Lacuna: Imo Speaker should have been Acting Governor, says activist

Following the Imo Governorship debacle that was dispensed with at the Supreme Court yesterday, political pundits have maintained that Imo should not be without a governor for 24 hours.

It is their opinion that the Speaker of the Imo state House of Assembly, Chief Chiji Collins, being the highest ranking official of government should have assumed the position of the Acting Governor of Imo state, as provided by the constitution, immediately Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha was deposed by the apex Court.

As at 2pm when the Speaker took salute at the Armed Forces Remembrance Day Celebration, there was no governor sworn in yet but he took salute as the Speaker of the Imo State House of Assembly.

Hon. Ngozika Ihuoma, a legislative activist said it was absolutely inappropriate to leave such a vacuum in the power hierarchy of any state.

He said: “The Speaker of the Imo state House of Assembly became the Acting Governor of Imo state since the Supreme Court judgment last night and he should be so addressed. But right here at the Heroes Square while taking salute at the Armed Forces Remembrance Day, he was repeatedly announced and referred to as the Speaker of the Imo Assembly and not the Acting Governor. And like in all things, nature abhors vacuum.”