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…Says, I’ll start from Oyi, Ayamelum when elected in 2027
From Obinna Odogwu, Awka
Candidate of the Action Alliance (AA) for Oyi/Ayamelum Federal Constituency in the 2027 elections, Onuzulike John Udemezue, has said he would promote commercial farming in the constituency if given the opportunity to serve, noting that it is the sue way to achieve security
He also, among other things, promised to make sure that rural electrification projects are extended to communities in Ayamelum Local Government Area of Anambra State where none exists at the moment.
Why do you want to go to the House of Representatives?
A lot has happened in Oyi/Ayamelum Federal Constituency. The adoption of zoning through the years, unfortunately, has not helped us because this zoning formula most times brings in people that are incompetent. But before now, we have been trying to change the narrative from outside, through the civil society organisations and other stakeholders. Our voices were heard, but visible changes have not been seen in Oyi/Ayamelum Federal Constituency when you talk of health care, roads, support to farmers, and the rest of them. I’m from Anaku in Ayamelum Local Government Area, I can tell you that there are some communities in Ayamelum today that do not have access roads. I’m not talking about tarred roads; we are talking about access roads to their community. I’m talking about Omasi-Uno, Umumbo, Umuelum. Though currently the local government chairman of Ayamelum is doing some things, trying to create some access roads to Umuelum and he’s also planning to do something in Omasi-Uno.
Last year, Governor Chukwuma Soludo was able to complete the general hospital that Peter Obi started way back in 2011. He was able to complete that general hospital, and we applaud him for that. However, we still record high mortality rates. The simple reason is that a pregnant woman from Omasi-Uno will cover almost 18 kilometres to get to Anaku, which is the headquarters of Ayamelum LGA, where she will access medical care. This so because most of the health centres at the community levels look like poultry houses. They don’t look like where human beings access medical care. So, I will start by making sure that all the community health centres across Oyi and Ayamelum will be rebuilt and equipped. Then, I will find a way to ensure that that when women give birth in any of our hospitals in Oyi/Ayamelum Federal Constituency, they will get a package of incentives both for the mother and the child. I will look into roads, but will not focus on federal roads anymore, because we have done a lot on federal roads. I will concentrate more on internal community roads, especially the roads that will help our people to bring out their farm produce, because Ayamelum as a community and some parts of Oyi are known for agriculture. We need these internal roads to help our people. There are also some communities that have erosion sites. In Anaku, we have one big erosion site. Between Igbakwu and Ifite-Ogwari, we also have one. And then when you look at Nkwelle, between Nkwelle-Ezunaka and Umunya, you also see gully erosion. These are the things that we will look into. Quite importantly, we look into the issue of electricity, because there some communities in Ayamelum, which are yet to access electricity. You have communities like this Omasi-Uno, Umumbo and Umuelum, which do not have electricity. They have been in darkness for over 20 years. We will do something about it.
Do you mean that there are no poles and distribution cables in such communities? Or is it that their transformers have issues?
In the case of Umumbo, the former federal lawmaker, Rt. Hon. Gabriel Onyenweife, was able to attract an electrification project to the community. But that project never saw the light of the day. Up till now they don’t have light. Ofumelu also came and tried his best also. But at the end of the day, they still don’t have light. It’s the same thing with Umuelum. When you talk of Umuelum and Umumbo, there are cables on poles. But then, because of the terrain, most times you see some of these concrete poles falling. And once any of them falls, it will drag so many others along. And then it will now take for God knows how long to fix them because nobody will respond, even when you call. Then when you talk of Omasi-Uno, there is no electric pole in the community at all. There are children that have never experienced public power supply in their life. I am passionate about Omasi-Uno. I will make sure that Omasi-Uno gets an electrification project executed in the community and every other thing they need. There are a lot of things we need to change in our constituency. It’s not all about building schools.
Does it mean that you have no education programmes or projects in mind for the federal constituency?
I will not build any school building. Rather, I will concentrate on equipping the ones that have been built. There are some of our schools that are still using blackboards in Ayamelum and Oyi. All these things have to change; that’s my position.
What sort of laws do you intend to pursue in the National Assembly, to add value to the lives of your people?
There are two laws that I would like to sponsor. Number one, I will sponsor a bill that will establish at least a Federal Medical Centre in Ayamelum or a federal educational institution. I will either go for a pure university or maybe a College of Education. Ayamelum is a local government headquarters and we need investors to come in, to offer good things. The fastest way to attract investors is with tertiary institutions. When you have higher educational institutions in your locality, you will attract other bodies. Again, by the grace of God, we will revitalise our irrigation system. The pump station is somewhere in Ifite-Ogwari, and fully utilise the Anambra-Imo River Basin Authority, which is a federal government project. With the irrigation project, our people can now farm three times in a year. This is because rice matures in just three months. If we are able to cultivate three times in a year, you will make more money than cultivating once. And then you wait for next year while you spend the one you have. I strongly believe that empowering farmers is very strategic to achieving food security. So, these are some of the things that we need to do.
So what is the state of that irrigation system now?
Hon. Gabriel Onyenweife (a lawyer), who represented Oyi/Ayamelum Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, also did something about it. At least, he attracted the federal government’s attention to that very project. The Federal Government sent teams to conduct two inspections, but we never heard anything again about it. This time around, I will make sure that I get that place working again.
Your people are predominantly farmers. How do you intend to take what they’re doing to the next level?
Number one is that I will help my people to secure a revolving loan. A revolving loan that will help the youths of Oyi/Ayamelum to go into mechanised agriculture. I will liaise with the Ministry of Agriculture to at least get our own tractors. If we can get two to three tractors for Oyi, get two to three tractors for Ayamelum. We’ll start with that so that these farmers will take ownership of it. I’ll ask them to form clusters. And each cluster will have one tractor. And then we also give them a revolving loan, a loan that will revolve around them. They will take ownership because they will be responsible to collect the money. They will be responsible to dispense the money. And then at the end of the year, they will account to the federal constituency. It is their money. But somebody has to supervise them to make sure that some criminals, like political farmers, don’t take over that project. Because the problem we have is that most times government brings good programmes for the farmers. But you see the political farmers, some in the Main Market, some in government houses; you see them take over that particular project.
How do you intend to wrest power from the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), which is the ruling party in Anambra, especially considering that your party, AA, is not so popular?
Okay, let me start with Abiola. When Abiola joined the Social Democratic Party, SDP, the party was not that popular. But when Abiola joined, with time, things changed. Let me also remind you that when Buhari wrested power from PDP, the All Progressives Congress, APC, was not popular. It was human beings that made it what it is. When you join a party, your face will market the party. The same thing happened when Peter Obi joined Labour Party, it became a hot cake. He left LP for African Democratic Congress (ADC), LP almost died. Then ADC picked up. So it’s like that. And now he’s in National Democratic Party, NDC. AA is a new pride, a party without any form of litigation. There is no problem whatsoever. There is no leadership tussle. There is no issue. Nobody is coming tomorrow to say you are not the right candidate. Or this person is not the right chairman. So I believe that this AA is the right platform for me to do launch.
The APGA House of Representatives member has tried her best. But I can tell you that her best is not enough because there is no visible project that is attached to her name as we speak. There is no meaningful project that is attached to her name from Oyi, her immediate constituency, to Ayamelum. There is none that I know of. So definitely, currently, people do not vote because of party anymore. They vote who they want. They know that I can change things. I can tell you that O. J. Udemezue in Oyi/Ayamelum is a household name. I can tell you that. So I will win this election. It is a sure bet that I am going to win.
