By Emma Njoku
Rt. Hon Chinedum Enyinnaya Orji, Speaker of Abia State House of Assembly, is always proud to tell anyone who cares to listen that he cut his teeth in the murky waters of partisan politics under the tutelage of two former governors of the state, senators Orji Uzor Kalu and Theodore Orji, his father.
Born on December 25, 1970 in Amaokwe Ugba, Umuahia Ibeku, in Umuahia North Local Government Area, Orji was educated at the Federal University of Technology, Owerri, where he graduated with a Bachelors degree in Civil Engineering.
Orji did not set out to be a politician. According to him, politics found him, as he unwittingly found himself in the midst of politicians, politics and governance. He won his first ever election into the Abia State House of Assembly in 2015 and went ahead to emerge as Majority Leader. Owing to the confidence his colleagues in the state assembly had in him, he was elected 11th Speaker of the Abia House of Assembly four years later.
As Speaker, he has led the state assembly, to make laws for good governance. The passage of the anti-grazing law by the Abia State House, aimed at ensuring peace and harmony between host communities and herdsmen ahead of other states is one of the salient achievements of the assembly he has been part of.
Under his leadership, the state assembly has also passed these laws, among others: The Abia State House of Assembly Service Commission Law; the Abia State Violence Against Persons Prohibition Law, the Abia State Donor Agency Trust Fund Law, the Abia State Security Fund Law; the Abians in Diaspora Commission Law; and the Abia State Water & Sewage Development Law, all meant to enhance governance and bring out an egalitarian society.
To give Abia lawmakers excellent environment, Speaker Orji engineered the remodeling of the House of Assembly complex into world class structure. He has also put in place an excellent and harmonious teamwork among lawmakers, regardless of their party affiliations. This is why no lawmaker in the state assembly is under any pressure to defect to other parties, as is the case in some state houses of assembly.
In order to discover talents among youths, Orji has embarked on the construction of 9 mini-stadia across his constituency and beyond. The stadia, which are at different levels of construction, are located in Isieke community, St Stephen’s Primary School, Umuahia, Ezeleke Community Primary School, Umuopara, Ubakala community, Ikwuano community. Others will be in Olokoro, Ohuhu and two other communities
Young and influential, Orji, who is a Knight of the Anglican Communion and member of the Nigerian Society of Engineers, is winner of The Sun Public Service award, 2020.