You lack financial autonomy, ex-Speaker tells Bayelsa Assembly

NEDU MARK, Yenagoa

Former Acting Governor of Bayelsa State and a two-time Speaker of state House of Assembly, Hon Nestor Binabo has accused the leadership of the House of lacking financial autonomy.

Hon Binabo who was acting governor of the state for the short period when former Governor Timipri Sylva left office handing over to Governor Seriake Dickson in 2012, further noted that no legislature can function effectively without financial autonomy.

The former Acting speaker spoke in Yenaoa during a valedictory session of the House to end the fourth Assembly under the leadership of the speaker, Hon Friday Konbonwei Benson.

He said the issue of financial autonomy is a constitutional matter, adding that under his leadership as speaker in 2010 members voted to be independent in all ramifications.

Although, the speaker, Hon Konbonwei Benson disagreed with the outgoing lawmaker that the Assembly lacks financial autonomy, noted that there was no time the legislators voted for such as ascribed by Hon Binabo.

Binabo is an outgoing legislator in the fourth Assembly representing Sagbama constituency, a kinsman to Governor Seriake Dickson.

The former legislator appealed to the incoming legislators to fight for full independent financial autonomy of the house to move the assembly forward.

He was among the politicians that were expelled by the leadership of the People’s Democratic Party PDP under the watch eye of the state governor.

Similarly, past Deputy Speaker of the House, Hon Sam Ateke regretted that over the years his kinsmen in Brass local government were not linked by road to the state capital Yenagoa.

He equally faulted the state government for remitting over N24 billion to the Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company of Nigeria PHEDCN to rehabilitate power to Brass, but noted that the project was not completed till date.

On cultism ravaging Brass Community, Ateke appealled to the new lawmaker representing Brass to tackle the menace of cultism and drug addictions in the locality as to sanitize brass free from both vices.