Drama as Abia Assembly refuses to screen 3 commissioner nominees over incomplete credentials

A dramatic turn of events occurred during the Abia State House of Assembly plenary session yesterday, when three out of six commissioner nominees presented by Governor Alex Otti appeared without some of the required credentials.

This issue was highlighted by Erondu Uchenna Erondu Jr., the representative of the Obingwa-West state constituency, who criticized the nominees for arriving at the screening without complete documentation.

In his words: “Going through their documents here with us, there is no single paper, including First School Leaving Certificate (FSLC), West African Secondary School Certificate (WASSC), tax clearance certificate, birth certificate or age declaration, among others, to back up their claims in their Curriculum Vitae.”

He urged the House to critically look into the anomaly to forestall further recurrences.

Reacting, the Speaker, Emmanuel Emeruwa, said that one of the commissioner nominees was not present at the screening because he was coming from afar and affirmed that others would be confirmed after they presented their credentials to the House at the next plenary.

Out of the six commissioner nominees sent to the Abia State House of Assembly for screening and confirmation by the state governor, only two, Ubochi Goodluck Chinedu and Ogbonnaya Uche, were confirmed after the screening by the House.

The confirmation of the other nominees was suspended pending when they submitted their credentials to the clerk of the House.

The House also passed into law HAB 10—The Abia State Cocoa Development and Other Commodities and Marketing Board Bill, 2024—following its third reading and consideration of the report from its Joint Committee on Agriculture, Trade, Commerce and Industry.

The House later adjourned its plenary to reconvene on Tuesday, August 13, 2024.