Sam Onuigbo, two-time commissioner in Abia State and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate for Ikwuano/Umuahia Federal Constituency for House of Representatives, tells Assistant Politics Editor, DANIEL KANU, his agenda for his constituents, among other issues.
Agenda at the National Assembly
The National Assembly is the highest law-making body of the nation, comprising the Senate and the House of Representatives. It’s a place where people work together. It’s never an individual effort. Rather, the two chambers work together to enact laws with the intention to make things better. That is the key issue there. It is either that a law is amended to capture an area where there appears to be a loose end or a lacuna or new laws are made to address some areas of concern for the constituency or for the nation. That is principally what you go there to do, and it is an opportunity as a key arm of government that provides the foundation for us to say that we are running a democratic government. Without the National Assembly, which is the legislative arm of the government, you are probably not running a democratic and representative government or participatory democracy. So, the National Assembly is very important. I am going there to be part of the making of good laws for the good of the country. The National Assembly guides the president and assists him in making sure that the nation is running smoothly.
Programme
You know as representative government, it’s still a learning process for us over here, having spent many years running dictatorships and despotic administrations where no questions were ever raised, where the people were never elected to represent the views of their constituents. So what I hope to contribute on the floor of the House is to join other colleagues to highlight that key and sacred aspect of your people yielding their own rights for you to go and represent them and ensure they are well represented. Once you are given that mandate, you owe it a duty to represent them effectively and also to be responsive to their concerns and legitimate aspirations.
So my key role will be one: to represent the views, intentions and concerns of the people who are sending me there because I am not going there because of my own power, but our people are going to use their term to express what they expect will be good for them and the country. Of course, my people know what I can do; they know my antecedents and they know that I will give them effective representation. So they trust in my capacity to deliver. For me, it is to give them my best which will be good enough to make them happy.
Preparations for election
When you go into an election of this nature where you are running against the incumbent and some that have been in politics ahead of you in terms of political activities, you are bound to entertain certain feelings as a matter of fact. You will, as a human being, be wondering if you are going to be able to make it. It is a natural thing since there is a competition and you don’t want anything to go wrong. Now it is an inter-party election; PDP against other political parties. So one should work hard to win, just like others are preparing too. I don’t have fears in the real sense of fear that I will not do well. The people are solidly behind me and I am the candidate to beat. Abia is a PDP-controlled state, but it does not mean we are going to rest on our oars. We are also working to ensure our victory is clear, credible and transparent, just as it happened during the primary election. We are working very hard to have a smooth victory.
Unique selling points to attract the needed majority votes
For me, it is service to humanity, service to my community. It is what I have done over the years. My people know I have integrity, I am competent, a goal getter, one with drive to make things better and passionate too in assisting to improve my area and by extension the country. In any community I have stayed, I have always impacted positively on the area. I have always brought something new wherever I found myself. So, it’s like a trademark for me to deliver wherever I find myself. Whether in my workplace or ancestral home, I have always brought something new to the table.
My actions have always impacted well on wherever I live because I try to be part of the environment.
Assessing Governor Theodore Orji’s leadership
I was part of Ochendo’s (Governor Theodore Orji’s) government, from July 2011 until a couple of months back. I was in the Lands Ministry, before I was re-assigned to the Finance Ministry. I can tell you without any fear of contradiction that Governor Theodore Orji has performed outstandingly. Let me just mention to you few examples why the man deserves all the commendations he has been enjoying from Abians and other Nigerians. He is the first governor of the state to build a secretariat that is functional for workers. This he was able to achieve 23 years after the creation of the state. This government re-located the Timber Market from the heart of the town to a very beautiful site that will help in the urban development and expansion plan. He also made a landmark achievement in re-locating the old ogwumabiri (daily market) that had been at the centre of the city for over 78 years into an ultra-modern market at Ubani. Today, the Government House is near completion and he has assured that he will move in there before he leaves office. He relocated the artisans to different locations and you can now see the beauty of the town. Don’t forget the International Conference Centre, perhaps the best east of the Niger, massive roads constructed, revolution in the health sector, over 700 health centres, modern improvement in the education sector, the e-library, and huge housing estates. There is the shopping mall, tourist attractions etc. The governor has done so much for him to be appropriately commended. Critics of Orji are not on the ground. They should take a trip to the state to see the massive revolution on the ground compared to what he met on the ground and given the meagre allocation that the state gets.
