Imo State lawmakers have come under increasing pressure to account to their constituents by explaining why the much talked about constituency projects ear-marked for the state have not been undertaken barely eighteen months to the end of the life of the present administrative/political system.
Some of the parliamentarians who responded to a request by a political pressure group called the Development Dynamics Nigeria claim however that its call for accountability and its allegation that the lawmakers have not done anything for the communities were eight over-exaggerated, too generalized and out of touch with the realities on the ground.

In a statement signed by its Director of Programmes, Chief Jude Ohanele, Development Dynamics Nigeria had claimed that many of the lawmakers have wasted six or seven years without doing anything for their communities while millions of naira allocated for constituency development projects are either diverted or filtered into private pockets.

The group urged the people especially the state electorate to ensure that they bring the lawmakers to account for their stewardship adding: “our findings have shown that the lawmakers have lavished the development funds allocated to the state while the people they are supposed to serve are lavishing in abject poverty.”
The group had also wondered why Imo state still lags behind in several infrastructural development projects despite being an oil producing state warning that as many of the parliamentarians are preparing to return to the National Assembly in 2011, the people reserve the right to say no to their come-back bid.

“Development Dynamics Nigeria in keeping with our mandate is watching closely the politicians from Imo State who are in government and the time would soon come when their request for re-election would be stoutly resisted because it is of no use to the state. We have started grassroots mobilization to sensitise the people on the next general election,” the statement added.

One of the lawmakers who countered the allegations of the group, Barrister Austine Nwachukwu who represents Ehime Mbano, Ihitte/Uboma/Obowo Federal Constituency in the state said it is wrong for anybody to state that parliamentarians are not contributing much to their constituencies.
His remarks are reproduced below: “I was inaugurated into the House of Representatives precisely on the 5th of June, 2007 and since that time until now; I would beat my chest and say that I have not done badly. Although the judgment of ones activities rests with the people, I would however say that I know I have not done badly because I have my score card to show.

“The past two years in the House has seen me taking part in so many activities. I have sponsored about five major bills. One was on education. It was a bill to harmonize retirement age of academic staff of universities and chief executive officers [COE] of polytechnics. The entire stakeholders are in support of the bill. The second one is on prison reforms. That bill is right now awaiting the attention of the committee in preparation for a public hearing.

“I have also sponsored a bill on the need to remove the high visa fees paid by Nigerians at various embassies. The embassies often end up not giving the visas to those who applied for them and they end up confiscating the funds paid. I have also sponsored a bill asking the Federal Government to evacuate the leprosy patients along the nation's major highways and today the government has complied by removing them to the resettlement centres. We also followed up by compelling the Minister of Health to provide the leprosy patients with vaccines and necessary medication at the rehabilitation centres. It was my motion.

“I also brought a motion when one Jude Ojigre was killed in China by their security men and the family of the youngman has been compensated. This has never happened before. The practice was that the relatives of the deceased were usually asked to carry their corpse and go. The wife has been employed in China and the family is being well cared for today. There was also a Nigerian who was brutalized by the Gabonese police and I brought a motion to draw the attention of that country's government to the situation and the victim has now been adequately compensated.”

On specific projects that he attracted to his constituency, Barrister Austine Nwachukwu who belongs to five house committees including the committee of the Interior, committee on Diaspora, electoral matters [INEC], and Petroleum Resources [Downstream] claimed that through the Millennium Development Goals [MDGs] and NDDC programmes, bore holes and electrification projects spread across the villages in the area were attracted to the communities which constitute his constituency.

He said several youths and widows in the areas have been given scholarship, artisanship training and empowered by funds to set-up private businesses and become self reliant adding that any Doubting Thomas can contact the some traditional rulers in the communities mentioned to find out from them whether their communities have been neglected like the critics are alleging.
On the security situation in Imo State, Barrister Austine Nwachukwu said lawmakers have consistently called on the police to redesign the security plans for the south east to make the environment safer and a more conducive area for people to live and do business.