By Ogu Bundu Nwadike, M.A
Recently, one very reputable pundit made a strong assertion which gave me thought for food. He said that from verifiable performance variables, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Imo State has earned the enviable status of “real Shadow Government” of Imo State.
Expatiating on his very inspiring opinion, he began relaying in profuse detail how PDP lawmakers have been delivering well in the various sectors of the economy viz education, health, roads, environment, employment, skills acquisition training, empowerment, and even security.
And according to egghead, once a main opposition party begins to deliver good governance in high quantum, then it qualifies as a Shadow Government, which cares about the welfare and well-being of the people.
Having made that clarification, it was easy to tag along with him and his unarguably convincing propositions.
With reminiscence in retrospection, we saw what he was seeing about Imo PDP and its serving lawmakers at the State and National Assemblies.
He was referring to the 13-man German dozen Imo PDP lawmakers, six at the National Assembly and seven at the State Assembly. They include the following:
- Distinguished Senator Ezenwa Onyewuchi, representing Imo East (Owerri Zone) Senatorial District in the Senate.
- Rt. Hon. Jerry Alagbaoso, third-term Honourable Member, representing Orlu/Orsu/Oru East Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives.
- Rt. Hon. Henry Nwawuba, two-term Honourable Member, representing Mbaitoli/Ikeduru Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives.
- Rt. Hon. Bede Eke, Honourable Member, representing Aboh Mbaise/Ngor Okpala Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives.
- Hon. Engr. Ikenna Elezianya, Honourable Member representing Owerri Municipal/Owerri North/Owerri West Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives.
- Hon. Emeka Chinedu Honourable Member Honourable Member, representing Ahiazu Mbaise/Ezinihitte Mbaise Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives.
- Rt. Hon. Barr. Okey Onyekanma, Honourable Member, representing Mbaitoli State Constituency in the Imo State House of Assembly (former Deputy Speaker).
- Hon. Barr. Anyadike Nwosu, Honourable Member, representing Ezinihitte State Constituency in the Imo State House of Assembly (Minority Leader).
- Hon. Barr. Frank Ugboma, Honourable Member, representing Oguta State Constituency in the Imo State House of Assembly (Deputy Minority Leader).
- Hon. Philip Ejiogu, Honourable Member, representing Owerri North State Constituency in the Imo State House of Assembly.
- Hon. Toochi Okereke,Honourable Member, representing Ngor Okpala State Constituency in the Imo State House of Assembly.
- Hon. Solomon Anukam, Honourable Member, representing Owerri Municipal State Constituency in the Imo State House of Assembly.
- Hon. Pascal Okoli, Honourable Member, representing Orlu State Constituency in the Imo State House of Assembly.
The fact is that the 13- man team/lineup highlighted above have individually entered a new level of delivering rewarding people-oriented representation.
The decision to take together here their individual programmes and projects is strategic, both because of writing space contraints and the fact that actually in their different ways they’re providing nearly the same good, people-oriented, programmes and projects.
It’s such that, with regards to the provision of people-oriented peogrammes and projects, they are giving the current wobbling and fumbling regime led by Senator Hope Uzodimma a good run for the State’s multi-billions that the rogue regime is fraudulently looting with careless abandon.
For example, Imo PDP lawmakers are providing healthcare services via various shades of health clinics on various health conditions, provision of appropriate drugs, surgeries, eye glasses, wheelchairs, etcetera. They also offset hospital bills for indigent members of their constituencies.
Conversely, the failed Uzodimma regime has, with wicked neglect and abandonment, run aground all primary healthcare centres in the State. That’s the same experience with the education sector, where many schools have been turned into robbers and kidnappers dens.
Uzodimma plays politics with the healthcare needs of Imo people. For example, he purchased on credit 10 used buses and painted them in Red Cross colours and called them “Mobile Clinics”!
After the fraudulent, bogus “launch” of the rickety-wickety buses, nobody sees them anywhere in the State, despite incidences like accidents that are often ghastly and even fatal at times, requiring the services of the “Mobile Clinics”.
The PDP lawmakers in their own various ways are deep into building and commissioning of Town Halls, Markets, classroom blocks for schools, houses for indigent people, community roads, and other building structures for one purpose or another across the State.
They provide public electricity supply transformers to communities that don’t have transformers and aren’t connected to the national grid. They also energize and commission the transformers and enable the people to enjoy electricity.
They provide portable water through their solar-powered borehole projects in different communities, ameliorating the troubles and problems of acute lack of public water supply in Imo State under Uzodimma.
Since the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic, Imo PDP lawmakers have distributed more palliatives than the Uzodimma regime. That’sa statement of fact. Till date, they have been distributing food items, hand sanitizers, nose and mouth masks, and public enlightenment programmes to teach the people how to stay safe from infecting other people or getting infected by other people.
They organize various skills acquisition training and empowerment programmes for youths and women, in fact even men are beneficiaries in the programmes.
They also provide financial empowerment for indigent petty traders in the form of micro cash grants, traders and business soft loans schemes, and start up capital grants, etcetera.
Of course, the actions and activities of the Imo PDP lawmakers in the foregoing respects are tacit as they do their interventions individually, though with good interactions among themselves.
Our narrative here are true statements packaged with facts and figures. They’re verifiable. An honest investigation or research will reveal more about the much that Imo lawmakers are doing to better the lives of Imo people.
A very important fact of the social interventions by Imo PDP lawmakers in Imo State is that their programmes and projects are those that don’t discriminate against other political parties and their members.
They provide programmes and projects that touch the lives of Imo people across party lines and across age and gender.
The question that comes to the mind of many an Imolite now is: “what is Uzodimma doing in the face of all the good things that Imo PDP lawmakers are doing for Imo people with love, joy and happiness?” Are there truly APC lawmakers in Imo State at all?
It’s such a worrisome irony and highly paradoxical that what Uzodimma, with all the hundreds of billions of naira he controls, and with the full treasury of Imo State under his armpit, can’t do, just 13 Imo PDP lawmakers, with their limited financial resources, are doing them freely with milk of human kindness.
The implications of that for PDP and Imo State are enormous. It shows that PDP is truly a people-oriented Party. It shows PDP is truly loving and caring for people, their welfare and well-being. It proves that PDP is the truly progressive democratic Party in Imo State and Nigeria.
Above all, it shows that PDP is truly commited to the holistic development of the society and the people, socially, economically, physically and spiritually.
It indicates the preparations and the ever readiness of Imo PDP to return to Douglas House in the very near future to continue with the rebuilding of Imo State, which the Party has been divinely assigned to accomplish to the joy and happiness of Imo people, and to the glory of Almighty God.
9News Nigeria (Owerri)
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