By Chuks Nwokeji
Rt. Hon. Deputy Speaker Amara Chyna Iwuanyanwu is the Member Representing Nwangele State Constituency in the Imo State House of Assembly.
He is not a stranger to the House, not a learner and he is not a man who is still trying to find his feet. He is a ranking lawmaker, a presiding officer, and one of the most experienced voices and force to reckoned with in the present Assembly. As Deputy Speaker, he sits at the very centre where decisions are taken, where budgets are debated, where motions are shaped, and where the interest of every constituency is either protected or forgotten.
To understand what Nwangele has in him, you must understand what the office means. The Deputy Speaker is not an ordinary member. He is the second in command in the House. He presides when the Speaker is absent. He leads debates. He guides proceedings. He represents the House at the highest levels of government. That is the level of influence Nwangele presently enjoys. That is the level of access Nwangele presently has. And that is what is at stake in this election.
For eight years, Rt. Hon. Deputy Speaker Amara Chyna Iwuanyanwu has carried the mandate of Nwangele with dignity, courage, and consistency. He has learned the House. He has mastered the rules. He has built relationships across party lines. He has earned respect among his colleagues. He has used that respect for one purpose: to ensure that Nwangele is not silent, not invisible, and not left behind.
Nwangele State Constituency Election is a critical election for the good and hospitable people of Nwangele, an election that will bring them to a crossroads with a decision that will move the state constituency forward or backwards. In this election, the people must decide between two things: to build on what they have, or to gamble on what they do not know. That decision will determine whether Nwangele moves forward with strength or starts all over again with weakness. This is not a decision about one man. It is a decision about the future of a whole constituency.
I have been privileged to hear from those who oppose the re-election of Rt. Hon. Deputy Speaker Amara Chyna Iwuanyanwu for a third term, and I have listened with an open mind. But I must say this with all honesty: many of the arguments against him are not built on the extant laws of the land, not built on facts, and not built on the real interest of Nwangele. Some do not even know that the tenure of a lawmaker is unlimited under the Constitution. There is no law that says a lawmaker must stop after 8 years. A governor has a limit of two terms. A lawmaker does not. The people are free to return a performing lawmaker for as long as he continues to deliver.
Some ask, “What else will he do after eight years?” As if representation begins and ends within eight years. As if experience expires. As if the House of Assembly is a place you graduate from and leave. No. The longer a lawmaker stays and performs, the stronger his ranking becomes, the louder his voice becomes, and the more he can attract for his people. In a legislature, time is not a burden. Time is an asset.
In all this, some talk out of ignorance, some talk out of sentiment, while some talk out of personal interest. Everyone is entitled to his opinion, and I respect that right. But I am here to talk based on knowledge. I am here to talk based on how the legislature works, what Nwangele stands to gain, and what Nwangele stands to lose if we make an emotional decision.
The question before Nwangele is therefore simple: should we return an experienced lawmaker who already knows the job, or should we hand our mandate to a learner who will spend years trying to understand the job? The answer to that question will decide who speaks for us, who fights for us, and who is heard when decisions about our lives are taken in Owerri.
Experience is not a favour we do for a lawmaker. It is an investment a constituency makes in itself. When a people return a performing lawmaker, they are not rewarding him. They are protecting their own voice, their own projects, and their own future. That is the truth Nwangele must hold firmly in this election.
_Experientia docet_ — experience teaches. No school can teach what the floor of the House teaches. No seminar can teach what sitting in committees, debating budgets, moving motions, and negotiating with the executive teaches. Rt. Hon. Deputy Speaker Amara Chyna Iwuanyanwu has already passed through that school. He does not need to learn how the House works. He already knows how it works, and he knows how to make it work for Nwangele.
In a legislature, seniority is power. A first-term member sits at the back, speaks last, and gets the weakest committees. A returning member sits where decisions are taken. He gets ranking, he gets respect, he gets a better committee, and he gets a louder voice. When Nwangele returns Amara, Nwangele is not just returning a person. Nwangele is returning ranking, influence, and access.
