from being a peaceful one as she continued to be faced with legal obstacles. While Igbeke unrelentingly filed an appeal against her election at the Supreme Court, allegation of forgery was soon brought against Okadigbo.

Accused of forging the documents with which she convinced the court to declare her as the senator-elect, Okadigbo was invited by the police and dragged to court by a coalition of human rights organisations. Thus began fresh rounds of legal tussle over the same Anambra north senatorial seat.

And nearly two years into the life of the current senate, the matter of who is the rightful occupant of the senate seat in Anambra north remains unresolved. This explains why many people are interested in what the Supreme Court will be saying on May 31, 2013.

While adopting their brief of argument in the appeal, Igbeke’s counsel, Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), prayed the five-man panel of the apex court to hold that his client is the valid candidate of the PDP in the said primary election.

However, Senator Okadigbo’s lawyer, Yusuf Ali (SAN), opposed the appeal as he contended that the apex court lacked jurisdiction to entertain it, as it is not a trial court, therefore it cannot admit fresh exhibits from the appellant.

He further argued that the apex court lacked jurisdiction in the matter because, according to the learned counsel, it would amount to the apex court reversing itself if it gave verdict contrary to its earlier judgment of July 6, 2012, where in Prince John Emeka Vs Lady Margery Okadigbo & Ors, the apex court declared Okadigbo as the proper candidate and senator-elect for the Anambra North Senatorial election of April 16, 2011.

But Olanipekun says in the face of existing circumstances, it is doubtful if Ali’s arguement can suffice to preclude Igbeke’s appeal. He argues that the argument is standing on broken legs and as such, will not survive for long.

“It must be pointed out that the matter before the apex court for judgment on July, 6, 2012 was between John Emeka and Margery Okadigbo and interestingly, Igbeke was not a party in the matter.

As a matter of fact, before the judgment of July 6, 2012, Igbeke had competently filed his own appeal against the judgment of the Court of Appeal, which declared Okadigbo winner of the PDP primaries of January 8, 2011.

It becomes necessary to recall here that Igbeke’s appeal came up at the apex court on July 5, 2012, a day before the said judgment was delivered,” Igbeke’s counsels submitted.

With Igbeke still asking the apex court to declare him winner of the election in the senatorial zone because he contested and won it as acknowledged by the Chairman of the Electoral Panel of the NWC in the person of Senator Waku on January 5, 2011, the pronouncement of the Court on May 31, 2013 will either make or mar Senator Okadigbo’s sojourn at the National Assembly.