Obi Aguocha: An Envious Macabre Of Kettle Calling Pot Black – By Mandate 27 Group 

Obi Aguocha: An Envious Macabre Of Kettle Calling Pot Black – By Mandate 27 Group

Hon. Obi Aguocha, a member representing Ikwuano/Umuahia Federal Constituency is obviously a pack of an envious macabre of kettle calling pot black. We shall be releasing names of his family members, blood relatives, brothers and sisters perpetuating in a family political circle of his federal representation as a law maker. His inlaw was a commissioner and now appointed into a council. His other inlaw is representing his ward in the local government council. His family members are his legislative aides.

Aguocha has repeatedly made criticism of political families and the failures of “old Abia” a major part of his political message. He has often presented himself and his political camp as different from those who held power in Abia in the past. That is a strong political position, and every politician has the right to make such an argument. However, anyone who asks the public to judge others by the standard of accountability must also be ready to be judged by that same standard. This is why questions are now being raised about the people around Hon. Aguocha, the relationships within his political structure and the need for greater openness in his public office.

The issue is not that members of one family, or people connected through marriage, should not participate in politics. Every Nigerian has a constitutional right to vote, contest elections, accept appointments and support political causes. Family connection alone is not a crime and should not be treated as one. The real concern is whether such relationships are being used to control access to political appointments, public jobs, campaign positions, legislative aide roles or government opportunities without transparency, merit and equal opportunity for other qualified people.

Hon. Aguocha represents the people of Ikwuano/Umuahia North/Umuahia South Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives. Dr. Aham Uko, who has been publicly identified as an in-law of Aguocha, served as Abia State Commissioner for Finance during the administration of former Governor Okezie Ikpeazu from 2019 to 2023. He has also been associated with Labour Party political activities in Umuahia North. This relationship may be perfectly legitimate, but it naturally raises questions when Aguocha’s political message strongly attacks the same political era in which Dr. Uko held an important public office.

The Ministry of Finance is not a minor ministry. It is one of the most sensitive ministries in any state government. It has a major role in budgeting, government spending, release of funds, financial planning, debt management, payment processes and other decisions affecting the use of public resources. Therefore, if a political camp describes the Ikpeazu administration and the wider “old Abia” period as years of failure, underdevelopment or waste, it is fair for citizens to ask whether that criticism also applies to those who served in key positions during that period.

This is the central question: if the past was truly a failure, who should take responsibility for it? Can some people be blamed simply because they belonged to a particular political family or party, while others who held important offices in the same administration are excused because they are now politically connected to a new movement? Public accountability must not depend on friendship, marriage, political convenience or party loyalty. It must be applied fairly to everyone who had responsibility in government.

There is also a clear difference between offices won through an election and positions given through appointment. Hon. Aguocha was elected by voters. The people had the opportunity to support him or vote for another candidate. But legislative aide positions, campaign roles, political appointments and staff jobs are usually not decided by public election. They are given by political leaders and office holders. This is why the public has a right to know who occupies those positions, what work they do, how they were selected and whether family or personal relationships influenced their appointment.

Nobody is saying that a relative cannot be qualified for a job. A family member may be educated, experienced and capable. But where relatives or in-laws hold positions around an elected official, openness becomes very important. The best response is not anger, denial or political attacks. The best response is disclosure. Let the public see the names, positions, duties, qualifications and terms of engagement of everyone working in the office of the representative. Let the people see whether the process was fair and whether qualified young people from Ikwuano, Umuahia North and Umuahia South had a genuine opportunity to serve.

Hon. Aguocha should therefore make his office more open by publishing the names and duties of all legislative aides. He should explain the process used to appoint or employ them and state clearly whether any of them are related to him by blood or marriage. He should also publish the names and roles of key persons in his campaign structure, especially where those people hold public or political influence. Such openness would strengthen public trust and remove unnecessary suspicion.

The same standard should apply to constituency projects and educational support programmes. There have been reports of scholarship and educational-support initiatives linked to Hon. Aguocha, including reports of student beneficiaries. This is welcome if properly managed and fairly distributed. Education support can change lives, especially for students from poor homes. However, public programmes are stronger when the public can verify them. The people should be able to see the beneficiary list, the schools attended, the communities represented, the criteria used for selection, the amount given to each person and the source of funding.

There should also be a clear record of constituency projects. Citizens should know the location of every project, the amount allocated, the contractor involved, the agency responsible, the date of award, the stage of completion and whether the project was funded by the Federal Government, the Abia State Government, the local government or any other source. This will help the public separate projects genuinely attracted or facilitated by their representative from projects carried out by other levels of government.

This is not an attack on Hon. Aguocha. It is a call for the type of public accountability that he and his supporters demand from others. A leader who speaks against political families, godfatherism, old political systems and misuse of public power should be the first person willing to open his own records for public examination. Transparency should not be demanded only from opponents. It should begin at home.

Aguocha cannot effectively campaign against what he calls ” political families” while leaving unanswered questions about family influence in his own political circle.

He cannot condemn the past while refusing to address the role of politically connected former officials from that same period. The people of Ibeku and the entire constituency deserve facts, not slogans. They deserve open records, not selective criticism. Above all, they deserve leaders who hold themselves to the same standard they demand from others.