Follow Us on Google
From Uchenna Inya, Abakaliki
The Ebonyi South Senatorial candidate for Nigerian Democratic Party (NDC), Chief Linus Okorie, has vowed to mobilize victory for the presidential candidate of the party, Peter Obi in the state
He described Obi as a man of impeccable character and asset to the nation and urged the electorate to elect him next year’s general election to solve the challenges confronting the nation.
He made the vow in his Onicha Igboeze home, Onicha Local Government Area of the state on Monday while flagging off his senatorial campaign for the 2027 general election.
He assured that he will operate a functional constituency system through which citizens can submit complaints, propose community projects, receive information on legitimate opportunities, report abandoned projects, seek help with public services and engage the office.
He said that one of the easiest ways to disappoint citizens is to campaign for a legislative office with executive promises which he said he will not do.
“A Senator does not award road contracts. A Senator does not personally construct hospitals, dams, power substations or federal roads. A Senator does not run ministries or government agencies.
“But an effective Senator can make an important difference. A Senator can make and amend laws. A Senator can move motions and raise matters of urgent public importance. A Senator can influence national budgets and appropriations.
“A Senator can conduct oversight of Ministries, Departments and Agencies. A Senator can defend the interests of his people. A Senator can pursue federal institutions, programmes and interventions.
“A Senator can build partnerships with federal institutions, the private sector, development organisations, the diaspora and credible international partners. And a Senator can hold public agencies accountable for abandoned, delayed or poorly executed projects.
“An experienced Senator can use knowledge of the institution, relationships, committee work, advocacy and sustained follow-up to ensure that his constituency is seen, heard and remembered.
“That is the kind of Senator I intend to be. I served for eight years in the House of Representatives, from 2011 to 2019. I chaired the House Committee on Agricultural Colleges and Institutions. I participated in legislation, appropriation and oversight, worked with federal institutions, and facilitated employment, empowerment, education, healthcare, agricultural interventions, electricity projects, community development and welfare support.
“For those same eight years, I also served as a member of Nigeria’s standing delegation to the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly (JPA) — the inter-parliamentary body that brought together parliamentarians from African, Caribbean and Pacific states and Members of the European Parliament, and whose successor framework is today the OACPS-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly.
” Ebonyi South must be represented by someone who can speak for our communities at home, engage institutions in Abuja, and understand how wider development partnerships can be mobilised for opportunity.
“Across Ebonyi South, the same story repeats itself in different forms. Graduates wait for jobs. Farmers wait for inputs and markets. Communities wait for development. Patients wait for healthcare. Traders wait for support. Artisans wait for tools. Young people wait for opportunities. Students wait for assistance. Indigent families wait for succour.
“Our response is not another slogan without substance. ‘Ogeruwo’ means that the waiting must end and representation must begin to work with urgency, honesty and measurable purpose.
“Our vision is a Greater Ebonyi South where every community has a voice, every citizen has dignity, young people can see a future, small businesses can grow, farmers can prosper, vulnerable people are supported and public representation produces results that can be examined.
“Our human-development framework is the HELPPS Agenda: Health and Education; Employment and Empowerment; Loans and Business Support; Promotion of Culture and Tourism; Partnership for Community Development and Sustainability; and Succor for Vulnerable Groups. HELPPS will not replace the constitutional work of a Senator.
“It will guide how we apply that constitutional work to human needs. Water and power: Human survival before political convenience. Some needs cannot be treated as ordinary campaign talking points. Water and electricity are daily survival and economic productivity needs.
“In Akaeze and Ishiagu, the challenge of potable water is made more difficult by natural geological formations and low aquifer conditions. Conventional boreholes have repeatedly failed to provide the dependable answer our people deserve.
” I will give priority legislative and advocacy attention to the completion and activation of existing dam projects and associated water infrastructure serving these communities.
“The completion and activation of the Amasiri 2x60MVA 132/33kV Transmission Substation will be one of our highest advocacy and appropriation priorities.
“We will pursue the responsible institutions, budget lines, timelines and implementation obligations until the public can see progress.
“I say this with the benefit of experience. While serving in the House of Representatives, I facilitated the connection of Isu, headquarters of Onicha Local Government Area, to the national grid after more than two decades of the Local Government’s creation.
“Our electricity agenda will also treat communities such as Afikpo, Akaeze, Onicha Igboeze, Okposi, Uburu and Ugwulangwu — and any others identified through a district-wide assessment — as power-emergency communities where weak or non-existent connections are constraining daily life and economic activity. Electricity should follow people and productive activity, not political influence.
“The same discipline will apply to roads, bridges, dams, erosion sites, agricultural infrastructure and abandoned federal projects. We will maintain an Ebonyi South Federal Infrastructure Priority Register, identify responsible agencies, track status and budget history, and follow projects beyond the day of announcement” he assured.
