By Chinonso Alozie

Owerri – The former Speaker of the Imo State House of Assembly and former Minister of State for Education, the Rt. Honourable Goodluck Nanah Opiah has bagged the Most Staff Friendly Speaker Award from the legislative workers of the Imo State House of Assembly under the name, Parliamentary Staff Association of Nigeria ,PASAN, Imo State chapter.

The event took place at the premises of the Imo state House of Assembly, during their 2024 staff week held last Friday.

Presenting the award at the grand finale of the 2024 staff week of the Assembly workers, Chief Mrs Clara Njoku, the member representing Owerri Zone in Imo State House of Assembly Service Commission, said that Opiah got the award for being accommodating, reliable, and supportive of the welfare of the workers.

Feeling Honoured while receiving the award, Opiah, among other things called for greater collaboration between the legislative and executive arms of government in the state.

He said: “This award reminds me of the support you gave to the House under my leadership as the Speaker, and I cannot thank you enough. While I accept this award, I want to dedicate it to all my colleagues who toiled night and day to ensure that we served our people well as their lawmakers, discharging our responsibilities to the people of Imo State and Nigeria in general.

“Standing here today also reminds me of how we built the capacities of lawmakers and legislative workers through parliamentary exchanges with leading democracies of the world, including Britain, the USA, Spain, Canada, South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, etcetera. Some lawmakers travelled to about 18 countries of the world on capacity building programmes. Some of the workers present today travelled to some countries on capacity building also, and they can agree with me. We achieved all of that through a judicious and transparent management of the funds available to us without discrimination.”

Calling for greater collaboration between the legislative and executive arms of government in the state, Opah noted: “Imo State needs us now more than ever before. We should not join the bandwagon to pull our state down. Rather, we should form an unbreakable circle around the Governor, Distinguished Senator Hope Uzodimma and the state government.

“We succeed when the state succeeds, and this is the only state we have. Our collective efforts can shape a brighter future for our people, and as we reflect on the progress made thus far, it’s evident that our journey to prosperity requires robust collaboration between the legislative and executive arms of government.

“Governor Uzodimma has demonstrated his commitment to the state’s development, which is evident in initiatives like the amendment of the Imo State Revenue Administration Law, the Administration of Criminal Justice, which has boosted revenue and justice delivery to the people of Imo State. To build on this momentum, we must foster open communication and transparency in governance and emphasize human capital development.”

He advised the lawmakers to eschew bickering, noting that “bickering and backstabbing are counterproductive. The amount of time, energy, and material resources we spend fighting individual wars can be spent to forge better bonds that will help our state. Separation of power, a major plank of the rule of law, does not mean bickering; it does not mean building a brickwall between the legislative and executive arms of government. Separation of power is put in place to serve the people better. So, while separate, we collaborate so that in the end, the people are served better, and we have a more prosperous and peaceful society.”

Opiah was the Speaker of the Imo State House of Assembly from 2007 to 2011, during which period he achieved so much, including capacity building programmes and exceptional welfare package for the staff and members of the House. It is his sterling achievements as the Speaker of the House for close to two decades that gave rise to the meritorious award.

It should be recalled that in a letter nominating the former Speaker for the award dated November 22, 2024, and signed by the state chairman, Comrade Anya Chukwuma, PASAN said: “Your nomination is connected to the legacy of humanitarian and legislative dexterity you left behind in the Imo State House of Assembly and the state in general.”