By Njamanze Fidel
Support for the Speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Monday Igbuya mounted on Sunday as member representing Ethiope East Constituency in the Delta State House of Assembly, Hon. Evance Ivwurie lauded his leadership qualities, describing him as “an inspiring and magnetic political figure.”
“I will describe Igbuya as a democrat in our hallowed Chamber and in leadership. He is a team player. He is a very energetic, hard-working, disciplined, committed and very effective law-maker. Rather than deny any member of his or her right, he fights for and protects the rights of every member daily” he said.
In a statement issued in Asaba, Ivwurie, a Labour Party (LP) member, described his relationship with Igbuya as “beautiful”.
“My relationship with Speaker Igbuya as someone elected from a different political party from that the Speaker is bipartisan, friendly, mutually respectable and cordial. Mr. Speaker finds common ground through compromise in legislation with opposing political parties. He does not adhere only to his political party interest. He does not advance his own political party agenda unduly in the exercise of his duty as Speaker at the expense of the other political party because of conflicting ideologies. Speaker Igbuya especially, and every member of the Delta State House of Assembly has not left anyone in doubt that he and we all have the interest of a united, indivisible and strong Delta State at heart, in ways that the interest of the State has overriding effect over and above Mr. Speaker and all members personal interests and considerations” he said.
In a statement titled: “My Perspectives on Mister Speaker”, Ivwurie listed patience and persistence as two most useful character traits of Igbuya.
“Mr. Speaker is completely bipartisan and this has reflected in all of the bills, acts, resolutions and policies we have dealt with in the House in which the Speaker and all members have agreed about all or many parts of the choices by finding a common ground in bipartisanship and that is why there is no cynicism and gridlock in Delta State political and economic system. It has been a strong spirit of Delta State first, bipartisanship and hard-work. I can assure you that Speaker Igbuya is always looking out for the best interests of Delta State”.
Emphasizing that the speaker is an honest politician who has a clear vision for the House and the State, Ivwurie accused critics of Igbuya of pursuing selfish agenda.
“My Assessment of his performance will start with his weakness. First thing I will like to talk about is the general weakness of Mr. Speaker which is well known to so many people because it continues to cause him problems regularly. He is considered highly and overtly too prudent, frugal and inexpensive, even journalists and those seeking services have this quarrel with him all the time. He always wants to make sure Delta State does not waste or spend money that she does not have. He is also considered by many members to be too open and transparent especially on finance and funding. He has no reservation as to correcting his colleagues behind as he is unable to compromise or accept unethical conducts no matter who is involved”.
The Labour Party member also offered some genuine insights on how the Delta State House of Assembly functions.
“Mr. Speaker is quite spiritual. He possesses a vision of a strong, strengthened and united Delta State. He is not temperamental but very decisive. He is very unflappable. His actions toward law making are matched with a political savvy that often includes a measure of expediency. Although he is consensus-seeking, he has always led the House by the House Rules as they exist, not as he would like them to exist. He is internet and Facebook friendly and has strong capacity to endure negative criticism. He believes that many criticisms are meant to keep him continuously on his toes.
He thanked Mister Speaker for his service to the state.
“Rt. Hon Igbuya is a leader who understands that our Country and State is in a total mess. He knows the depth and enormity of the predicaments and task that lies ahead of the State and he is seriously working with the Executive Governor, His Excellency, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa to surmount the challenges. He has self-discipline and he is very persuasive. He taps into the authentic need of his colleagues and members easily. So far, Mr. Speaker has shown clearly that he is neither a dealer nor a transactional leader. The interest of the State has always superseded his personal interests”.
He also heaped praise on Igbuya for cherishing the mood of his colleagues, saying, “The perspectives that I have shared above has resulted to many accomplishments and achievements of the Delta State House of Assembly under one year of Mr. Speaker’s passionate leadership and strong ability to mobilize members to attain goals as reflected in the speed of work in the several pro-development debates, considerations, confirmations, policies, acts, resolutions and bills that the House has dealt with and passed.”
