Owerri — The Imo State House of Assembly on Monday, last week, woke up from slumber to execute its oversight function with remarkable eagerness as the members requested the state governor, Ikedi Ohakim, to remove some categories of political appointees and appoint new ones. This is apparently to tell their numerous critics that they are actually alive to their responsibilities of guiding the government towards the part of valuable democratic attainment.

The 27-man assembly has over the years received bashing from watchers of democracy in the state over their rubber-stamp predisposition. Some residents of the state have noted that Ohakim could be is doing well, but that a vibrant and purposeful house could still impel him to do more and tackle areas he may have overlooked.

And so, on Monday the Goodluck Opiah-led House in what it described as the bid to sanitize governance in the state and make government agencies, parastatals, and commissions result-oriented, requested the state government to dissolve the 27 transition committees, the Imo State Independent Electoral Commission (ISIEC), the Local Government Service Commission (LGSC) and the Civil Service Commission (CSC).

Actually, the house has been on a long break since early December, 2009, and had to suspend the break to pass this resolution in a special meeting. A motion to this effect was moved by Declan Emelumba (PDP Oru West).

In it, Emelumba averred that the bodies so mentioned have outlived their usefulness, adding that there was need to dissolve them and inject new blood into the system. For ISIEC, the new minds to be accommodated there, according to him, will be charged and constitutionally empowered to organize, undertake and supervise credible elections to local government councils within the state.

Similarly, Ray Emeana (PDP Owerri North) supported the removal of the chairman and members of the Civil Service Commission (CSC), saying that they are bedeviled with indiscipline. He alleged that the place had become chaotic as a result of the commission's inability to control and regulate its staff, oftentimes due to lack of data base. Retirement age is now left in the hands of the affected staff. He also made the same argument for the sacking of the chairman and members of the LGSC.

It was the view of the lawmaker that the governor's promise of providing 10,000 jobs this year in the Civil Service demand that the present crop of the members should go and new ones take over. Another member, Simeon Iwunze (PDP Isiala Mbano), supported the removal of the 27 transition committee chairmen and their members for what he called improper conduct. According to him, they are no longer useful in the system which they are serving.

He believed that the excessiveness of the politicians at this third tier level of government prompted him to call for the removal, adding that some of the political appointees are now working at cross-purposes with the government of the day. Some of them, he alleged, are no longer controlling their councils, hence the need to remove and replace them with fresh hands.

The House, through its Speaker, unanimously adopted the motion that 27 council chairmen and their members, including chairmen and members of ISIEC, LGSC and CSC should go and it subsequently asked Ohakim to immediately effect this.

However, 24 hours after the resolution, the governor through the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Cosmas Iwu, not only announced the dissolution of the committees and commissions, but also announced the dissolution of the Alaoma Development Centre in Oguta LGA.

With this, some analysts in the state posited that if the House continually done this, the state would witness more democracy dividends as more heads, they argue, are better than one.