A former Commissioner for Foreign Investments under the Hope Uzodinma administration, Dr Fabian Ihekweme has blamed the Imo state House of Assembly for enacting the law that barred politicians except members of the All Progressive Congress from erecting billboards, branding their campaign vehicles except they pay the sum of fifty million naira to the state government.
The draconian law which according to Ihekweme was enacted sequel to a bill presented to the House by the Governor was aimed at frustrating members of opposition political parties.
Ihekweme, who stated this in a letter he addressed to the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the Imo State House of Assembly, Hon Chike Olemgbe and Hon Amara Chyna Iwuanyanwu respectively berated the Governor for sponsoring draconian anti-people bills instead of concentrating on how to ameliorate the suffering of the people.
He berated members of the House for allowing themselves to be used by the Governor to enact such draconian laws that are at variance with the principle of justice and fairness as it denies some people the opportunity to market themselves, their programmes and blue print of action, as expected during electioneering campaigns.
The letter captioned, “REPEAL OF THE LAW WHICH MANDATES CANDIDATES OF POLITICAL PARTIES TO PAY N50M BEFORE THEY COULD BE ALLOWED TO WALL MOUNT CAMPAIGN BILLBOARDS AND USE BRANDED CAMPAIGN VEHICLES IN IMO STATE”, reads, “recall that the House of Assembly passed into law, an Executive Bill brought by Sen. Hope Uzodinma which barred all candidates of political parties from carrying out any campaign advert on any billboards unless the sum of N50m is paid into the government coffers or to the Treasury Single Account (TSA). This law also extends to those branding their vehicles and pasting posters. This particular law is draconian and undemocratic. Throughout the election period, only the APC candidates were allowed to advertise freely by the Signage Agency.
We also call on the Executive Governor of Imo state to send a legislative bill to the House asking them to repeal that obnoxious and anti-democratic law.
Since the inception of the current democratic dispensation, no Governor in Imo state had ever introduced or passed such unpleasant and offensive law except the current Governor. That law should be repealed and abrogated without further delay”.
