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By Christopher Oji
A veteran journalist and publisher of the Arise Online News, Ngozi Fortune Onwordi has thrown his weight behind the reelection bid of the Chairman of Aniocha South Local Government Area, Pastor Jude Chukwunwike.
In this interview with Christopher Oji, Onwordi, who is also the Personal Adviser to the former Governor of Delta State, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, highlighted some of the reasons the people of Aniocha South are pushing forward for Pastor Chukwunwike’s reelection, one of which is to enable him to complete some of the projects he has already initiated in the area council.
Why do you think that Chukwunwike deserves another term as the Aniocha South Council boss?
I am not campaigning for Hon. Chukwunwike just for the sake of politics but because of the facts on ground. Everyone has seen what he has been doing since the last two years that he assumed office as the chairman of the local government area.
He came to the national limelight in October 2022 when, out of 774 chairmen of LGAs in Nigeria, he was nominated, profiled and awarded with the prestigious Nigerian Local Government Chairmen Merit Award (LOGMA) of Excellence at the 21st annual ceremony held at the National Merit House, Maitama, Abuja.
Prior to his emergence as the council chairman in 2021, he served as a Special Assistant, and later a Senior Special Assistant to Dr. Ifeanyi Arthur Okowa, the then governor of Delta State.
Working under the Commissioner for Housing, Chief Festus Ochonogor, he superintended over the disbursement of the Widows’ Empowerment Fund in Aniocha South LGA; an assignment he discharged so efficiently that he earned the trust of all the widows and womenfolk in Aniocha South.
In 2021, he was overwhelmingly elected as the council chairman of Aniocha South Local Government. In two years and three months in office, he has proven to be the most vibrant local council boss in Nigeria.
Can you enumerate some of his achievements in two years as LG chairman?
From the resuscitation of many abandoned critical infrastructure to the execution of many life-changing projects, Hon. Chukwunwike has written his name in gold in the hearts of the good people of Aniocha South LGA. It must be noted that Chukwunwike’s phenomenal achievements started with the massive reconstruction and makeover of Aniocha South LG Council Secretariat Complex, where he also built a Christian chapel. The chapel serves as a worship centre for all the staff of the council, as it is done in the Government House of Delta State.
He also made a courageous move to clean up and beautify Ogwashi-Uku, the headquarters of Aniocha South, and other towns within the LGA. The daunting task of cleaning up the local government headquarters was directly supervised by Chukwunwike and his dedicated environmental team. This boosted confidence in the process and laid the foundation for the success eventually recorded in the cleanup of Ogwashi-Uku and environs.
Makeshift structures that constituted nuisance, blocking government setbacks and right of way for vehicles and other road users, were evacuated, and where convenient, beautified with flowers.
At the popular Afor Market, traders were compelled to sort and dispose of their waste appropriately for the Private Sector Participants in charge of waste management to evacuate them. He also built a modern abattoir at the market for meat sellers.
Motor parks that hitherto constituted nuisance on the major roads by causing traffic gridlocks were confined inside a purpose-built park located inside the market.
The drainage channels blocked by sand and waste materials were de-silted to give Ogwashi-Uku a befitting look as one of the oldest council headquarters in Nigeria.
He seems to have achieved relative peace in the locality as well as provided security to life and property; how did he do that?
His administration has been able to promote peace and security in every community within Aniocha South through collaboration with the presidents-general of the community development associations and the community vigilance groups within the area.
He procured a bulldozer to fast-track the grading of access roads across the three clans of the LGA. In the Nsukwa clan, he completed the construction of a modern market at Ejeme-Unor, the rehabilitation of the health centre at Egbudu Akah and the reconstruction of an agro commodity market at Nsukwa.
He also gave out a Toyota Sienna minivan each to the vigilance groups in the three clans of Aniocha South. He equally distributed over 20 motorcycles to various community vigilance groups to boost logistics.
Even in the areas where most heads of the executive branch find it hard to strike a balance between staff of the civil service and politicians, Chukwunwike has built a bridge between the two important classes.
Recently, he completed the renovation of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) office in Ogwashi-Uku, as well as the asphalting of the severely damaged spots at Umuneze Junction and the road leading to Delta State Polytechnic, Ogwashi-Uku.
How has he handled the welfare of the Council staff in particular and people of Aniocha South in general?
His administration saw to the purchase of brand new official vehicles for the vice chairman, National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), the Head of Personnel Management (HPM), Local Government Secretary and Leader of the legislative arm, among others.
In the last two years, the council chairman has distributed two trailer loads of rice, over 10,000 birds and cash as Christmas gifts to boost the morale of the council workforce. Dozens of grass mowers were acquired and distributed among all the primary schools in Aniocha South. This has put to an end the era of manual labour of grass clearing in primary schools.
The people of Ubulu-Uku, your hometown, have been singing his praises; what has he done for them specifically?
In my hometown, Ubulu-Uku, Chukwunwike completed the reconstruction of classroom blocks at Abuedo Primary School. A potable water project with solar energy-powered pumps has also been completed in Ubulu-Uku, while the comatose weaving centre has been rehabilitated and revived to train prospective entrepreneurs and weavers on how to make the popular Anioma attire known as Akwa-Ocha.
Along with the Ubulu-Uku Eke Market, he has also completed the construction of an ultra-modern motor park to ease transportation of agricultural products from the community to their target markets.
These and many more undocumented projects of Hon. Chukwunwike led to his nomination by Anioma Voice, the leading community online platform of Delta North, as the Best Performing Council Chairman among the nine LGA chairmen in the senatorial district.
As his first tenure draws to a close, he has lined up more groundbreaking projects that will herald the great leap forward for the council. It is, therefore, not surprising that groups have started calling on him to run for a second term in office in order to consolidate on the progress recorded in his first term.
