By ODIMEGWU ONWUMERE

This piece critiques the performance of the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Hon. Martins Amaewhule. It argues that his nearly three-year tenure has been defined by political instability and a lack of independent leadership. By focusing on his role in the ongoing political friction in the state, the piece highlights how the electorate is being neglected in favor of external political loyalties, ultimately calling for a return to people-centered governance.

The role of the Speaker of the House of Assembly has historically been one of prestige, mediation, and legislative progress. However, as we evaluate the current politics under the leadership of Honorable Martins Amaewhule, we are forced to confront a sobering reality. It is becoming increasingly difficult to view his tenure as anything other than a missed opportunity for the people he was elected to serve. To speak plainly, Amaewhule is arguably navigating one of the most unfortunate leadership stretches we have seen since the dawn of this republic, not because of a lack of power, but because of a clear lack of independent direction and tangible results for his constituents.

The primary duty of any legislator is representation. When the people of his constituency cast their ballots, they were not voting for a political placeholder or a participant in a high-level game of “follow the leader.” They were voting for someone to champion their needs, attract infrastructure, and ensure that the dividends of democracy—the schools, the roads, the healthcare access, and the economic empowerment—reached their doorsteps. Yet, as we move into the third year of this legislative cycle, the silence from the Speaker’s office regarding actual development is deafening. Instead of news about commissioned constituency projects or life-changing legislation, the headlines are dominated by the same tired narrative: political instability, legal gymnastics, and a legislative house that appears to be on a leash.

It is a tragedy of leadership when a Speaker becomes more recognizable for his loyalty to a “master” than for his service to his people. Critics have begun to describe the current Assembly as a puppet theater, and while the language may be harsh, the facts on the ground make it hard to argue otherwise. For nearly three years, the energy of the Rivers State House of Assembly has been consumed by an orchestrated friction against the executive arm, seemingly at the behest of an external force. This friction has not served the public good; it has only served to stall the machinery of government. When a leader spends 95% of his time engaging in political warfare and zero percent on constituency projects, he is not leading; he is merely occupying a chair.

Where are the dividends of democracy that were promised? Where is the evidence of three years of work? If we were to walk through the communities Amaewhule represents today, we would struggle to find a single project that was birthed from his legislative initiative during this period. There are no new classrooms, no upgraded markets, and no innovative social welfare schemes to speak of. In their place is a void—an absolute “nothing” that is covered up by the loud noise of political squabbles. The tragedy here is that while the Speaker is busy playing his part in a larger power struggle, the ordinary man and woman in Rivers State are the ones paying the price. They are the ones living with the stagnation that this instability creates.

The essence of a functioning democracy is that the legislative arm should be a check and balance, not a weapon of mass distraction. A Speaker should be a builder of bridges, not a builder of barricades. By choosing to prioritize the interests of a “selfish master” over the cries of the electorate, Amaewhule has effectively traded his legacy for temporary political relevance. No leader wants to be remembered as the person who oversaw three years of “nothingness,” yet that is the path currently being paved.

It Is time for a factual reckoning. Leadership is not about how well you can shout “on your mandate” or how effectively you can obstruct the government. Leadership is measured by the tangible improvements in the lives of the people who stood in the sun to vote for you. If Martins Amaewhule continues on this current trajectory, his tenure will be recorded in the history books as a cautionary tale—a story of how a promising political career was sacrificed at the altar of puppetry. The people of Rivers State deserve a Speaker who belongs to them, not one who belongs to a “barking” external interest. They deserve results, not rhetoric. They deserve an Assembly that builds the future, not one that remains stuck in a cycle of orchestrated chaos.

•Onwumere is a socio-pol analyst who writes from Rivers State.

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