Against the backdrop of insinuations of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) House members in Abia State House of Assembly intending to defect to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Luke Ukara representing Arochukwu State Constituency speaks with Special Correspondent, ONWUKWE EZERU, on the issue, dismissing it as a ruse. He also talks on problems of infrastructure deficiency in his constituency, among others.
Experience in Abia House of Assembly
Lawmaking is an interesting thing and I am happy to represent my people. In 2003, I contested and failed; but 12 years later, here I am. It is the will of God. Be that as it may, I have promised my people good representation, and I cannot fail them. Their voice would be heard through me. Arochukwu, the largest constituency in sub-Saharan Africa, needs to be developed. I must contribute to that.
Greenhorns in Abia House and ability to deliver
When you talk of experience, it has to do with individuals. Like I said, I contested in 2003 and did not succeed till this time. Since then, I have been in the system and have been in the political corridor. Apart from that, after the certificates of return were given to us, we were called to Abuja for induction course by the National Institute of Legislative Studies (NILS), for us to know the rudiments in lawmaking. That lecture exposed us to the tasks ahead.
At party level, the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), also in its wisdom, called its House members for another training in Lagos. At the end of the training, we were all firebrand. Therefore, the question of first-timer does not arise any longer.
APGA House members defecting to PDP
I am an insider and my answer would be straight. No APGA member is set or has thought of defecting to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) or any other party in Abia State. Such rumour was out of falsehood, fallacious and baseless. APGA is a political party where Abians gave us their mandate and we have trust in the party. No defection, nothing like that.
APGA House members disappointing their party and members when six out of 11 members voted to remove the former Minority Leader, Abraham Oba, for kicking against N30 billion loan approval for Governor Okezie Ikpeazu
This matter has come and gone and has been laid to rest. I am neither the mouthpiece of the House nor the Speaker of the House. I have no right to speak on any matter that concerns the House in this regard. It is a closed matter.
Agenda for Arochukwu-Ohafia Road that has become a death trap on account of gully erosion
Thank you for this question. That road is a source of worry to my people. I am also involved, though it is a federal road. Some weeks back, there was no movement on the road after heavy rains and there was a distress call by my people that made me put off my scheduled journey. On seeing the road, my mind became troubled. I cried as the representative of the people.
The first step I took was to go to Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) and the officer-in-charge told me that the road was awarded to a contractor and the Federal Ministry of Works was the supervising ministry. At the Federal Ministry of Works, it was confirmed that the road was awarded to a contractor but due to non-payment for the certificates the company generated, work was stopped.
As a man with a firm belief in team work, I had to see the Transition Committee Chairman of Arochukwu Local Government Council, Onny Igbokwe, for his advice, so that we would not be seen as people working at cross purposes. The council boss lamented on the nature of the road and told me the palliative measures he had put in place to enable vehicular movement.
At the deplorable portions of the road, there was evidence of palliative work by the council. At the construction company site, to my greatest dismay, there was nothing to show. No single person was there and no equipment was on sight. This confirmed that the company had abandoned the project.
For now, I intend reaching out to other stakeholders for discussion on the way forward. As an individual, I don’t have that power. Besides, it is a federal road. By the time I reach out to senators and House of Representatives members of Abia North extraction, we will work in synergy to get a solution to that road. We will form a common front to ensure that the contractor returns to site. I call on the federal government to save the people of Arochukwu by returning the contractor handling Arochukwu-Ohafia Road to site. People die on the road on daily basis through accidents due to its deplorable nature. The rural people do not market their agricultural produce to the urban areas due to bad road and may soon be cut off from the rest of Abia.
Readiness of Abia House to support Governor Ikpeazu given the heterogeneous composition of members
As at today, Ikpeazu is the governor. Every reasoning person should give support to the governor or president, no matter the party. If tomorrow administration changes, the new governor would also be supported. It would be childish for anybody to say: I am a member of this party; therefore I am not in support of this administration.
I can only kick against what is against my constituency. For anything that would move Abia forward, I will be in support. What we are doing in the House is for Abians and not for the governor. The laws are for Abians and how the state can move forward.