Ogbonnaya Ikokwu, Umuahia
The House of Representatives candidate for Ikwuano Umuahia federal constituency under the umbrella of the Young Progressive Party. Comrade Friday Chimaobi ogbundiogu, has said lack of infrastructural development in his constituency spurred him to join politics.
ogbundiogu, who hails from
Ubakala in Umuahia South Local Government Area, also added that he intends to correct the lack of quality representation his people has suffered in the green Chambers for many years.
He regretted that his constituency which is housing the state capital and government house in Umuahia has no touch of development to boast of.
The graduate of Federal University of technology Mina who is currently an international businessman spoke in Umuahia in an execulsive interview with our correspondent
He said, "When I was a kid growing up, my dad normally bring us back home because we grewn-up in the north and we come home every Christmas.
"It was a wonderful experience for us then. My dad worked with NEPA and we had so many things we achieved in terms of education and I left this country in 2010 and coming back to Nigeria, I visited Abia state in 2019, things were not the way they used to be when I was child.
"A lot of things had gone bad in Abia. No good roads and nothing to write home about. I remember as a child that my dad was seriously sick that no hospital could attend to my father and my dad was referred to new Era hospital Aba and within one month my father came back to Niger state health and strong.
"Where is new Era today. The government killed every infrastructure we had in Abia state. Bad leaders killed everything and this touched my heart and I taught about how we can change the narrative in Abia and before you can change the system you have to be in the system.
"So I decided to run for a position, and I taught about where to start and I said if I go to the State House of Assembly I will be under the governor and will not be able to do anything for my constituents. That was why I stepped it up to house of representatives.
"I always tell people that the most important election in any civilized country is your Congress election which is the House of representatives and the Senate. We are getting things wrong in Nigeria. I have a five points agenda which includes younth empowerment, quality representation, accessibility, quality
health care system,
Infrastructural development and
Security.
"'We are clamouring for Mr Peter Obi to become president. Let's assume that we have over 500, law makers in Nigeria and 300 are in PDP, 100 in APC and the rest in other political parties. How will Obi be able to work, he cannot be using his veto power all the time to pass laws.
"I think we need to start getting things right by electing the right people that will work for Peter Obi. If you feel that Peter Obi should be the next president of Nigeria that will handle the Congress, Without people who has the interest of the masses at heart the conutry will remain where it's.
"Let's take it back from president Mohammadu Buhari right now.Majority of the law makers are in APC. That is why Nigeria is not working, because the majority of the law makers are in APC. The country has been suffering and the president is not doing anything, why didn't they remove the president.
He lamented that the deplorable nature of the Umuahia Ikot Ekpene road in the constituency which caused loss lives in the past must be fixed to better the lives of the people.
According to him, "Another thing that multivalued me more was the death of some students of Michael Okpara University of Agriculture Umudike on the Umuahia Ikot Ekpene road.
"The students died because of bad road. Chief Sam Onuigbo, is our representative now and that road leads to his village and he couldn't attract the federal government to fix that road. What's he doing there?
"I remember when a student died in my school, the University was shut down for one year. I promise my constituents that road will done under my watch. Somebody told me something, "he said do you know you will this election? so don't promise what you cannot do. Promise what you know you will do because you will win.
"I want my people to benift from good governance basically the aged people and I intend to attract free health care insurance to my people and this will be carried out through a process where we are going to break it to a certain age. Secondly we will have a nursing home for the elderly. The health care system in our constituency is very bad. That's why burial is a big celebration here, politicians now go to burial ceremonies to celebrate capacity.
"A lot of life will be saved if we get our health care system fixed, because I have benefited so much from good governance. There was a time when I was sick in America and I was rushed to the hospital the first thing they did was to treat me even when I didn't have a health insurance. When I got stable they asked me how do I want to pay my bill and I said I don't have a job. When someone is not working, there are policies where the government will pay his/her bill.
We need a government that will be put in place to work for the people.
ogbundiogu, expressed hope that he will do better in election because his constituents are now aware of the kind of leader they want, adding that the Independent National Electoral Commission would do justice to the election.
"My opponent has been in government, let me use the speaker of the House of Assembly who is contesting for the same opposition with me. He has been in government for many years, he is the speaker and the government is owning salaries, pensions, he's here in Abia and the people are dyinng, if you send him to Abuja he will disappear. Has nothing to offer. It is high time that people began to understand that somebody who has been with you for over eight years and has the power to call people in power and said salary should be paid, but he did nothing. .
"He built a football field for us and I was in America when I saw a post saying the speaker built a five thousand capacity mini stadium for the people of Ubakala and I laughed. Do they know what is a mini stadium? I don't worry myself about people like that because they cannot help the people. The people know what they will do and I know they will do the right, by electing a good leader that will represent them, the way they want to represented.
"INCE did it in Osun and Anambra states where the ruling party loss the election and I know INEC will do the right thing. We are pleading with INEC to maintain the capacity and the trust Nigeria people have in them to deliver Nigeria from 2023.
He urged Abia voters to support all the candidate of the YPP to enthrone good governance in the state.
"I'm one of the founders of the YPP in Abia state and the first candidate to declare under the party, before our governorship candidate and others came in.
.
"One of the reasons why I joined YPP is because it's a party for the people. If you look at the logo of the party, "It's a house with the door open. We want people to come in. YPP is a party that will not take the people for granted. If you listen to our governorship candidate's speech, he will always say that he will take the people for granted. I believe in what he's saying, I believe him.
"As for me I want to challenge Nigeria as whole because I want to recreate the Ikwuano/Umuahia federal constituency. I want to bring what we have in USA where I live to Umuahia here. Because the way I will run my government will be entirely different, everyone will be involved and represented from here in Abia to Abuja. I want to open the eyes of the ordinary Nigeria.
"I want to pled with my brothers and sisters they should do the right thing by electing a credible leader that will represent them. A leader that is not selfish. A leader that has the heart of the people. A leader that has the fear of God. A leader that works with his hands and not a leader that want to steal money with the pen. I work with my hands, I'm not afraid of working and I love to build. I want to urge my people to please vote wisely come 2023.
"I was attacked Last week when I was coming back from Abuja, just between Enugu and Umuahia, about one hour to Abia state. Our convoy got attacked and I lost one my vehicles and I'm here today by the grace of God.
"I was in church last week and the pastor preached a message that our sweat should never be in vain and I look at it that I started this race since 2019 and few months to election and I will now die on the road. When the pastor was preaching tears dropped from my eyes. I was missing for three hours and nobody knew where I was, my car flipped five times just last week. That's why I said insecurity will be fixed in Nigeria. If Nigeria does fix insecurity we will close down the green chamber, the green chamber will cease to exit in Nigeria and I'm not playing about that" he said.
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