The Dishonourable Ikenga Ugochinyere

By Phebe Obong

Most times, I imagine how easy it is for people to point accusing fingers at others without realizing that four fingers are pointed right back at them. What makes it even more annoying is when this behaviour comes from people entrusted with the responsibility to represent and protect others.

When some people are called to represent, they suddenly develop ambitions and crusades they never had before power was handed to them. Moral outrage suddenly becomes loud. Accountability from others suddenly becomes urgent.

I find it embarrassing, not just disappointing that Ikenga Ugochinyere who has barely proven his value in office now assumes the role of a national accountability enforcer. Imagine a man whose own record in representation is questionable positioning himself as the moral compass of governance. What an irony!

Let us be clear here, so this does not sound like speculations. Ikenga has been in the House of Representatives since 2023. That is a fact. Since then, what tangible value has he attracted to his constituency? What legacy project, what measurable intervention, what independently verifiable impact has made him “somebody” beyond media noise?

The last time I checked, there was nothing substantial to point at, only a handful of claimed sponsorships and motions, mostly reported by friendly or partisan platforms, with little to no confirmation from neutral legislative performance trackers. Representation is not about press releases. It is about results. And on results, the silence is loud.

Even before he gained national attention, he was politically active at the local level. The same question applies: what lasting value did his involvement bring to his people? If the answer were obvious, it would not require so much explanation and defence.

Yet, in spite of this thin record, he now chooses to confront others with dramatic accusations and public tantrums. I cannot help but question the timing, the focus, and the intention. This does not look like principled oversight, it’s distraction!

Oversight is meant to be evidence-driven, institutional, and responsible. What we are seeing instead is noise, loud, confrontational, and suspiciously personal. When accountability is selective and performative, it stops being accountability and starts looking like self-interest.

Let’s even dive into his records a little, It will shock you to know that Ikenga cannot publicly defend he’s own records giving detail accounts. There was a period when allegations surfaced that he paid a large sum of money, reportedly as high as $1.7 million, to secure his position as chairman of a key House committee, which he just denied randomly.

At a different time, he was accused of using allegations as tools of pressure rather than instruments of genuine oversight.

Even within the House of Representatives, he has faced public pushback. A fellow lawmaker openly accused him of spreading misinformation and misleading the public, a rare and serious charge among colleagues.

The Imo State governor once dismissed him publicly as an attention seeker who thrives on exaggeration rather than facts.

Then, his own political party was also thrown into crisis over his conduct, with local party structures at one point moving to expel him over allegations of indiscipline and anti-party behaviour. Although the expulsion was later overturned, the incident exposed deep internal dissatisfaction with his approach to politics.

All these accusations, can’t be all wrong even if we choose to give him a benefit of the doubt. They have all contributed to a growing perception of him as confrontational and opportunistic.

Enough of this allegations charade, the last thing the country needs is a lawmaker with an unconvincing constituency record attempting to manufacture controversy where focus is required.

What further annoys me is how some self-acclaimed “human rights fighters” conveniently neglect the very people they were elected to protect, while fighting battles that seem designed to serve their own pockets or ambitions.

Accountability must begin with self. Until Ikenga can point to concrete, verifiable achievements for the people he represents, his sudden appetite for national moral battles will remain irrelevant to me and to many Nigerians who are tired of political hypocrisy dressed as activism.

Phebe Obong is a Journalist, Event Host, and Social media news analyst.