By Emma Njoku
Former chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Enugu State and the party’s candidate for the Nsukka/Igbo-Eze South Federal Constituency at the House of Representatives, Vita Abba, has promised to address the rural infrastructure deficit in his constituency, if elected in next year’s election. The distinguished entrepreneur and former chairman of the PDP in Enugu State, also barred his mind on political developments in the Coal city state.
What are your plans for the people of Nsukka/Igbo-Eze South Constituency, if elected into the House of Representatives next year.
Let me express my gratitude to the people of Nsukka and Igbo-Eze South constituency for giving me the ticket to vie for the seat. I thank God for everything. I also thank Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi for creating the enabling environment for a successful primary election.
If, by God’s grace, we get into office, there is a lot to bite and chew because our constituency is one of the largest constituencies in this country. For instance, Nsukka Local Government is well known as one of the largest local government areas. There should be four local governments in one because it has been an urban city since the 1960s. You can imagine the deficit of infrastructure in this local government, especially in the rural areas.
How would you situate Governor Ugwuanyi’s leadership with your expected victory?
Yes, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, in his magnanimity, has turned Nsukka town into London with infrastructure. But, in the rural areas, he can only perform within the limits of the resources at his disposal. Nsukka has a boundary with Idah, in the Northern side; Nsukka is so vast and we expect to use our good offices to change the narrative in terms of infrastructure for our people. However, Igbo-Eze South needs a quantum lift in terms of development because it is a rural local government. We should seek aid from the federal level. Enugu is not an oil producing state and the resources of Enugu can’t be compared with Lagos and Rivers. We need a lot of assistance to be where we are expected to be in modern Nigeria.
Which key areas are you going to focus on in your rural development programmes?
We’re going to take all the key sectors, including education. We should be able to impact education because we have the population and we need more institutions, especially technical and other specialised institutions, such as School of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, Veterinary and other special schools as we have in the North. If we have them here, people will stop migrating to the centre. We have fertile land and we expect that if we have those facilities here, we don’t need to run to town to look for jobs, because jobs would be created here. It’s a vision that would tackle our problems. My constituency is an agro area. We have a lot of potential and cash crops we can invest in. If you come to other areas like technology, Nsukka could be the economic destination of Nigeria because we have a multitude manpower. We want to harvest the University of Nigeria for our economy. There is no reason Nsukka should not be the silicon valley of Nigeria, where children in school should have a computer. Our prayer is that the economy of Nigeria should be vibrant to sustain most of our dream projects. In terms of health services, we believe that whatever we bring will compliment the already established University of Medical and Applied Science. It’s our intention to compliment what our state governor has done and still doing in that sector and various sectors.
After the primary election, Nsukka indigenes took to the social media to attack Governor Ugwuanyi. However, outsiders see a lot of projects when they enter Nsukka. What is your reaction to this?
As a matter of fact, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi is the liberator of our people. He has suffered for them. Nsukka people will know what Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi stands for and what he meant, and the love he has for Nsukka in due course. It’s unfortunate that in this country, people see reality and try to play politics with it. It’s allowed when it comes to politics, but when you come to reality, Nsukka has got more than its fair share in the present dispensation, all to Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi’s magnanimity. And you can see that every part of the state is taken care of, and there is no reason the Nsukka man should be complaining about flash projects, infrastructure and legacy projects if that person is aware of resources coming into Enugu State. But one thing is talking about what you should have, while another thing is the available resources. So, for those who know the resources, it is pure wickedness to Governor Ugwuanyi; and for those who don’t know the resources available, I will ask them to go and do research, seek more information to know the available resources in the state. For me, as a person who has been feeling the trauma of what is going on in the state, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi has been a blessing to Nsukka and its cause, and I pray God to favour him in other endeavours he wishes to embark on after leaving the Government House in Enugu.
What is your dream for Enugu State?
My dream Enugu State is a self-sustaining state without going to Abuja; a state that can improve economically to sustain its citizens. I want to see an Enugu State that is united, where there is no North, West or East, where we see one another as one common people with one common destiny, a state where love reigns supreme.