A new lawmaker spends the first one or two years just learning the rules, the procedures, and the people. While he is learning, other constituencies with experienced members are already collecting projects. Nwangele cannot afford to pay for another person’s learning period with its own development. An experienced lawmaker hits the ground running on the first day. He already knows the ministries, the budget process, and who to call when Nwangele needs attention.
Projects do not come by wishing. They come by knowing how to insert them in the budget, how to lobby for them, and how to follow up until they are executed. An experienced lawmaker knows this process. He knows how to defend Nwangele’s interests, how to pursue abandoned projects, and how to ensure that what is approved for Nwangele is actually delivered in Nwangele. That knowledge is the difference between a constituency that grows and one that is forgotten.
Continuity is another gift of experience. Many good projects die because a new lawmaker abandons what his predecessor started, just to start his own and claim credit. Roads are left half-done. Schools are left uncompleted. Empowerment programmes are left hanging. Returning a performing lawmaker ensures that what was started is finished, and what was promised is pursued to the end.
An experienced lawmaker also provides stronger oversight. He knows how to question the executive, how to summon agencies, how to interrogate a budget, and how to expose a failed project. He is not easily intimidated or deceived. That boldness protects the people’s money and ensures that Nwangele is not cheated in silence. Inexperience cannot offer that protection.
On the other hand, electing an inexperienced lawmaker has a heavy cost. He starts from zero. He has no ranking, no network, no knowledge of the internal workings of the House, and no voice loud enough to be heard when it matters most. While other constituencies are moving, the constituency with a learner is waiting.
An inexperienced lawmaker is also easily manipulated. Because he does not know the system, he depends on godfathers, on older politicians, and on those who sponsored him. He may sign what he does not understand, support what hurts his people, or become a mere voting number for others. In such a case, the constituency does not have a representative. It has a messenger for someone else’s interest.
That is why inexperience is expensive. Projects meant for the constituency are diverted to constituencies with stronger representatives. Opportunities are missed. Deadlines are missed. Mistakes are made that cost the people for years. By the time the new lawmaker finally understands the job, his tenure is almost over, and the people are left to start all over again.
Let us be honest: experience alone is not enough. Experience must come with performance, accessibility, and integrity. If a lawmaker has stayed long without bills, without motions, without projects, and without presence in the constituency, returning such a person is rewarding failure. But where experience has delivered, where the lawmaker has shown commitment, where he has remained connected to the people, returning him is wisdom, not sentiment.
_Ezi afa ka ego_ — a good name is better than money. In politics, a good name is not bought with campaign rice or election-day cash. It is built over time through service, through character, through consistency. Nwangele must learn to value a good name above temporary gifts. What is ₦5,000 or ₦10,000 compared to four years of strong, respected, and effective representation? A gift will finish in one week. Good representation will speak for your children for four years.
There is an old saying: you don’t change a winning team in the middle of a match. Nwangele is still in the match for development. We are still fighting for better roads, better schools, better healthcare, better opportunities for our youths, and a stronger voice in Imo State. This is not the time to remove a player who already knows the field and replace him with someone who does not yet know where the goalpost is.
What Nwangele stands to lose if it makes the wrong choice is not small. It will lose ranking. It will lose influence. It will lose continuity. It will lose a voice that is already known and respected in the House. And it will take another four years to rebuild what it threw away in one election. No serious people trade their strength for an experiment.
In conclusion, returning Rt. Hon. Deputy Speaker Amara Chyna Iwuanyanwu is not about personality. It is about interest. It is about the interest of Nwangele State Constituency. It is about ensuring that Nwangele is not silent, not invisible, and not left behind. Let Nwangele choose knowledge over ignorance, performance over sentiment, and experience over gamble. Let Nwangele choose continuity over confusion, strength over sentiment, and progress over experiment. Return Rt. Hon. Deputy Speaker Amara Chyna Iwuanyanwu, and let Nwangele keep its voice, keep its power, and keep its future.