••His blunt confession sends a shockwave through the chamber
Early this week in Awka, the Anambra House of Assembly told Bernard Udemezue—the man who speaks for Ayamelum—to stay away for the next three months. Punch newspaper reports that the decision, taken in Tuesday’s open session, also freezes his paycheck. The house leadership says he stepped way out of line: stirring arguments online, behaving “unparliamentarily,” and misusing the perks that come with his seat.
What set the whole thing off? In a WhatsApp chat packed with folks from his constituency, Udemezue casually mentioned that he gets ten million naira every quarter for community projects. That blunt admission rubbed many of his fellow lawmakers raw.
Even before Tuesday’s hammer fell, the committee on rules and ethics had already summoned him. The motion to invite him came from Tony Muobike of Aguata Two and got instant backing from Jude Ngobili, the chief whip and member for Ihiala One. According to a report signed by Ofodeme Ikenna and ten other lawmakers, Udemezue never showed up to clear the air. Instead, they say he mocked the invite by posting it on WhatsApp while a playful song played in the background—a move the committee called downright disrespectful.
The same report stacks up other complaints: bullying tones, threats aimed at colleagues, meddling where he shouldn’t, plus questionable behavior back when he chaired the homeland and boundary affairs committee. To fix things, the committee wants a written and online apology from him and a compulsory crash course on parliamentary manners. For the next three months, he can’t even step inside the assembly building.
Udemezue, though, says this is payback. In his view, he’s being punished for shining a light on corruption. He insists that sharing details about the ten million naira allowance was simply his way of keeping his people informed.
There’s more. The committee has asked the state police commissioner and the DSS to look into Udemezue’s alarming claim that someone’s plotting to kill him. Wrapping up its report, the committee said his actions have hurt the House’s image, and they won’t allow anyone to drag their collective name through the mud.
